Ashford 5k Summer Series report

And so… on the 31st day of Juneathon, I cycled to the gym, did twenty minutes on the rowing machine, fifteen minutes on the stationary bike, a forty-five minute body pump class, cycled back home, submitted a story for a local event, started writing an article for submission to a magazine, went downstairs to read a book in the conservatory where I promptly fell asleep as it’s so warm in there, got woken up when Shaun came in who asked if I still wanted to do the 5k, as he didn’t really want to do it as he was knackered from cycling to and from work all week, but I wanted to do it because it was local and because I’ve never done a properly measured 5k before and because it was a lovely sunny evening and it was being held in a nice park and so we drove over to the park where there was a girl in her underwear and men doing stretches and things, i.e. proper athletes, and so I held off from entering as there were only a few people there and after seeing the results for Staplehurst 10k where the final finisher finished in only 1 hour and 12 minutes, I was scared I’d be last but we paid our entry fee and the race director said to me oh Cathy, we’ve got the medals now if you want one and I said for the Hamstreet race? and he said yes and I thought how does he know who I am and I said did you see it on my blog? and he said yes, it’s a good blog and I said thank you and thought, yay, I’m famous and then Shaun wanted to go to the toilet but the toilets were closed even though the race organisers had organised for them to be open and so we drove back home again and went to the toilet then drove back to the race and there were a couple of women carrying pink water bottles and I thought surely I can beat women who carry pink water bottles round a 5k and I set Cedric to pace me for 11 minute miles although I thought this was probably a bit optimistic, given my current running speed and we all walked up to the start and I said to Shaun I think it’s a couple of laps round the park and a man next to us said yes, it’s a couple of laps and I said I’ll follow you then if you know the way, how fast do you go and he said oh, only 17 minutes and I think only? and I say, I’m not following you then and then the race started and it started on a nice downhill bit and everyone sprinted off and then I slowed down and fell into a consistent pace and I kept ahead of Cedric all the way and there were marshals in all the right places except for the one in the middle of the slightly slopey bit really big hill as I don’t like to walk past marshals and so I had to run up the really big hill so as not to look like a lightweight in front of the marshal and the last two miles were spent behind a man who seemed to be plodding gently along and I overtook him for a bit then with .4 miles to go he steamed ahead of me for his final sprint and I thought I’m not going to try and catch you up as that really big hill is just around the corner and as I get to the hill for the second and final time one of the women with the pink water bottles is just behind me and I think fuck, I’m going to be beaten by a woman with a pink water bottle and I wonder if I sprint off will she decide to  pick me off and sprint past me and I get to the final downhill bit and I run and I run and I run and I get through the finish line and a man puts a medal round my neck and I’ve done my fastest 5k ever ever ever and I go and get a Jaffa Cake and say to Shaun shall we go now and he says let’s wait for the prizes shall we? there can’t be many more to finish and the last finisher comes in and we go to the prize-giving thingy and the race director gives the prizes to the overall winners and then he gives out the prizes to the category winners and he calls Shaun’s name out and I give a sharp intake of breath and Shaun says what? who? me? really? and the race director says yes, you and so Shaun goes and gets his prize which is a bottle of wine and although he hates wine he says I can’t have it because he won it and he’s never won anything before and then we go home very very happy.

Stats
Distance: 3.19 miles
Time: 31:16
Pace: 9:48 m/m
Calories: 336
Days of Juneathon: 31
PBs: 1
Prize winning boyfriends: 1
People very happy: 2