Race: Run Frimley – Frimley Park Hospital Charity
Distance: 10km
Date: 3rd May 2015
Result: Chip time: 46:49, Finish time: 46:55
Goals and Objectives: The Frimley 10km was my first race of any kind for eight years and really I just wanted to have a solid run to get an idea of my current level of fitness and find out what kind of pace I might be capable of.
Weather conditions: Cool with just a few spots of rain towards the end of the event.
Course/Road Conditions: An undulating urban road course around Frimley and Camberley in Surrey.
Rating the Race/Event: The race organisation was excellent with plenty of marshals and good signposting where needed.
Race/Event Details: I lined up in the ‘under 50 minutes’ start area and looking around at the athletes in the same area this seemed about right. I started steadily and tried to maintain a fairly even pace throughout. The course included four main uphill sections which makes pace comparison difficult but I think I maintained a reasonably even effort throughout and was comfortable on the first couple of inclines. I felt quite strong for the first 4km but by the 7km point I was feeling pretty tired. At 8km my quadriceps were definitely beginning to feel the effects of the pace and hills.
Pros: Excellent organisation in general, great crowd support, efficient results service, useful bag-drop facility
Cons: Somewhat disorganised toilet provision, poor goodie bag (which included a hotel branded soap that was 2 years past its use-by date!)
Lessons Learned: I wore a long sleeve base-layer under my t-shirt and this was a little too warm by the end of the race. My On Cloudrunner shoes were pretty comfortable but made some very annoying squeaking noises either from the wet road or from being wet themselves. I am still suffering from slight blisters on my third toe on each foot despite trying different socks – I suspect it is due to the design of the shoes so I will have to start looking for an alternative.
The Numbers: The Kilometre splits I recorded during the race were:
1km: 4.26
2km: 4.27
3km: 4.53
4km: 4.53
5km: 4.26
6km: missed the marker!
7km: 9.08
8km: 5.02
9km: 4.49
10km: 4.47
