Jack Crawford 10k

RESULTS

The last two 10Ks that I have done have both resulted in PBs for me so I was looking forward to this 10K.  It is a flat course but being along a canal can get muddy especially after a week of rain.  Unfortunately this was a week of rain and so my enthusiasm started to wain as the week went on.  Luckily Saturday morning was cold, very cold and so the mud would hopefully be frozen.

This was Debbie's first 10k in 9 months and in that time she has been getting faster so I was hopeful that she could get a PB too.

I decided that for this race I wanted to try and stay with Lindsay for as much as I could and maybe try to hang on to the back of him for a bit and hopefully pull me to a PB.

Squeezed my way to near the front with Lins and at 14:30 we were off.  The first half a Km is on roads but this is just to separate the runners out so there isn't a stampede on the canal.  Onto the canal I couldn't believe it.  I was in front of Lins and feeling great and the pace felt easy.  After 2Km though the pace caught up with me and I started to slow a bit.  Damn.  A beginners mistake.  Getting carried away at the start.  Soon Lins's group overtook me but I managed to hold on to the back of them.  The path was really icy and with the runners in front of me masking the view I wasn't seeing the icy patches until way to late.  One of the problems with this race is that when you get to Lambhill there is a couple of 90 degree turns and a few of those gates that are designed to stop cyclists flying along the canal at 30 mph or neds in cars driving along it and burning the cars.  They also stop runners running.   After negotiating this it is only about 2.5km to the end so I was on the finishing straight.  The last two 10Km I have had a good rivalry with Chris Upson who is also running the WHW race.  I was ahead of him by one place in the East Kilbride 10Km and he was one position ahead of me in the Nigel Barge.  So it was 1-1 at the moment and I was ahead.  Unfortunately he passed me with 1.5Km to go and beat me by one position again.

No problems though, I got another PB.  Woohoo.  34:48.  I had broken the 35min barrier and was in sight of Lins finishing.  Okay Chris is now 2-1 up but hey.  There is always the big one to even it up.  The WHW.

Now how was Debbie doing.  I didn't have any idea what time it was so I wasn't sure if she was on a PB or not.  I cheered her on at the finishing line with my fingers crossed that she was.  And she was!  A full minute faster than her time last year.  Two PBs in the Consani household.  We have a PB tin that we keep and everytime one of us gets a PB they have to put a tenner into it.  Two weeks into the New Year we were already £30 up.  Let's hope it continues and we get to treat ourselves at the end of the year.

One last thing, just want to say thanks to John and Ian for wishing us both all the best for the races today. :-)