I left my house at 8.45am as I knew that I needed to get to Upper Tean, on the other side of Cheadle for the St Thomas’s 7 mile road race which started at 10.30am. I am glad I left early as my satnav took me to Stone which I drove round twice, then in the direction of Leek before I realised that I was on the wrong road.
After stopping several people I finally found my way to Upper Tean. As I turned into
Cavendish Drive (start of the race) I was a bit alarmed to see no cars, I was told that the school was further up the road. By this time I was really getting frustrated and wanted to cry as It was only 8 minutes to the start of the race. To say I was cutting it fine was a total understatement!!! I finally got to the car park with 3 minutes to spare. I still to get my number and pins and then was told to go out the gate, turn right, go behind houses, through a hole in a hedge and the start line was on a hill. I got there 30 seconds before the gun went off.
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| This is at the 2 mile mark (which was also part of the Cheadle 4 route) |
After stopping several people I finally found my way to Upper Tean. As I turned into
Cavendish Drive (start of the race) I was a bit alarmed to see no cars, I was told that the school was further up the road. By this time I was really getting frustrated and wanted to cry as It was only 8 minutes to the start of the race. To say I was cutting it fine was a total understatement!!! I finally got to the car park with 3 minutes to spare. I still to get my number and pins and then was told to go out the gate, turn right, go behind houses, through a hole in a hedge and the start line was on a hill. I got there 30 seconds before the gun went off.
I was knackered before I even started, and to top it all I did a Jason, no warm up, no toilet stop, no water bottle, no sweets and no vaseline. I saw a few of the people I run against and they looked fresh, unlike me. I managed to stay with Lesley and Gail for the first mile which was hilly and the second was undulating. Most of the race was through country lanes and there was hardly any traffic. The wind was strong and I prayed it would get behind me (at least my hubby would get some sailing done in Bala). When I got to the 3 mile stage I had to do a Paula Radcliffe and run behind a very big tree (twice) then my laces came undone so another stop. This race was a tough one, (so I asked John to give me a good push). Describing it as undulating doesn’t do it justice. It was flaming hilly. My legs were like lead and I was not enjoying this race at all. When I got to mile 5 it was downhill but as I looked up I could see “F man” in front on me on the hill. I thought ”I have to catch him” but alas today was not my day and he was a good ¼ mile in front of me until the finish. The last mile was virtually all downhill until you took a sharp left turn and then had to run up a bank into the school.
I received a nice t-shirt, a bag of oatcakes and some little bars of chocolate. As I got to the car park I notice my car window was down. In my hurry to get to the start I forgot to put up my window. All my belongings, and the stupid satnav were sitting on the front seat where I had left them. Would I do this race again, only if I could improve on hills.
My time for the race was 68 minutes (or there abouts). It was also my 10th in the NSRRA League (I still have 2 more to do to count for any points). Not what I wanted to do but my legs would not work today. Definitely more hill training for me.
For more inforrmation, visit the website.
Liz