Dead
Runners society race
report
Barnet
10km race, North London - sunday 11th March
2001.
Four days after Teddy Hall we managed
to find a race in suburban London which wasn’t affected by the Foot and Mouth
epidemic. My last race before I left Oxford.
Evenin all
Shelley and Tony here in Cambridge, we did a
race today which managed to avoid the Foot and Mouth disease. We went off to
Barnet (north London) to do the Barnet 10km race, we ran this race 4 years ago
when Shelley did 47.27 in spite of going off too fast thanks to Tony's
pacemaking.
This year Shelley was going for yet another
pb, Tony just came along for the ride as he was still tired from his relay run
in Oxford last wednesday. Shelley was trying once again to break 46:30 after
many failed attempts. So off we went down the motorway with two other lady
runners from Cambridge and Coleridge AC, Julie was going to run but Claudia's
calf injury meant that she was just going to watch us run and take pictures.
Shelley: Julie is one of my main competitors
at club. I had just beaten her in a 3k track race where we ran most of the way
so close that we could touch each other. I found out in the car that she has
been running since she was 11, but it seems that recently she hasn't been doing
as well as usual. We have kind of a tradition of me outsprinting her at the end
of reps in training, so I think she has gotten a bit scared of me, but I
suspected that she might be stronger than me over 10k, so pretty much made up my
mind to run my own race.
Getting on to the race now, this is the
continuing report of Shelley's running finally getting somewhere, and short
version report, surprise, surprise, another PB, 46:20 by my watch, 46:27
official, known because it was announced when I got my W45 prize, which was a
nice medal and a £20 gift certificate to the best running store around.
Tony: After entering the race I did a mile to
warm up from the car park to the track and then round the track at Barnet
Copthall stadium. Then it was nearly time to start the race so we all lined up,
the usual inaudible announcements about the race course were made and after a
lot of waiting around off we went. 2 laps of the track to start before we headed
out onto the roads around the sports centre.
Shelley: We had all split up for warm-up by
the time of the start. Tony: I took it fairly easy at the start and I didn't
pass Shelley and Julie until just after leaving the stadium at 1km (4.31).
Shelley: I probably start a bit too fast, getting through the first two laps of
the track in 3:30, as fast as I did 4 years ago in this race when I totally fell
apart halfway, so I eased up a bit after that and toward the end of the track
part could hear Julie behind me, but pretty much succeeded in not being
influenced by that and running my own race. Actually Tony must have passed us a
little after 1k, because I got to 1k in 4:30.
Tony: I gradually speeded up and worked my
way through as we headed out to start 2 road laps, 2km (8.52,4.21) and 3km
(13.00,4.08).
Shelley: 2k (9:13, 4:43), I should have
realized before that that 2 laps in 3:30 and then 1k in 4:30 represented more
slowing down that I wanted to do and keeping up that pace wasn't going to
produce another 4:30 k, but it may also be the that markers weren't so exact. In
any case, that got me worried, and I speeded up and left Julie and started
passing people, and then realized at 3k that either the markers were off or I
had overdone it somewhat, 3k (13:29,4:15).
Tony: I was up to full speed by now and
moving well although the bridge just after 3km was tough. By 4km (17.16, 4.16)
runners were a bit more spread out and I was working hard to catch runners
ahead, as we re-entered the sports centre a runner came past so I pushed on
harder and soon got past him.
Shelley: Then the combination of the
overconfidence of the 4:15 and probably more important the hill and the fact
that the markers weren't quite right, worsened my time for the next k
considerably, 4k (18:17, 4:47), and I started to get worried.
Tony: 5 km in 21.32, last km 4.16, past the
stadium and out again for another lap.
Shelley: And not seeing the 5k marker made
things even worse, particularly when it got to around 5 minutes.
Tony: I was pushing quite hard by 6km
(25.43,4.11) to catch a lady runner ahead and I zoomed past her going flat out.
Shelley: But after about 6 minutes it was
clear that I had missed the marker, so I pushed on knowing that the race was
half over and was relieved when I got to 6k and found that the combined time for
the two kilometers was 9:19, for the first time, just about exactly on the pace
I wanted, 6k (27:37,?4:39).
Tony: The 7km marker was reached 29.20, this
meant a 3.37 last km! I was going hard but not that hard, really tough going
over the bridge but I overtook another lady runner, very tired by now.
Shelley: The 7k was definitely mismarked, 7k
(31:34, 3:57).
Tony: 8km (34.18,4.58) indicated that one of
the km markers was a long way out, I wasn't making much headway on the runners
ahead by now, I was glad to turn back into the sports centre just before 9km
(38.38,4.20).
Shelley: 8k (37:04, 5:30!!) and I was
definitely worried, that 7k had been way out, and the combined two were way too
slow. By this time my times had been so irregular that I had no idea whether I
was going to make my goal. I knew I had some time saved up from earlier fast
kilometers, but I had no idea whether it was enough to compensate for the slow
ones, but I did know that I only
had 2k left, only a little over a mile, and I'm a miler, I should be able to do
this pretty fast if I really push myself, but I was also pretty tired by then. I
remember think as I was getting closer to 9k, and it was around 40 minutes, that
maybe I still had a shot at it, because if I got to 9k in 40, I could finish in
45 with no trouble, 9k (41:49, 4:44) I remember seeing the 41:4x, and think that
if I did the 10th k in 5, it would almost make it, and maybe if I ran this k
really fast I could even get close to 46, so it was pretty much all up to this
kilometer, but the usual thing, it was a very long kilometer, but fortunately
somewhat downhill.
Tony: I could see the stadium ahead and I
could hear someone coming behind me so I pushed on harder, by the last turn
before running down to the stadium someone almost caught me so it was eyeballs
out in from there and I ran in the last 100m on the track very hard to hold my
pursuer off. I finished in 42.35, 3.57 last km! Very tired on finishing, I shook
hands with the runner behind me after the finish funnel, he was wearing a
"Boston Marathon" singlet, did I ever mention....... :-)
Shelley: Yes, many times, Tony. Back to the
race, that track was a real welcome sight, especially the finish line when my
watch said 46:20, one more block passed.
Julie came in shortly afterward, and we
decided later that we definitely have to get Claudia over her injury so that we
can have a team in a future race, and try to go for the team prize.
Tony: Claudia was there waiting at the finish
and she got some pictures of us after the race which should appear on our
photopoint pages in the fullness of time. I also bumped into a former Cambridge
University "kiddie" after the race who is now out in the big bad world, he had a
good run setting a pb over 4 minutes ahead of me. I was fairly pleased with my
run considering how tired I was after my hard race on wednesday, I think I have
a sub 41 in my legs at the moment, I would like to think I can get back under 40
minutes again later this year with a bit more hard training and a good
taper.
Shelley: After we had cooled down and got
some more clothes on we came back for the awards presentation, and I found out
to my delight that I was first lady over 45. I was pleased to get the award, but
a little disappointing that my time was not quite as good as I thought when they
announced the time as 46:27. In fact at first I was a bit startled that it was
me, because I thought they had made a mistake and left me out and given it to
someone else whose time was not as good as mine, since they announced the time
before the name. The announcer mentioned that I looked startled and then he had
to stop me from getting away too fast, because they wanted to take my picture.
My picture wow, I hope it looked all right, I wonder where they are planning to
put it.
Then back home, with a stop on the way for
lunch, and tea and piano playing at my house, before Julie and Claudia went
home, and overall a very delightful, practically perfect day.
Shelley and Tony
--
Shelley Walsh, Milton, Cambridgeshire,
England. Shelley@shells.demon.co.uk
http://www.shells.demon.co.uk
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