Race 22: Worthing 10K

Race: Worthing 10K

Distance: 10K

Time: 50 Minutes and 57 Seconds

Worthing 10K almost didn’t happen for me due to a combination of not feeling all that great anyway and waking up to the emotional blow of another terrorist attack having taken place the night before in London meant that the temptation to bury my head under the duvet was extremely high. I just felt sick and sad and in no way motivated to run a race.

I got myself dressed, my trainers on and into the car but was still indecisive about running the race the whole drive there. The sun was shining and as we approached the start line the atmosphere was amazing. It felt really positive with lots of people raring to go. We saw a few people we recognised also and as I got chatting to them I knew that I had to just get on with the race.

We started not long after we found the start line so it was (yet another) rush to get my music sorted, watch synched while trying to cross the start line without falling on my face. The race started on familiar ground as we headed down the seafront in Worthing. It was a cosy start as there were thousands of runners and lots of spectators which made for an amazing atmosphere but made it tricky when trying to get around slower paced runners. I spent the first 2 or 3 K wasting a lot of energy on weaving from left to right trying to get in front of runners and into any available space. I should have started further up on the start line queue but was too busy chatting to friends.

I was happy with my pace despite the weaving and seemed to be getting a couple of seconds faster which each mile- starting out at 8:33 per mile and ended up towards the end of the race on 7:50! It was a simple course- seafront, residential streets, bit of nature reserve, back on the seafront and wonderfully flat. It was really nice to open up and run at just below my threshold pace. I felt tired, but strong. Thankfully there was a strong breeze which helped take the edge off the heat and didn’t work against us too badly and the crowds of smiling supporters really helped. I put in an almighty sprint at the end and crossed the finish line 57 seconds over my 50 minute PB set a few months ago- but I was still really happy with this time- it was hot, i wasn’t feeling my best and my heart was heavy.

I finished feeling a whole lot lighter, I smiled lots during this race and filled my head with lots of positive thoughts and energy. I’m a lucky girl to be alive, to be loving my life and the people in it and to be loved back. Running sure helps me to put things into perspective.