Sod the wind, I'm still going to do it by Rozlynmac

Yup. Out of the blue, totally unplanned, unhoped for & unexpected (so much so it took about half an hour afterwards before it dawned on me), I beat my 10k time & got myself a new PB.

59.03.78 (or 59.04 on the official race record). Previously it was 59.52 in 2008.

So, the Daliburgh 10k! The day started with an 8am phone call (planned) which took an hour, then I had to deliver OH to the croft before heading south. It was 10.20am-ish when I dropped him off, registration was 11am, race setting off at 11.30am & I had a 30 min drive. Immediately before 11am I was pulling in to Daliburgh & looking for the hall where registration was taking place. Found the hall & it was deserted.....more than a little stressing as I was worried registration would close before I found wherever they'd gone. Drove on a little, turned around & headed back & spotted a woman I know who I knew would be running. U-turn & followed her, only to discover she'd lost the registration area too. Fortunately a local pointed us to the school which was only a few hundred yards away.

This race is hosted by a JogScotland group, which has quite a high membership for such a rural area, so it was well attended, with lots of people registering for the 2.3 mile fun run also. But they don't do numbers, they just take your name as you cross the finish line (which I think I forgot to do!!) 40 people ran the 10k this year, which is their record so far (3rd year of race).

The start line was back out on the road, about 100 yards from the school so we all toddled up led by the Jog Scotland leaders. It was freezing! Winter has arrived up here it seems - it was the sort of cold that forces you to *not* inhale through your mouth 'cos it hurts. I also had a tension spot in my calf which was bugging me. And under the circumstances worrying me that the cold would cause me to pull the muscle - cue lots of massaging & poking.

I have a mental block about 10ks, Inside my head I refuse to accept taking more than an hour - I've finished one in just over the hour and I only just managed to rationalise that. I just can't accept that I can finish slower - but with the experience of the 1/2 haunting me, I wasn't sure I could do anything better than 10 min/miles. So I lined up thinking the hour would be nice, but not overly optimistic. And when we set off, I tried very hard not to run off too quickly and wear myself out.

And this is where it gets weird....I checked my watch shortly after we set off & I was doing about 9.35ish. It felt ok, but I was a little concerned, so I tried to ease back until I felt comfortable. Then I ignored the watch. At mile 1 I glanced at my pace to discover I'd done 9.49. Still felt comfortable so tried not to worry, but also to try & keep it easy so I wasn't accidentally speeding up. In a wee race like this the field spread out pretty quickly. The front runners were already out of sight and I was running in a group of a dozen or so, spread out over a few yards. As we approached mile 2 I was feeling really good & beginning to pick off one or two of the others. Mile 2 beeped at 9.38 and I allowed myself to think 'ooh, a second to spare' because the training partner had told me I'd need to run 9.39 to make the hour (at which point I'd switched it back to  normal mode 'cos I wasn't letting a bloody computer beat me). It still was on my mind that I was pushing it too hard & was going to suffer, so again I tried to ease off, but as we approached the 3 mile marker (and the only water station), I was still slowly gaining on the few people ahead of me in reasonable distance. Mile 3 came in a 9.46 at which point I began to daydream that my hour might be a possibility. And still I felt comfortable. Now we were half way I was relaxing about my pace because even if I tired, I was 'nearly there' :). Mile 3 takes you off the road and onto Machair - the route was on a track, but largely sandy - so the going was a little tougher & I tried to ensure I wasn't labouring and tried to find the firmer ground which meant dodging back & forth a little. I kind of got into a wee zone about now & forgot where I was really - maybe a stupid thing given the scenery, but I was actually enjoying the running so much my brain wandered off. Miles 3-5 were largely on the machair track, coming off onto paved track near the end of mile 5. So I was expecting my times for 4 & 5 to drop slightly, instead I got 9.23 and 9.31. I was trying to do maths in my head as I ran, trying to recall my pace for the first couple of miles & work out how many seconds I had to spare if it all went kerplooey on the last mile. But the wandered off brain didn't want to come back 'cos it was still enjoying itself. Mile 6 was a bit more of a struggle - not that I was struggling, just that I was aware that it wasn't quite so easy as the previous had been & that it was me tiring not me speeding up that was the issue. As we approached the last  1/4 of the 6th mile, there were 2 people ahead of me who I was very slowly catching. I was pondering whether or not I would actually catch them, when the closest stopped to re-tie her laces - I actually felt slightly guilty as I passed her, but cheered up when she didn't immediately sprint past me 30 seconds later . Which left the big bloke ahead of me - I didn't think I was close enough to him to make up the distance, but I did knock a hefty dent in it. Just as he hit the 6 mile marker someone yelled 'hurry up Donald' to him from the roadside & he glanced back towards me - after the finish he actually told me that I'd kept him going - he obviously didn't fancy being beaten by me in the last few yards :). I didn't check my pace at the 6 mile point, but I finally allowed myself to check my time, it said 57.33 and I thought 'ok, 2 and a half minutes to do the rest' - being able to see the finish line helped. I know I began to pick up the pace, but I was still cautious that even this close, I could blow it.

The finish line was the start point, and all those who'd already finished were standing around clapping home the rest of us, I could see the woman with the stop watch in her hand watching me, and I could see the woman with the clipboard and our name list watching me and all I could think about was breaking the hour...I had to make it, by this point I knew I'd never forgive myself but was probably subconsciously aware that blowing it was highly improbably so long as I didn't fall flat on my face....and as my hand reached for the garmin to hit stop I heard her say 59.04.....

And there was joy in the world!

I glanced down at my watch & saw that it agreed with her.

Now for the really really lovely bit - once everyone was in, or once most were in, people began wandering back to the school. And in the hall, laid out on the dining tables were sandwiches and scones with jam, and scones with cheese (a hebridean thing) and pancakes and meringues. And the most delicious hot hot sweet tea. All homemade, and all for the benefit of the runners. So everyone got stuck in & sat around chatting and relaxing, with their medals around their necks. It was such a cool way to finish a race and a great way to recover too - homebaking, you can't fault it.

I had to leave before the prize giving, as the kids had been alone since I'd left at 10am, but I did hear that the guy who won it did it in 40 mins. It's a great course, largely flat, with a few small hilly bits. The off-road bit isn't challenging in any way, just a wee quirk with great scenery. Despite the rural aspect, plenty locals plonked themselves around the course to cheer on family and friends & were just as supportive of everyone else - especially the women 'hiding' behind the cemetery wall & scaring the daylights out of runners oblivious to their presence . I'll definitely do it again, and maybe see if I can bag myself another PB. lol.

oh - and I finally got round to checking my pace on mile 6 - 9.21, and for the final wee bit.....7.40 min/miles (shame I can't keep that up for more than a 1/4 mile!!)

I've added a load of screen shots from google maps to show the route.

That's the start line, the teeny bit in red says 'start'. The next one should be out onto the main road....

And And then off the road towards Askernish golf course (an Old Tom Morris for those who care)

Then left turn at the 3 mile mark and onto the machair track

More machair

Should say you can't see the shore/sea from the track as the green to the left of the yellow line is actually grass covered sand dunes.

Back onto road & heading home....

Hope you enjoyed the satellite tour. Sorry the scale changes, it was the only way I could make sense of the route.