Road to Nowhere

This is last year’s 10k but you get the jist

The mantra for Sunday’s 10k was ‘It’s only a 10k’ I have previously turned up at the race and been a bit sniffy about the hoopla for a course that’s shorter than my usual distance. Yet I was surprisingly nervous about the race despite there being nothing at stake. I was coughing and a spluttering as Sian and I walked down to the start line. It was a gorgeous sunny day and Sian had decided to walk the course. It was the fuss on the day I usually associate with a half or a full marathon, but I’ll stop going on.

Even after my usual pre-race slash at the Hilton added with a crafty pre start line pee I found - much to my exasperation - that I needed a slash again when the start gun went off. So I spent the first half looking for a toilet. Maybe as a result I got a good time, I found the pace comfortable and hovered around the 6:35ish mark as I ran down Castle Street. There were a lot of supporters out this year which of course helped. I really needed a pee as I ran up Cathedral Road. I knew there was a toilet in Llandaff Fields so I quickly nipped in. That hobbled my time a tad but I sped up a tad and regained a respectable pace until I had to stop briefly to reattach my race number. We got to the end of Sophia Gardens and back out to the final stretch and a sprint finish.

I crossed the finish line at 42:56 which is pretty good, a 10k PB? Dunno, I don’t take much notice cause it’s only a 10k after all. After the finish line I grabbed medal, a t-shirt and a pack of Walkers salt and vinegar crisps (I love you Cardiff) . I did subsequently find out that I was around 40 seconds faster than last year which cheered me up no end, all in all it was an encouraging warm up for the Cardiff Half in a month.