There will be a couple of posts this week, as I have been a little bit lazy writing the race reviews. The reason? I have been the opposite of lazy regarding the running. I raced 5 times in 26 days in May:
- Watford Half Marathon
- London Spring 10K
- Missing People Clapham 10K
- BUPA London 10K
- Luxembourg Night Marathon (Half)
And the great thing is, that the last two races I didn’t feel any pain or discomfort, I could have powered on to PBs, but instead chose to finish strong, well and healthy.
The BUPA London 10K
Oh, you know I love it. 2 years ago this was the first race I ever ran and two years later I still love it. The route may have changed slightly, but really, it is the same race although this time there was no Mo Farah to witness my improvement which I am quite proud of:
2012: 1 hour 7
2013: 1 hour 2
2014: 56 mins
The Route
You do have to love the route: Buckingham Palace through Admiralty Arch, by Trafalgar Square and Nelson’s column to the Embankment (Slight diversion onto Royal Horseguards this year), along the Embankment to St Paul, through the city by the Bank of England and Royal Exchange, Leadenhall Market, down onto the Embankment and back again.
Huge crowd, lots of support, a massive field and a great time had by all.
How I did
It is 58:27 because it did include the extra 400 meters of ambling, my actual time for 10K was 56:07, 2 seconds slow of my PB using the Nike+ GPS watch. And that included:
- Stopping to stamp when I got pins and needles so bad I couldn’t feel my left foot. I was wearing brand new, and clearly too big, New Balance 1080s, size 9.5 4E. I have since discovered that the 9.5s 2E are ideal, having tries the 9s, the 2E, the 4E and the 9.5s.
- Toilet break at KM 4 where a guy just barged in front of me, despite there being an orderly queue.
- Stopping to chat with the Pancreatic Research UK cheerleading team at KM7 on the way back.
- Walking from time to time around the water tables.
I finished strong, healthy, other than a bruised heel on my left. The larger shoes being a mistake that has already been rectified.
The Bling
The other BUPA races have pretty terrible race bling. Great West, South, North, Yorkshire all have the same. BUPA London is always special. And this year, the 7th running, was no exception.
I am not disappointed with the medal. It is unique and in-keeping with others before it. Good to see the back used with the course map too.
Nice goodie bag of SWAG and a t-shirt.
Disappointed in the lack of photographs from MarathonFoto. I only had two from the end when I was walking around with my bag. Also confused as to why BUPA sent me three numbers and not just the one. Ah well, all for a good cause I suppose.
So to recap, this was my 42nd race in 2 calendar years of running, the third time I had run the BUPA London 10K and I loved it. Would I recommend it? Of course! Would I run it again? Try and stop me!
Runners Knees 