Lincoln 10k - Race Report

I completed the Lincoln 10k today! I did the entire distance without stopping and it was quite a successful morning if I do say so myself!

My day started off with getting to the location and then deciding I was too warm, walking the 5 minutes home and taking off my underarmour and grabbing an energy gel before leaving the house again to get to the start line.

Victoria was kind enough to come and support me and we stood and waited together until I met with Hayley and walked to the start line. My quads were feeling a bit tight but all in all I felt okay. Being at the start line with 5,499 other people was insane. Amazing but insane. I've never seen so many people engaged in the same activity and I was a bit in awe, if I'm honest.

My mate Pat found me and we stood and chatted before the air horn went off but when it did I put my music in and tried to get into 'my zone'.

Because the crowds were so packed and I was quite far back in the sub-50 section I was weaving about trying to get round some of the slow starts when disaster struck! My elbow/hand go caught in my headphone wire and I pulled my phone out of my shorts and fell to the ground. Some guy handed it back to me and luckily it was unscathed. I tried to pop it back in my pocket safely and jogged on, keeping my arms well away from my headphone wire. The first couple of km passed uneventfully, I was a bit behind my target time of 4:55/km but I put that down to the mass of people around me. I went round the outside of a bunch of people around 2km in and found some space and settled into my rhythm. At 4km I saw some friends on the roundabout and ran next to another for a bit (dressed as a Nando's chicken no less!). I ran past my housemate cheering with her boyfriend and headed to the water station.

Disaster again!

As I was pouring water over my quads (still quite tight!) I got caught upon my headphone cable and my phone went skidding along the tarmac into the gutter and slightly smashing the screen. It's still usable but I was mighty annoyed at myself - I will have to find a better solution for next time I run with shorts and music.

At 6.5km we completed the first lap and I knew there was not long to go. I was still overtaking much more people than were overtaking me and I wasn't struggling too much. I think 6-7.5km was the hardest and I'm glad I didn't stop to walk as I would have found it hard to start again. By 7.5km I was 3/4 of the way round and knew that I was capable of making it. 8km was reached and we took a different route to the first lap towards Lincoln's magnificent Cathedral.

8km was the furthest I had ever run in one session before today so I was proud to have even got that far. As we reached 9km the pace rose and I tried to not give it too much and burn out before the line.

At 9.5km we ran round the cathedral, a magnificent site and onto the ancient cobbles. Here some people went for a sprint finish but I was concentrating on placing my feet and not twisting my ankle. We crossed the courtyard towards the castle and went under the arch to the finish line. I had done it! Unbelievable!

We were ushered through the grounds and picked up our goody bags (Medal, water, foil blanket and entry form for a 3km fun run)
I found Vicci and some other friends and we suffered and celebrated together. My watch said I finished in 48:37 but my official time was 48:39. 100seconds faster than I could have dreamed of.

That time put me in 1,204th place overall. Better than I could have hoped for. Though I'm slightly disappointed Pat beat me by 6seconds, I didn't see him do a sprint finish but be assures me that was what put the time between us.

I'm very proud of my achievement, especially with the lack of training because of my nose and I now have a 10k PB which I will try and beat one day, perhaps by the end of the year!

Considering before my first triathlon I "hated" running I'm quite pleased with how this went though I'm nowhere near calling myself a 'runner' in any way shape or form! As shown by the winner crossing the line today in around 30:30!

Many thanks to all those who came and supported today, especially my future wife who came along and said she was very proud of me :-)