BM10K

A glass of prosecco is a legitimate, nutritious post-run drink.

Today I thought I’d take the time to reflect back on the Brighton Marathon 10K – what an amazing weekend.

It was our first ‘official’ race, our first 10K and our first time of running together – or not. Even though my other half barely trained for the run, he was still much faster than me so we made the decision to start together but then run separate. I would never want to slow him down and deny him the opportunity of finishing in a good time.

Training for the 10K began back in November/December 2016. I was becoming more confident running 5K but knew I needed to keep adding to the distance. Looking back, training for the 10K was fairly easy. Speaking to another runner, they had previously mentioned how easy they found doubling the distance – never did I actually believe it until I had done it myself. In a month, I went from running 5K to running a full 10K.

Now, I know I’m not fast but actually managing to run the distance is an accomplishment for me. I spent the next 3 months improving my time – I went from 1:20 in January to finishing the BM10K 1:13. Not particularly impressive in any shape or form but whatever, improvement is improvement.

The actual race itself is an experience I’ll never forget. The weather was unusually hot for that time of year, 20+ degrees, so the combination of sun, sea and sand always puts a smile on your face. We started at 8:30am, so it was still semi-cool. By the end it was roasting, I really did feel for the marathon-ers. The BM10K started half an hour before the marathon, so the streets were packed with people. The atmosphere was really inspiring and motivational, so much so that I achieved my PB! What was more inspiring was watching the marathon-ers coming through, a few of our friends were actually taking part themselves. It was then when I decided, at some point in my life, I wanted to take part in a marathon.

Another large factor for the weekend being an amazing experience was that we completed the race on the eve of what would have been my Dad’s 60th birthday – we dedicated our run to that and Cancer Research, raising over £400 in the process.

Little did I know, 5 months later and on the first attempt, I would be given a place in the 2018 London Marathon.

Fast forwarding to the present… I’m still trying to recover/take it easy with my slightly dodgy hip – kept it very light this week. In the next few weeks I am aiming to check in with a sports massage just to iron out any kinks and hopefully I can continue with my winter prep. I’ve officially set my sights on completing 20k before Christmas. Just need to stick with my plan, listen to my body and remain injury free!

Day | Plan | Actual

Mon | Yoga | Yoga – treated myself to a long stretch focussing on the back/hip area.

Tues | Recovery run | Light jog for 30mins

Weds | Rest | Rest

Thurs | Tempo run | Final week of term and parents consultations left me pretty wiped out this week so today was a fat sack of nope!

Fri | Football | Hip caught a little bit during training but otherwise thoroughly enjoyed an hour long match.

Sat | Rest | Rest

Sun | 8k | In my heart of hearts, I wanted to get a straight 10k in the bag but after 1 1/2 weeks off  I knew this would be a silly idea. Settled for 8k, only got up to 6.5k – hello left hip pain… roll on the doctors this week!

What’s been your favourite or most memorable race? Why?

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