Race Report from "Run of the week" - Hull 10k

Race report – Hull 10 k

‘I’m not fit, I’m just between injuries’ is how a fellow runner describes their fitness. I understand the feeling after an 8 year injury cycle. Getting to the start line of races knowing I can run a PB is not common for me. I tore my plantar fascia through poor training and bad decision making. Just after the first Covid lockdown I finally made a good decision and contacted Jenny. Gait analysis and Jenny’s expertise helped her steer me in the right direction to get my pain under control. I reached a point where I was pain free and able to run again. This is where joining the Run club helped. The live class is great fun and ensures I don’t skip the strength and conditioning I used to ignore. Identifying weakness before they become an issue is definitely what’s keeping me running pain free.

Now I’ve reached the point where I can get to the start line. After some race cancellations I entered Hull 10k. Two races were combined sharing sections of the same route, a 10k and half marathon so there was great atmosphere and a mix of runners as you would expect at a ‘run for all’ event. My training had gone well since my initial lactate test in the winter, I had followed Dave’s guidance on building my fitness base and added the speed session once I had proved my fitness. I knew my pace and didn’t chase the speedy runners over the first mile. The course was flat but a little twisty in places. I knew I had the speed but feared blowing up and wasting my opportunity. I decided to run at just less than threshold HR to ensure a PB. My watch was telling me lies about my pace so I will admit to quoting Star Wars and ‘using the force’ by switching to HR and ran by feel. This worked well as I turned the final straight and saw I was bang on my target. Crossing the line at 38:46 taking 45 seconds off my previous PB. Big smile!!!

Running is my tool to balancing my family life and work pressures. Without running I would undoubtedly be single and living in my mum’s attic quoting Star Wars to myself. This finish line felt like a release of 2 years hard work built on the expertise and patience of the whole Blizard team. I will forever be grateful for building me back up so I could not only start but finally race.

What next? No point beating a PB by 10 seconds. My education continues and back to consistent training and run club classes to take a bigger chunk of it in the winter.