The slightly wet day was Thursday when it was interval training. Although there was no precipitation falling from the sky it was very wet underfoot with rivers running down the roads. And the second day this week of drying trainers.
I'd clocked some good (and consistent) interval times on Thursday and Friday was payback day with heavy legs and aching muscles. The deadlegs continued on Saturday for Parkrun which had the added advantage of cold thrown into the weather mix - long sleeves and gloves in June!
With a week of heavy rain the parkrun course had standing water in places which was hard to miss. This week was an easy effort with a time several minutes outside my PB.
On Thursday the weather forecast for Sunday had been dry in the morning with heavy showers after lunch. This optimistic forecast meant I signed up for Bourton Road Runners hilly 10k race. The forecast remained optimistic until Saturday evening when it changed to light showers in the morning. By Sunday it had changed again to heavy continuous rain and the conditions did not disappoint. Waterproofs were needed to get from the car park to the check in.
The start was marked by shivering runners huddled under a few trees for shelter. The race started by heading up The Steeps. As in previous times (when the event was known as Humph's Hilly Half and there wasn't a 10k option) I walked most of the first mile. Despite walking I still managed to overtake a number of runners on the hill.
The heavy rain continued until about mile 3 when it eased to a steady drizzle. By that time I'd nicely warmed up and was finally able to take off my waterproof jacket.
The last mile of the race was particularly unpleasant under foot with deep puddles and mud. Plus the occasional car parked on the pavement. By the finish I had mud to the knees and my socks and trainers looked like I'd done a cross country race rather than a road race - Muddy is a State of Happiness 😊
Based on my Parkrun PB my predicted 10k time (depending on which formula you use) was between 55 and 56 minutes. Add in the need to walk on The Steeps and I'd told myself anything under 58 minutes would be good. In the end I was over a minute quicker than the fastest predicted time which was very satisfying. Which justified celebrating with a cup of tea and very nice piece of vegan cake at the finish - as well as changing into my nice new, bright orange finishers t-shirt.
The original training schedule (before I had the mad idea of entering a 10k race) said 9 miles on Sunday which meant another easy couple of miles just before lunch. Overall a few miles down on the mileage target for the week but given the weather not too bad.
This week's stats:
20.76 miles
295m elevation gained
Le Jog: 530 miles - reached Falkirk
And a badge from a week or so ago. Who knew there was a Global Running Day?
