Weston Prom Run 5 April 2011

Warm evening with a glorious sunset in the offing and a reasonable turnout at Weston considering how many road runners are involved in the London Marathon (4 days prior).

The unseasonally warm weather meant the prom was crowded but a heroic effort from the marshals kept it clear for running, which was quite an achievement. Kokila came with me to this one but opted for a training run going the full length of the prom rather than taking part in the race. I had times of around 32 mins and 31.30 earlier in the season to try and beat, and two races in the previous two weeks had certainly upped my sharpness - the question would be whether they had left my legs a bit trashed?

There was the usual jovial mood at the start and a count down to send us on our way along the prom, with more comments and banter from the sidelines than usual. I set off at a reasonable pace behind a bunch of runners I recognised from the February race (Clevedon vests, I think) so as to try and match the pace I'd had on that night. A garmin beeped at 5.52 so I took that as a mile marker - no way I was going to keep that pace up! I held on pretty well down to the turn, working hard and enjoying the amazing light of the early evening with the sun low in the sky but still shining powerfully across the bay. Coming back towards the start I felt a backlash from the quick start, but didn't seem to be losing ground. Would I make the second turn in 15 minutes and have a shot at 30 mins for the race? No, that was just fantasy, and I knew it, so it was no surprise to hear 15.30 called as I rounded the second cone. Then came the crux of the race - I held on pretty well

 

Results: 31:12 according to my watch!

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