Fenland 10

Oh My Gosh, that was one really hard race.

I awoke to wind and slight rain so took with me every conceivable item of clothing that might be needed, lol. I also took along my Zen Creative with the inspiring running track all tuned in....

The rain had held off and it didn't feel too cold so I opted for shorts and a singlet -wise choice. It didn't take me long to realise that it was actually quite warm. I set off at a pace that should have felt comfortable but after about a mile my legs were feeling heavy, especially my quads. Not really sure why but I was hoping they would loosen up on the way round.

By Mile 4 my legs were still feeling heavy and I wondered whether it might be the music - you see, it has a very heavy beat and I was having to lengthen my stride to stay in tune. Also, I couldn't hear myself breathe so I felt rather "lost" - it was all very strange so I decided to turn it off and just concentrate on the running.

Unfortunately, even with the music off my legs still felt heavy! The course was mostly flat but very exposed, with gusts of wind making running quite difficult, especially from the 6 mile mark. I dug in and hung on in there, the last two miles were extremely hard work.

I felt absolutely shattered when I had finished, much more so than after the half marathon a couple of weeks ago. After a cuppa tea and a shower I started to feel a bit better. I'm happy with my performance, it's not as fast as I was hoping, but considering the weather I think I did ok.

Mile Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:25
Mile 2 - 8:37
Mile 3 - 8:24
Mile 4 - 8:36
Mile 5 - 8:34
Mile 6 - 8.43
Mile 7 - 8.59
Mile 8 - 9.14
Mile 9 - 9.07
Mile 10 - 9:07

Overall Time: 1:28:29
Avg Pace: 8.46