Training since the Coast to Coast hadnt gone particularly well - I had a few days off, during which I caught a cold - so thought it best to rest up. So since Scotland - I'd done a handful of runs and ridden the bike a bit.
At least I'd be rested.
Come Sunday I opened the curtains to torrential rain. Oh fabulous. And I was still a bit snuffly too. Its taking a while to clear this cold.
Liverpool 10k is basically one and a half laps round Sefton Park over in Liverpool. Its a staple for the local 10ks and half marathons, and I'm sure the forthcoming Marathon will make use of it - if the Council ever sort out a date that is....
The rain didnt stop on the drive over - luckily we had binbags for the waiting round at the start. It could get cold without them, and Jean Paul Gaultier would have been jealous of my creation. The finishing touch was the Pirate Yellow tiecords at the bottom. Matched the Pirate kit perfectly.
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| This makes it look drier than it felt.... |
The start line was getting muddy from so many peoples feet over it. It was going to be a slow start.
I wasnt as high up the field as I should have been - I was checking out the approach to the finish - always useful to see where you go - when they called everyone to the start.
I was probably about 1/3 of the way down the 1600 strong field as we lined up.
The start was on time despite the weather and we slowly trudged off the field and then after 30 meters or so - onto the perimeter road. This is where I was really going to open it up, but there was a lot of traffic. Slower people chatting as they went so I had to duck and dive to get through them, and then I decided to take the longer line down the outside of the field, and try to avoid the odd oncoming car, and the traffic cones.
This helped and I did start to make my way up the field, but by the first km marker - I was a few seconds down on my time. Oh well.
The good thing about the rain was that it had washed a lot of the leaves off the roads and into the gutters. Every cloud has a silver lining... And there were plenty of clouds.
The rest of the race was me just making up placings - I dont think anyone passed me and I must have passed loads - just shows how badly I'd placed myself at the start.
The km markers came and went and I was still off the pace - oh well 40 mins was only a rough idea. I cant remember the last time I properly raced a 10k ? Oh Abersoch in the summer, but that was offroady and I did 43 mins I think ? (must have been a short course).
After 8 km of dodging puddles, we were off on the last leg - up through the centre of the park. Slightly uphill - nice. The ducks and the swans seemed to be enjoying themselves in the lake alongside the path.
Last few hundred meters and we were onto the grass - not too muddy to begin with as not many people have run that part ahead of me, but as the Finish gantry was where we started too - that was very muddy.
I was still picking off people all the way and ended with a sprint finish trying to catch the guy ahead - not sure if I did it or not - he kicked strongly - luckily neither of us fell in the mud.
Finish time 41.09 - so fairly pleased. Most people seemed to be about a minute or so slower than they'd wanted - all the mud and the rain made for heavy going. And obviously - without my snuffle - sub 40. ;-)
Home to a hot bath and a nap and then its off to Leicester next week for my attempt at sub 3.15. I'm not overly hopeful, but you have to have a go.
Must remember to a. Book a hotel and b. Find out what time the race starts and where.
After my precise planning for Scotland - I'm a bit lax on this one..
Useful Links
Run Liverpool - organisers of the 10k
Similar Events
Pirate Ship of Fools - my 'club'
Ironman Wales - this looks like it could be a good one ?
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