Out of the frying pan ...

Newbold Comyn, Leamington Spa, 26/1/2008

Until now, I hadn’t really taken my XC training very seriously. In fact, until now I could probably tally up the number of training miles on my fingers! So the lead up to this race was something different for me. I found myself out at lunchtime in driving rain, hail, more rain and a few moments of sleet. So to say that this raised my expectations of the possibilities of my own performance would be a fair statement.

The field was huge, but I was lucky to get a nice spot just a few rows back from the line. The starter shouted a whole bunch of instructions that no-one bar the front row could hear above the thick din of anticipation, but it didn’t matter.

The gun went off and we were all scurrying and jostling for position. The field started very quickly, probably encouraged by the very good surface underfoot as we rounded a sports field. Quickly I realised that I was being sucked into the crazy pace and so, given that this was 12k as opposed to the usual 8k of the Oxford league races, I decided that it was better to rather tap off and conserve than kill myself too early.

There is nothing worse than being passed; feeling that you’re dropping down the order faster than a lump of lead. In retrospect I’ve come to realise that it was largely a function of the sheer size of the field, and the high standard of the competition that a small drop of pace meant being passed by so many runners, but at the time it just felt awful. I just had to keep telling myself to race my own race and to keep it steady until the finish was “in sight” at which time I could notch up the pace and take some places back.

The course was very fast and mostly flat bar a steep climb up “Beacon Hill” and, thankfully after Culham, the conditions were generally quite good. There were some nice tricky bits around trees and hedges which rewarded the agility and preserving momentum, and there was a nice mud splash; I quickly realised that I could gain an easy 10m through there by simply not tapping off. Everyone I followed in there would slow down and ease into it, I just went in full taps, made a big splash and exited a nearly full pace. It wasn’t very graceful, I got covered in muck and once nearly saw me face first in the mud, but it did feel good to have this weapon in my arsenal.

The first two laps seemed to take forever, but the last lap went by in a flash. Towards the end of the 2nd, I could almost smell the finish and I turned up the pace. Soon I started catching some of those lost places which felt great. But I was still feeling oddly disappointed with my speed as I out-sprinted two runners squabbling amongst themselves on my way to the line with a metre to spare.

Spotted the results today and now I’m feeling pretty chuffed with it after all. 181 of 379, 51’59” (4’20”/km). A minute faster than my projected time based on my previous performances (The Lore of Running, Tim Noakes – what a book). Our front runners, who usually easily win races in the Oxford league came in at 37th and 55th. Our team, top on the Oxford league, came it 10th out of over 30. So with the benefitof hindsight, I realise that the competition in this race was pretty strong, and that I did well to get the result I did, even if it didn’t feel like it at the time.

Next race is our club home event; it will be at Cirencester Park. Looking forward to it, the shorter distance should suit me well – I’m looking forward to a good result :-).