I signed up for the Women’s Running Magazine 10k race way back in November and it soon came around. On 31st May the day had arrived and it was raining.
The race was in Bute Park, Cardiff so most of the 10k was on tarmac except for the start and finish which were on grass. Grass! I hate running on grass! It’s harder and it was wet and soggy so my trainers became wet and soggy immediately. I had to run 10k with wet and soggy trainers and socks on.
Pegasus girlies ready to run!
Early birds…
Natalie and I were there nice and early so managed to bag ourselves a freebie!
Another water bottle to add to the collection
Nessa from Gavin & Stacey (AKA Ruth Jones) joined us for the run. She was recovering from an injury so only did the 5K race whereas Natalie and I were signed up for the 10K!
Oh… what’s occurring?
‘Selfie’ with a celebrity!
Anyone who knows me knows that I love pink. Any shade of pink is fine but I prefer hot pink or baby pink. So you can guess how happy I was when I saw the baby pink port-a-loo!
One just for girls!
The start…
After the 2nd toilet stop of the morning it was time for the race to start. Natalie and I queued up and started the race at a good pace. Not too fast but not too slow!
The race was 2 laps around Bute Park and I hate laps. I hate knowing on lap 1 that I’ve got to run the same bastard lap again before I can finish and eat cake.
Our running buddy John came to cheer us on and shouted helpful things like “stop waving and run faster” “you can run faster than that” etc etc. Near the end of the race he clearly saw the pain on my face and gave a cheery “looking good girls” to spur us on.
I completed 2 x 5 mile races in May and thought “what’s an extra mile?” Well, I’m hear to tell you that the extra mile is pain, that’s what an extra mile is!
Me during the last mile
Mile 5 hurt. Oh my god it hurt. Feet hurt. Back hurt. My everything hurt and I just wanted to stop and lay down on the floor.
What I wanted to do!
The finish…
Luckily for me Natalie was a superstar and kept going and I was determined to keep up with her. I started to fall back a little bit during the last half mile so had to stretch out my legs to catch her again. She clearly took this as a sign that I wanted to run faster and kept speeding up!
We completed the race in 62:07 and 62:12, I was only 5 seconds behind her and so happy with my time.
Yay!
The text came through before I had even collected my medal and goodie bag! Natalie and I finished about halfway through the pack which was a massive achievement for me, I’m usually a lot nearer the end of the results list! I felt amazing!
OK my race wasn’t that good but it was a lot longer!
OK so it wasn’t as long as this but felt it!
Natalie and I hit the Women’s Running Magazine 10k race podium for our photo shoot!
Happy Pegasus Girlies!
My Women’s Running Magazine 10k race medal is my favourite medal so far
And the goodie bag was awesome! Everything in it is useful!
And we got a free technical t-shirt!
Score!
Winston wanted to get in on the action…
I do looks handsome!
I had a bath when I got home and realised how much I was aching
Good plan lady!
The rest of my race day consisted of sitting down and eating everything I could get my hands on!
Must. Eat. All. The. Food!
It was a fantastic race day and I loved it even though it hurt like hell! This running lark is addictive especially when you get a medal, t-shirt and goodie bag for your trouble!
