PWR 10k(Petts Wood, Raining)

It's the Petts Wood Runners members 10k (my running club). Basically a 10k Race around the streets of Petts Wood in a route so complex, unless you ran there every Tuesday night you wouldn't have a clue. Marshalling is minimal, provided by Richard and Anne.

I'd set my heart on running this earlier in the week. My 10k PB is currently 53". This is ridiculous. On my way to the Reading Half PB (Well done Andy, still proud of you) I had run 10k in 49 minutes. It was time to set the record straight.

I wake up Sunday morning and it is raining hard, very hard. You get nowhere by quitting, so I decided to go for it. The atmosphere before the race is jovial. I tell Richard I plan to run a PB in an act of bravado. He needs a stopwatch to time the race and asks to borrow my Garmin. This is fine, but means running the race blind.

The race starts rapidly. After the first few km I am still in touch with the leaders, partly through fear of losing the route. At one point we cross a railway bridge with lots of steps. 5k in, the run up Birchwood Road almost breaks me, but given that I have braved the weather, I keep pushing. The loop round Kingsway also makes me suffer. Suddenly I can hear someone closing me down, but still to far to identify them.

At the end of the loop I see Liz standing marshalling, despite seeing her start the race. She ran the marathon last week and has obviously decided to quit. I ask her:
"Finished already?"
She ignores me and directs me in the right directiong. Gradually Emma and Sabina, who have been stalking me for some time, draw level. I know they are faster than me, but I think they are unsure of the route. We run together for a while, exchanging a little banter, but then as we near the finish they edge further clear. They are on more of training run but it has helped push me on.

Finally into the recreation ground, and I sprint the last 200m. I always sprint, as the sprint comes from different muscles and a different mental place. It shaves a few crucial seconds.

As I cross the line, I shout
"What was the time?"
Without the garmin I am blind
The time shocks me,
"Are you sure?"
And they are.

A tricky, hilly course, in heavy, heavy rain. Yesterday was spent in hard manual labour(for me) laying a new lawn.

10k 48"07 (PB)