13th October: Race weekend

Race Report:

I travelled up to Cardiff on Friday afternoon and took advantage of the gym, pool and spa at the hotel as soon as we arrived to stretch out my muscles from the journey. For once I didn't stay in a Travelodge and enjoyed the extra benefits of the facilities, feeling that they would have a positive impact on my race. Saturday was a gentle 20 minutes with some strides to get the legs turned over and some more stretching in the gym and relaxation in the pool and spa.

I felt ready for the race. My final act of Saturday was dinner for which I made a bad choice. I had macaroni cheese which sounds fair enough, but the cheese sauce was very thick and creamy. Having recently cut down on my dairy intake the rich sauce was a bit to much for my stomach. I woke up feeling sick and a bit lethargic, not a good sign. I was nearly sick as I walked over to the start, again not a good sign. My warm up was ok so I started at 69 minute pace. It felt ok and I was comfortable in a group in third place. As we went out to Cardiff Bay the wind was in our faces so I took a back seat in the group and waited until the turn where I up the pace and my legs felt good. My only problem was I still felt sick and all I could think about was this macaroni cheese which was not helping me at all. By mile 8 I began to fade as my stomach was still not feeling great and I slipped to 5th place.

The rest of the miles I ticked over drinking water in an attempt to settle my stomach and to try and up my pace to sub 5.20 minute miles, but it just wasn't happening. I finished in 71.28 which is a 2 minute personal best but I had hoped for a lot more and knowing I was in shape to do it added to my frustration of the mistake I made at dinner. It's another lesson learnt in thinking more about what you consume especially the night before a race. Don't just go on what looks good on the page especially if its quite different for the type of foods you've been consuming normally. I just thought "pasta that'll do"! I don't think I'll eat it again for a while. I'm very disappointed and a little disheartened by the last two races which have promised so much and yet delivered so very little. I cant wait for the cross country season to kick in and I can take my frustrations out over the mud and hills...