Bring on the Dash!

I was going to write this update about a week ago, two weeks into my latest training plan and two weeks before the Abbey Dash, but for one reason or another I have managed to put it off.  It's not that I've missed any of my scheduled runs.  Neither have I been so ridiculously slow and unfit after injury that I didn't want to share my progress.  The main reason for putting off this post was that I was waiting to receive my race pack for the Dash.

Normally, in my brief experience, race packs get sent out a month to two weeks before a race.  In fact in this instance, the good people at Age UK, who organise the Abbey Dash, told me via twitter that packs were being sent out two weeks before the race.  With that information I decided to wait until I had my bib number before writing a progress report.

I waited, followed my self imposed training plan, and waited some more.  Finally, today, nine days before thousands take to the streets of Leeds, my number turned up.  It is real.  Three months after I injured my knee I will be taking part in one of the top ten 10k races in the UK.  Honestly, I was beginning to think that something had gone wrong and that I no longer had a place.

You see, even though I entered the race back in April, for me it only starts to feel real when the pack turns up.  The instructions for the day: Times, locations of bag drops, where the toilets are, inspirational pep-talks from professional athletes, the route map, and most importantly your number.  All of these things heighten the anticipation and give the butterflies in my stomach a bit more vigour in their wings. 

I'm relying on these pre race nerves to get me around the course.  I have managed to stick to my schedule but that has only got me back to running 6k.  In an ideal world I would have managed a couple of 10ks by now, but in that world I wouldn't have injured my knee.  My original goal of a sub 45 minute 10k has taken a back seat and I'm now just aiming at beating last years time of 57:18.

After the last few months, a course Personal Best will do me just fine, even if I miss out on a distance PB by some margin.  Bring on the Dash!

*** UPDATE ***

Since writing this post I ran parkrun in Cross Flatts Park.  Throughout my injury time I have been attending parkrun as a volunteer, but now I'm back on my feet I've taken advantage of our hilly 5k course as part of my rehabilitation.  Before the clock started at 9am on Saturday morning I decided that I was going to run the course twice, finish the 5k, get my barcode scanned and set off to do it again, just to see if I could complete 10k.

My actual parkrun time was 24:33, the first time sub 25 minutes since doing my knee in, mostly thanks to Debs who I'm sure I wasn't racing against!  The second 5k took a much more leisurely 27:09.  Combined times of 51:42 for 10k (all be it with a couple of minutes breather in the middle) gives me so much hope for a decent Dash.  Even if I run the slow 27:09 pace for the full course on Sunday I will come in 3 minutes under last years time.  If I wasn't looking forward to race day before parkrun, I sure am now!