"Each step forward has a sacred meaning of its own"   Sri Chinmoy

Prom Run 5 mile race - Jan 2023 - Weston

This was my second race in the space of five days as I got myself in shape for short races in Bali and tried to build my endurance too, for whatever comes next (maybe a marathon or some triathlons or some mid-length races, not sure right now). Still a little cautious after a minor health scare at Christmas, I'd come through the Craig-Yr-Allt race unscathed injury-wise and with no adverse reaction in my body, so I felt pretty safe heading down to Weston for the 5 miler with the aim of just starting steadily and seeing how it went. Last time out, in the Autumn of 2022, I'd clocked 33:15 so matching that or even beating it would be nice.

I got there mega early as per usual but this time it was deliberate - I left an A-board with leaflets about our Sri Chinmoy Races by the Tropicana but in the cold and the dark I am not sure how many people paused to look at it! Most runners were either inside getting ready or outside warming up - it was only 1 degree C and that doesn't inspire much standing around. Soon I was out for my own warmup in my trusty hooded fleece. The wind was coming in from the sea - pretty much a straight westerly - so most of the course would catch that as a sidewind, probably the best racing conditions you'll get on the prom. It was hard to know how many runners were there, with most leaving it very last-minute to arrive at the start, but later the results told me it was over 200. That is pretty incredible for a weekday night in the cold and the dark of January, and only a couple of weeks after the last fixture on the same course. Pretty much everyone, as you'd expect, was in a club vest.

There was a very short briefing done with a megaphone but the crowd at the start was so lively and noisy I couldn't hear a word. I did hear the countdown and the GO! though so I started my watch and broke into a jog as the pack began to move. It took a while to get into some free space and when the first beep came on my Garmin I had done a half mile in 3.20 and was conscious that I was running a pretty easy pace.

The cold and the dark made this a kind of sensory-deprivation experience, just pure running with no distraction. Through each minute of the race, even each second, I was mostly just conscious of the runners around me and ahead of me, was I gaining ground or losing ground, keeping up a steady race-pace or slacking off slightly? The course is 2 laps of the prom, starting in the middle at The Tropicana and heading south as far as you can go, then round a cone and all the way back up to the bend in the seafront at the northern end that brings you to another cone and then back to The Tropicana. I came through half way in sixteen-something according to the race clock so I was happy with the pace and just kept it up as best I could. Only in the final mile and a half did the pace start to really test me, so I think I had set the effort level about right.

When I did finally fall across the line it was in a time of 32:27, a massive improvement on my last prom run. I walked then jogged around a mile to loosen up and then headed home, stopping on the way for fries and a McPlant which is pretty funny for someone who mostly eats stuff like organic veg and tofu. Needs must.

There were no niggles apparent in my rather fragile leg muscles and no reaction on the cardio-vascular side to having done 2 races in a week, so that left me well pleased with how things were going. The missing ingredients in my training right now are long runs and hard bike rides but there's plenty of time for those in the spring. There's a lot to be said for the Prom Run in the winter - the simple and pure intensity of running in the dark, tuning into the rythm of the race and just going for it. The runners who put themselves though this monthly examination are a pretty happy crowd too.

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