Leeds 10k 2014 Race Prep

This weekend is the Leeds 10k and it has been on my mind since I finished the same race last year.  That was my first race, one that I didn't really prepare myself for and one that has fired me on to run further and train harder.  In the race review that I wrote at the time (reposted yesterday) I sound really positive about the experience, but looking back I feel that I had let myself down.  Yes it was a wonderful achievement, I'd managed to pull my body around the course without collapsing, but I could've and should've done better.

My first mistake was simply not putting the miles under my feet in the build up to the race.  I had wanted to complete my first 10k in around an hour, but I had only run four 5k runs in the two weeks before the race and only one long run of 11k a month earlier.  The long run came in at 1:16:47 so although I knew I could run the distance I also knew I was going to miss my 1 hour target.

My second mistake was to be ill the week before the race.  Perhaps I should cut myself some slack, we all get ill every now and then.  However I'm putting this particular illness down to running and my own naivety.  I ended up bed-bound by constipation, I could barely move such was the discomfort that I was in.  I know that there are many possible reasons behind this, but to this day I have put it down to not staying hydrated properly while running coupled with pre-race nerves.

My final mistake was a direct result of my second mistake.  Race day was set to be hot, very hot, and I was adamant that I was going to be properly hydrated before the race started.  Not to put to fine a point on it I drank too much.  Smoothie for breakfast, water on the walk to the race, more water waiting at the start.  I had to take an unscheduled stop at around 6k for a comfort break and, although I could stop my watch, I had no control over the official timing. 

After everything, all that had gone wrong, I crossed the line in 1:07:25.  7 minutes past my target time.  I had managed to run/walk 10k.  I had raised money for charity.  I had even stopped for a pee and I had my first bit of running swag so I was feeling good about myself.  I had a pint and Sunday Lunch in one of Leeds' finest watering holes to celebrate.  I was elated.  I wrote the positive blog and then, having dragged myself around the streets of Leeds, I more or less stopped running.  I had no goal, nothing to prove, I already had "The T-Shirt".  Over the course of the year that changed and I got back into running having realised how target driven I am.

This year I am ready for the Leeds 10k.  I have been running between 20k and 30k a week for months since completing the Leeds Half Marathon in May.  I have managed to keep illness and injury free by keeping an eye on what I eat and drink and by listening to my body.  I now know what to expect on race day, and I know not to treat it any differently from a normal long run on any other Sunday morning in relation to preparation and taking on fluids.

My current PB for a timed race is 54:10 and that was set on a very muddy and hilly off road race at Harewood House.  Beating that time is my obvious goal for the weekend's 10k, however I do have a faster target in mind.  I have come close to running sub 50 times during training runs, most of which are much hillier than the Leeds 10k will be.  A time of 45:59 or less will leave me over the moon.  If you are in Leeds and you see number 4241 hobble past, please give Sancho a shout of encouragement.