Sunday 3 November 2013

First Saturday 5K

On Saturday I ran in North Herts Road Runners First Saturday 5K. With Stevenage Half being on Sunday I decided I'd better not race it, so I took my 8-year-old son and my mother-in-law along for the fun. 

Earlier this year my son ran in a 5K race and finished in about 38:45, he told me he'd needed a sit down about three-quarters of the way round (he ran with my friend), so I was determined that he wouldn't do that! Obviously I wanted him to beat his last time, but I wanted him to enjoy it a bit more too. And possibly try and beat the time my friend's son set last month (34 something...). No rivalry there. 

I made him run slowly and had to keep reining him back, kids have a habit of sprinting off and then slowing to an almost walk after a few minutes because they're tired! My son kept leaping over tree roots and I had to warn him that he'd regret his misuse of energy later. 

He managed the first mile fine, but then we hit some very thick slippery mud so we decided to walk to prevent injuries. That proved a good plan because he got his breath back a bit. There is a nasty long hill at the back of the course and he needed another walk near the top, but once we hit the flat again I tried to point out that walking and running were equivalent uses of energy so he might as well run. And then when he looked at me blankly I took his hand and pulled him :)

After the first lap he didn't really want to go on. I offered him the chance to pull out (reluctantly) but his grandma convinced him to carry on. We had a lot of moaning about not enjoying it and never wanting to run again. I decided that was a good sign because I usually say that during a race too. 

By the time we'd passed all the mud and the horrible hill again he knew the end was in sight and managed a fine sprint finish. Just as his dad, grandad, and sister arrived to cheer us to the finish! He got a great round of applause and a 3 minute PB! Well done my boy. Let's do that again in December. 

On Thursday at club we did a new session, 1km intervals. Pete had set some segments on Strava, from Larksfield doctors' surgery out to the white gates past Etonbury Academy, and the return leg. Each are 1km in length. We based timing on the slowest runner's 1km time (7 minutes) so we all had 7 minutes to run each km. For the slowest runner this meant he could run steady and continually or he could push himself and get a short rest. 

My km intervals were all around 4:30, so I got some nice rest breaks. But I did feel like vomiting so I only did 3! I was pleased because I felt rubbish during the runs, and I was wondering how if maintain the pace during my race on Sunday. Then I checked my watch and I was running at 6:45 pace. So that was a relief! (I need to run 8s on Sunday.)

All in all, it was a good session. But not one for regular use. Possibly birthdays and Christmas. 

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