Vernon’s 5k – Race 4 – I won a Trophy!

Finally, the last race in the series has arrived. 

My aim for entering this series of 5k races was to see how much improvement I could gain through hard training and the plan was to get progressively faster throughout the series, however it didn’t quite go to plan.

To recap:

At the first race back in April, I managed a time of 23.21.  This was a minute off my 5k PB so I was over the moon and didn’t expect to get to a time like this until the last race. 

On race 2 I was full of a cold and had a bad back so my time was incredibly poor compared to the first one and I came in at 24.27, over a minute slower!  

At race 3 in June, where I was joined by Erica, I had another poor run but had no real excuse for this one.  My time was slightly better than in race 2 but still a lot worse than the first race at 24.14.

Erica joined me again for tonight’s final race and was second lady in 21.54.  I had a much better run tonight coming in at 23.47.  It was still a little slower than my first race but I was pleased with it as I had measured the distance a little further this time so my average pace was pretty much the same as the first race.  I wasn’t too disappointed with the fact that I hadn’t got faster though, despite the hard training, as I know I could have done better.  I felt quite comfortable throughout the race but was too scared to push faster in case I burned out and ended up slowing right down.  Hindsight says I should have just gone for it.

I have to wonder whether the fact I had done so well on race 1 got me complacent for the other races in the series.  The goal for the series was to get to a sub 24 minute time by the end of the four races, but I did this by quite a long way in the first race so maybe subconsciously I wasn’t bothered what happened after that.  Who knows how the mind works!

After the race, I went into the club house to put on a top with a view to then doing a cool down but I noticed that the free pie and peas were already being served and I was ravenous so the cool down was quickly dismissed.  I sat with a bloke called Nigel who has been at all four races and we were soon joined by Erica who, being a true athlete, had gone for a cool down. 

Shortly after the pie and peas came the presentation.  Erica had come second tonight and won a bottle of wine.  I had come third lady overall in the series which I was over the moon about, especially because there was actually competition and I didn’t just win by default like when I win the club champs.  There were at least ten other ladies who had competed in all four races so I was really pleased that I got third place and a lovely little purple and gold trophy.  This is the first trophy I have ever won which I don’t have to give back after a year.  

Erica said she was gutted that she didn’t do the whole series.  I’m not gutted.  If Erica had done it all I wouldn’t have won my little trophy.  Sorry Erica, remember that word I taught you – schadenfreude!

Photos by Erica Booth

Total distance – 3.1 miles plus warm up of approx. 1.5 miles