It was one of those events where I 100% would not have done it if we hadn’t raced for five months because of lockdown, but like every other athlete in the country I was chomping at the bit to get the taste of race day again. I had absolutely no idea what shape I was in for 5k and I entered this race one week into starting a new training block post the marathon with new coach James Thie. I had four weeks of easy running to recover from the marathon and just started to include some grass sessions when The Podium 5k announced, so in hindsight I have absolutely no idea why I even entered, I just didn’t want to miss out on the first endurance race back on the UK roads.
Fast-forward three further weeks of training, not even doing anything 5k specific, just one grass session and a tempo plus hill sprints session per week I knew I was in half decent shape, mainly due to the strength and aerobic base I gained from the marathon training block and just including some training at the sharp end was going to get me semi-ready for a 5k. On the week of the race itself I did my first 5k related session – 5 x 1k + 5 x 200m averaging 2:47 for the 1ks (around 5second GPS advantage) and 30 seconds for the 200s and at that point I knew if I ran a solid race I was going to be around road PB territory (14.35 compared to 14.06 on the track).
On the day of the race I was strangely very nervous, to the point where I was shaking and couldn’t eat. Very out of character for me but I think this was mainly because of the fear of the unknown, not knowing what shape I was actually in and also knowing that the race I was in was attempting to break the British record (13:27), so it was going to be outrageously fast.
Getting into the race itself, the first 1k was ridiculous for a combination of two things – the first km at the front was sub 2:40 and having not done much speed work at all I found myself struggling to cling on to the back in 2.46. I remember praying that the first 1k was too fast otherwise I knew it was going to be a very long uncomfortable race. After this, the pace settled and I managed to sit in a nice group of five, where we ticked off the next couple of k’s at a sensible pace, going through the 3k mark in 8.34. I knew a PB was still on, but because it was a breezy night I was reluctant to take the pace on but still found myself at the front as I knew the pace had slackened. I was correct, our 4th k was the slowest by far in 2.59. Panic started to kick in again as I knew if the last section of the race was slow, I would have blown my chances at a road PB. Coming into the final stretch I could see the clock in the distance, and just as I realised I was going to be around my PB, the infamous Matt Bowser sit and kick was being implemented on me as he seemed to cruise past me. Putting up a decent fight I only just lost out to him by 1 second, but this friendly competitive final sprint in the last 200m probably chipped another 5 seconds off my time. Going through the line clocking 14:25 was a huge relief and I was very pleased having PB’d in anything for the first time in two years. Even more satisfied knowing that I had barely done any 5k related work and excited that I know I can run even quicker if I do train properly for it! In the same race the 5k British record had been demolished too by 7 seconds in which Marc Scott clocked an impressive time of 13:20. One story to tell the future grandchildren for sure, I was part of this race which is pretty cool thinking about it! Most importantly I really enjoyed the race and having a catch up with a few fellow competitors.
The past couple of weeks I’ve been in Font Romeu doing some altitude training and just enjoying life really before starting teacher training. I have no races planned for the future so I’m just going to train as if cross country season is going ahead as normal and stay fit for when races do come back properly in full flow. I’m really excited to see where working with my new coach, James Thie, will take me as my confidence has grown already having just PB’d. Just one phone call with him made me understand how much of a great coach he is and all the ‘small wins’ he was excited to implement in my training has reignited my passion for the sport and desire to improve. Keep up the good training everyone, it will be all worth it!
