Wicked Halloween Run; 28th September 2012

Very cool medal, nice lanyard

As soon as they announced that this one was coming again and that the medal & shirt designs were going to be different, I knew I was going to sign up for it. Plymouth is a great little town to run around and mid-fall is the perfect time to do so, what with the fall colors, etc. I also asked Gordon if he wanted to run this one with me and he was all over it.

Got up, bright and early on race day as usual. I decided that I'd continue with the shorts, although it was a little chilly, but wear a long sleeved shirt and gloves. We were going to pick up Gordon at his moms so we had to leave a little earlier than usual, but no big deal. We got to Plymouth about 45 minutes before the start, and got parked easily, I didn't get a chance to pick up race packets beforehand, so we headed there first, and it was mobbed, c'est la vie, it's always something. The line went fairly fast and we got them within 15-20 minutes or so. It was still damn cold, so we waited in the food tent until they called us to the start.

The panels are actually purple, dunno why they
came out blue in the picture

The race was running about five minutes late, due to the huge crowds now a packet pickup, not really a big deal but it was good to see the problem getting dealt with. We met up with one of my colleagues from work, just before the start, had a chat and then it was time to begin. One strange thing here was the lack of an actual starting line, sure there was a timing mat, but typically there is a big inflatable archway at the start, all very strange. I also noticed as we were starting to line up for the start that this 10k race was going to have pacers, 4 minutes apart, which was kinda cool. I decided that sitting behind the 48 minute pacer would be a good place to start, I was hoping for a sub 50 minute finish, which would be 1:21 minutes below my current PR, so no mean feat. Plymouth is a very flat little town so I knew that if I was going to PR anywhere, it was here.

The race started nice and fast, due to everyone spreading out next to their expected finish, probably the first time I have really experienced this one. I knew that a 48 minute finish was a little too keen, but if I could at least try and keep it in sight I might do ok. Gordon ran with me, only getting stuck a couple of times, we both felt pretty good, if a little chilly, but I knew that would soon go. Matt, who was running with us, decided to pull ahead after the first mile, but we found a good pace and kept with it, putting in a solid 7:55 for the first mile. The second went even faster at 7:41 and both myself and Gordon still felt good. We passed a couple of aid stations, only briefly pausing to grab a quick drink and keep going. The race progressed better than I hoped and I kept up the sub-8 minute splits, 7:57, 7:56. By the fourth mile I knew I was feeling it, but suspected Gordon still had some pace left in him so said he didn't have to wait back for me, he could get going if he felt up to it - he sped up gradually and was gone. The fifth mile was another solid sub-8, 7:54, but by the sixth I was feeling it, and just couldn't manage another sub-8, managing a 8:08. I attempted to speed up and finish strong, but I didn't have too much left.

PR my 10k by 2:10, also PR my 5k by 1:15 on this race too, kinda cool.

Kinda fuzzy pic of myself
& Gordon

I came in at 49:11, beating my best by 2:10, 25th out of 87 in my age group and 187 out of 1555 overall, a good solid performance and one to be proud of. Gordon finished in 47:57, 5th out of 23 in his age group and 142 overall, a great performance, beating his best by over 12 minutes...

How Endomondo saw it - http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/huKKcaso1us
How Garmin saw it - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/237883576

We got very cool medals to go with suitably black and purple long sleeved tech shirts. The snack line was nice and short, and better organised than last year.