Hunny Bell XC
So Sunday was the first proper race of the year for me, the Hunny Bell cross country in aid of Break. The early ish start did seem like a mistake especially when there was a very brief hail shower. Fortunately at registration there were hot drinks available so my warm up mainly consisted of a cuppa, standing by the heater and deciding which cake to have once finished.
The route this year was the reverse of previous years and the first time chip timing has been used. I was looking forward to the route in reverse as the bottleneck at the start would be eliminated. On the downside I was convinced we would have this to run up to the finish.
Note to self read the route map a little more closely next time.
It was nice to see a few familiar faces on the start line before we were off.
I started close to the rear of the field as I have a habit of going off like a rocket then blowing up half a mile down the road. Plus the training plan I'm using for the London marathon had me running wed, thi, fri and sat this week so my legs had some miles in them already. Once through the boggy bit in the first mile the route goes into nice farm tracks which were pretty firm underfoot and easy to get into a nice rhythm and I increased my pace. I was pleased with the start as I'd avoided the usual charge off like a headless chicken start and felt strong around the entire course. Constantly picking up my pace and passing people regularly. The section through the woods felt good and I maintained pace nicely. The sun was fully out now and apart from a chilly wind the event had pretty much perfect weather.
The second lap I spent picking off runners in front of me and focused on maintaining an even pace. I even managed a little sprint finish which probably had all the grace of a baby giraffe running but seemed to do the trick seeing me home in a time of 38:54. An improvement of 6 mins on the last time I ran this and no wet feet either!
After returning my timing chip in exchange for a medal it was back to the village hall and to smash into the slab of excellent carrot cake and another cuppa.
I thought the event was again very well organised, all the Marshalls were friendly and smiley. Roll on next year.
The route this year was the reverse of previous years and the first time chip timing has been used. I was looking forward to the route in reverse as the bottleneck at the start would be eliminated. On the downside I was convinced we would have this to run up to the finish.
Note to self read the route map a little more closely next time.
I started close to the rear of the field as I have a habit of going off like a rocket then blowing up half a mile down the road. Plus the training plan I'm using for the London marathon had me running wed, thi, fri and sat this week so my legs had some miles in them already. Once through the boggy bit in the first mile the route goes into nice farm tracks which were pretty firm underfoot and easy to get into a nice rhythm and I increased my pace. I was pleased with the start as I'd avoided the usual charge off like a headless chicken start and felt strong around the entire course. Constantly picking up my pace and passing people regularly. The section through the woods felt good and I maintained pace nicely. The sun was fully out now and apart from a chilly wind the event had pretty much perfect weather.
The second lap I spent picking off runners in front of me and focused on maintaining an even pace. I even managed a little sprint finish which probably had all the grace of a baby giraffe running but seemed to do the trick seeing me home in a time of 38:54. An improvement of 6 mins on the last time I ran this and no wet feet either!
After returning my timing chip in exchange for a medal it was back to the village hall and to smash into the slab of excellent carrot cake and another cuppa.
I thought the event was again very well organised, all the Marshalls were friendly and smiley. Roll on next year.
Comments