Tara Kinder 10k

L’s murderous mood, nothing to do with me I hope, could produce a sub-50 time tonight. I’ll look forward to that. It’ll be prawn cocktails all round later then, although apparently that pre-race strategy is old hat. Tonight’s experiment is with rice pudding.

I leave work and walk the three miles or so to Elvaston Castle, while L gets the bus over. I have entered this one but I think I’m watching. I feel I ought to run but also feel it might be a bad idea. A gentle jog might do me good, but I don’t know how to gentle jog. My folks turn up to support, despite the fact I’m too decrepit to run it.

I seem to have supported at this event so many times but I’ve never ran it. Last year I was saving myself for Crich the next day, in previous years it’s clashed with the Erewash and/or Hathersage triathlons that I’ve run. This year was to be my year, pre falling off the bike that is. I think I’m destined not to be in this one.

It rains again as usual, so at least I’m out of that. As I’ve entered I still get to pick up my t-shirt, the bright fluorescent yellow race t-shirt. Nice.



So how does the rice pudding go. Pretty well actually. L’s quickest 10k since Barnsley in November and only one second off that.

L's Time: 00:57:16

Races: 20
Miles: 137.9
T-shirts: 10
Medals: 7
Mugs: 1
Plates: 1
Paperweights: 1
Bandanas: 1
Drinks Bottles: 1
Mars Bars: 1
Sticks Of Rock: 1

Sinfin Classic 10k

L's 6th race in her challenge. Today the Sinfin Classic 10k which is organised by Sinfin Running Club but rather confusingly isn’t held anywhere near Sinfin. Instead it’s at Elvaston Castle, which is a nice location but I think the race needs a better name.

We arrive early and join a rather long queue to collect out numbers. That hold up apart, it’s a well organised race, with plenty of friendly, encouraging marshals and an almost totally flat course. So in a way there’s PB potential here and I did dip just under 40 minutes here three years ago, which was a PB at the time.

I must have closed my eyes and my mind three years ago because this is really not my sort of race at all. I've become a nice smooth tarmac sort of person. Today we start off with speed bumps and smattering of pot holes to negotiate. Then we’re on to grit paths (not my favourite) for most of the rest of the route with a small respite to take us over some cobbles in the castle courtyard. It’s a new course this year and if I’d have changed the course, the first thing to have gone would have been the cobbles but perhaps that’s just me. I grimace and bear it.

I had considered that this might be the ‘one’ that I’ve been in training for but in the end I decide to designate this as another ‘training run’. I'll be awesome when I get to the event I’ve actually been training for.

They take us up along the river and up through the new road system that has been laid down for the new industrial park that doesn't have any industry on it. I notice they’ve started building even more roads on this land. I have no idea why and they probably haven’t either.

I go for a negative split and start with a 4:06km rather than the usual suicidal 3:40km. Doesn’t work though. I still get slower. I run the first half in 20:57 and the second half in 21:49. The second half is only as quick as that because I get a panic on that I’m not going to break 43 minutes. I do, by 14 seconds.

Just out of interest my splits three years ago were 19:38 and 20:20. Which was quicker but is another positive split.

Whilst I’m three minutes slower than three years ago, L is a similar amount faster but she’s not happy with her run either. She is happy though with the green t-shirt, well happier than me. Green is not really my colour, although granted it’s a vast improvement on the red long sleeved one of three years ago.

Time: 00:59:34

Races: 6
Miles: 51.7
T-shirts: 5
Medals: 2
Mugs: 1
Mars Bars: 1