Having done enough quality miles but not a lot of quantity since March, I approached the BMC meeting in Manchester with a bit of trepidation. My 14:50 5000m clocking at the same venue last year earned me an upgrade to a faster race. I only hoped my training would get me a performance to justify it.
I was travelling solo and, in a bit of forward planning, stayed in Carlisle the night before then drove the rest of the way at my leisure the next day. Driving on my own into a big city was stressful, especially with another concert at the Etihad increasing the congestion. As far as I cared, One Direction could head in one direction, as far from me as possible. Leaving out the dramas I faced, the short story is, despite getting a little lost at one point, I arrived safely with time to spare.
I would have some support since Charlie and Carol Ann Thomson from the club were in attendance with their son Ryan who was doing a 1500m. I had a goal of 70 second laps in mind as I took to the start line just before 6pm. This would give me a time of 14:35. A tall order but you never know until you try.
I realised the quality of the race when I found myself in last position after 200m. I hit the target time after 400m though so no panic. I overtook a few athletes which gave me some confidence and, after 6 laps (2400m), had hit every 400m split spot on. I was really working though. I went through halfway in about 7:18.
I battled on, placed around the middle of the field on the coattails of the main group. I always find the 3rd quarter of a 5000m tough because the finish still feels so far away. I broke away from a couple of athletes but the pace at the front of the field was simply too fast for me and I couldn't get up with them. I found myself isolated with gaps in front of me and behind. I was in a lot of discomfort, struggling and slipped down to 72 second laps.
Encouragement from the Thomsons did keep me going though my mind played tricks on me as I thought I had dropped to over 14:50 pace. That was no good. I found another gear in the last kilometre and, with Charlie's encouragement at the 200m start especially, got a second wind. I realised, with 200m to go, a sprint finish would result in a personal best. I somehow produced a 32 second 200m to finish in 14:46.44 and better my previous best, from Bedford in 2012, by 2 seconds. It wasn't pretty, it certainly wasn't easy, but it proved effective. While too exhausted to show it, I felt brilliant. I finished 8th from 16 finishers in a race won in a time of 14:28.89.
After a warm down, chat with the Thomsons and shower, I wanted to get out the congestion and on the road home and, since I didn't feel like eating immediately, set off with the plan to stop off on route. After an hour on the road, I stopped at services near Lancaster for a dinner of champions- a Double Whopper meal at Burger King. I also picked myself up a couple of bottles of beer and was home in time (midnight) to enjoy them.
On reflection, it's a huge source of encouragement to be able to produce these performances on certain occasions. I feel fortunate to have BMC membership and pleased to have clocked a time at one of their meetings to justify it. I go on holiday on 5th July and this was the big target race this side of the summer. It couldn't have gone better.
I was travelling solo and, in a bit of forward planning, stayed in Carlisle the night before then drove the rest of the way at my leisure the next day. Driving on my own into a big city was stressful, especially with another concert at the Etihad increasing the congestion. As far as I cared, One Direction could head in one direction, as far from me as possible. Leaving out the dramas I faced, the short story is, despite getting a little lost at one point, I arrived safely with time to spare.
I would have some support since Charlie and Carol Ann Thomson from the club were in attendance with their son Ryan who was doing a 1500m. I had a goal of 70 second laps in mind as I took to the start line just before 6pm. This would give me a time of 14:35. A tall order but you never know until you try.
I realised the quality of the race when I found myself in last position after 200m. I hit the target time after 400m though so no panic. I overtook a few athletes which gave me some confidence and, after 6 laps (2400m), had hit every 400m split spot on. I was really working though. I went through halfway in about 7:18.
I battled on, placed around the middle of the field on the coattails of the main group. I always find the 3rd quarter of a 5000m tough because the finish still feels so far away. I broke away from a couple of athletes but the pace at the front of the field was simply too fast for me and I couldn't get up with them. I found myself isolated with gaps in front of me and behind. I was in a lot of discomfort, struggling and slipped down to 72 second laps.
Encouragement from the Thomsons did keep me going though my mind played tricks on me as I thought I had dropped to over 14:50 pace. That was no good. I found another gear in the last kilometre and, with Charlie's encouragement at the 200m start especially, got a second wind. I realised, with 200m to go, a sprint finish would result in a personal best. I somehow produced a 32 second 200m to finish in 14:46.44 and better my previous best, from Bedford in 2012, by 2 seconds. It wasn't pretty, it certainly wasn't easy, but it proved effective. While too exhausted to show it, I felt brilliant. I finished 8th from 16 finishers in a race won in a time of 14:28.89.
After a warm down, chat with the Thomsons and shower, I wanted to get out the congestion and on the road home and, since I didn't feel like eating immediately, set off with the plan to stop off on route. After an hour on the road, I stopped at services near Lancaster for a dinner of champions- a Double Whopper meal at Burger King. I also picked myself up a couple of bottles of beer and was home in time (midnight) to enjoy them.
On reflection, it's a huge source of encouragement to be able to produce these performances on certain occasions. I feel fortunate to have BMC membership and pleased to have clocked a time at one of their meetings to justify it. I go on holiday on 5th July and this was the big target race this side of the summer. It couldn't have gone better.