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Running the Sherston 10K

This was my first 10K race. I had only run this distance a few times in training so was not sure what time to aim for or how I would cope.

It was a very hot day so I knew it would be important to remain hydrated. I made sure I drank a fair amount prior to the race, and took plenty of sips from my bottle during the first part of the course. However, I made the mistake of drinking too much water and could feel and hear the water gurgling and churning in my empty stomach- not a nice feeling!

In terms of the run I got off to a confident start, and was running at a good speed. Some way into the race I noticed people in front of me were veering back and forth between the left and right side of the road. It took I while for me to realise they were doing it to get in the shade provided by some trees and out of the scorching sun. I quickly followed their lead!

The course was quite hilly in places, and up to this point in my training I had done very little hill work. About two miles into the race I was disappointed to be in desperate need of walking break due to heat and sheer exhaustion. I completed the race from that point by doing intervals of running and walking - a very inefficient way to race.

I finally completed the course in 65 minutes, which I was really pleased with considering the heat. However I was certainly not pleased with the way I had run, or rather run and walked it.

It was this experience that convinced me to try training with a heart rate monitor.

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