It all comes together: winning the Bupa Great Winter Run!
It has been a long road. This time last year I was desperately trying to convince my body to run again after a year out. I carried a shot of adrenaline everywhere incase my excess mast cells decided to try and kill me. I half believed the doctor who told me I would never run again. I can't change the fact that I have mastocytosis, I can change everything else. So I began chipping away at every aspect of my life and training that I could control.
Running through the orange groves, up into Javea old town and along the coast I felt like a coiled spring, a colt let loose. I just felt so free. I had learnt from Fred (my Garmin Forerunner 620) that when I get tired my stride shortens and I start bouncing up and down. I focused my mind on the single thought 'forward' and my body obeyed. Fred also kept revising my race predictions (based on VO2 max algorithms). My VO2 max crept up from 56 to 57 and then 58. The way I was feeling, combined with the clear increase in my fitness, meant I was pretty sure I could run fast at the Great Winter Run. I'm not usually one to risk fate with bold statements before the fact, but for the first time ever I announced to my parents that I was going to win the Bupa Great Winter Run.
On race day I got up at 7am to eat breakfast (rice milk and amaranth muesli with 2 sachets of instant coffee), then had a warm shower and went through the routine that Mum's yoga teacher had taught me. Finally I watched a video of Haile Gebrselassie's 1998 10K WR at Hengelo… I left the hotel at 10am and jogged up to the Royal Mile then down towards the race start. Then 20 minutes of easy jogging before picking up my pace for a few strides. At 10.30 I started the dynamic warm up, then into the start pen for 10.40. A man tried to start a conversation about my Saucony Fastwitch racing flats but my mind was 5K further down the road. At 10.44.30am my fleece jacket came off and was thrown out of the pen (bought from a charity shop). Then the gun went off.
There is only a brief stretch on the main road before the race turns up the incline around the back of Arthur's Seat. 350ft of ascent over the first 2k. I'm not usually any good on hills so I had made a point of running up any hills I saw whilst I was in Spain. It was hard but I held my ground amongst the men - well, the ones who hadn't already got away at least! The turn onto the flat at the top was also a turn into a headwind. I caught up with and tucked in behind a man dressed as a parrot. He was clearly a competitive (club?) runner as every time I popped out and tried to push on he picked up the pace. Funny, there I was thinking 'I won't be beaten by a parrot', whilst the parrot was thinking 'I won't be beaten by a woman'. I think it helped us both. He beat me. I think I've identified him as an Ayrshire athlete with a 5K PB of 17.05 so I don't feel too ashamed!
On the downhill I tried to make sure I kept my weight forward and didn't brake (one of the many effortlessly simple and memorable things our coach has instilled in us: when you're going downhill, don't brake). There was slushy grit flying off the heels of the runners around me as I heard someone confirm what I was fairly certain of: 'first woman'. I glanced back over my shoulder but could only see I was clear of the next group, I couldn't spot if there were any women chasing me down so I dug in and focused on the finish. Shortly before the line I was directed left and saw two people stretching a tape across the line. I couldn't believe I was actually going to break a tape!
Just over the line a tag with 'first lady' was hung around my neck. I was gasping for breath but awash with endorphins. What a difference a year makes! The second lady came in 6 seconds after me - closer than I had thought! Third was my friend and club mate Jen. I was really pleased for her as I know she has been training hard. I was 26th overall, so only 25 men beat me! On my last outing on this course, four years ago, I was four and a half minutes slower in 330th (40th woman). Training works!
Women's Results:
Men's:
After running back up to the hotel clutching my trophy (yes there were some funny looks as I pattered up the Royal Mile, dodging around other runners who were walking home) and briefly catching up with the Parental Unit, I changed and headed back down to watch the international cross country. The women's race was really exciting and the GB women were phenomenal.
I didn't see the Professor (my coach) but I heard that he had announced that morning that I was going to win the 5K. My plan to find a flat road 5K to see how fast I can run on the flat was squashed by the Professor. The London Marathon is our A race, everything else is build up… I'm hoping I might be allowed a Parkrun between the League XC and the National!
Photo from Alison via Jen C (I think!)
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