These last two weeks have flown by and that is no surprise considering I have been on half term and thankfully I didn't have loads of work to do, so I could also rest and relax for a bit. Leading up to this race I was a little nervous of how the course would go as it is known for being very hilly. Last year I was in the u17 age group (last years blog post here) and this year I was running in the seniors race so the course is longer. This week it was 4.9km to deal with but with about a million hills in it too !!! After my usual warm up, I did my last few drills and made my way to the start line. The gun went and I found myself in the mix of the race pretty instantly, the beginning of the course was relatively flat but it didn't last long before we started climbing and then soon after we were descending... up and down, up and down, we went. The course was made up by two laps, one 2km lap and another 3km lap. The second lap was certainly the hillier one, so it was key not to go off too quickly as I had visions of me pretty much crawling up the hills in the end if I did. The last lap of the course was painful, my legs were full of lactic and felt heavy, I was desperately just trying to hang onto my position but this was tough. The final 500m was hard because it was all pretty much down hill but following some killer hills, it was hard to let your legs go and have a final strong finish. There was several of us all close to each other and we kept over taking each other but then the last one hundred metres we all gave our final sprint... and this was painful !! I over took one girl, but then got overtaken by another and I crossed the line in 16th senior women and 8th u20. I crossed the line and my initial feelings were of disappointment however after having some time to reflect and look back, yes it wasn't my best race but it wasn't horrendous. I think my good result in the previous Kent league is what made me feel initially disappointed but I had to look at the bigger picture and there were more people in the race this weekend. It feels great to be solidly into cross country season now and although the conditions haven't exactly been tough yet, I am really enjoying it. I am now back at school, hence the slight delay in post but I hope you all had a good week. I have had some very exciting news in the week because I came an auntie to the beautiful Florence and I can't wait to spend lots of time with her in the future.
Love G x
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The time had finally arrived for my first official cross country race of the season and was my first Kent league of the season. It took place at Stanhill farm... one of my favourite locations because it's a pumpkin farm, so whats not to love. This time last year I was doing this kent league and it was my first cross country race for Tonbridge AC ever and the blog post is here. This year, I was going into this race with a season of experience but also as an age group older, this time I was running as an u20 in the senior women race! Having prepared for this race suitably with my usual pasta in the evening... however not carbonara, why? Well I think I'm becoming lactose intolerant so I have just been trying to avoid it recently and see if it helps in any way, so this time is was pesto... who knows this might become my old carbonara in future. The senior women's race was not until 2:15 which allowed me to have a suitable lie in on my first day of half term which was very much needed after possibly the most stressful last two weeks of term. I am now off for the next two weeks which is great, although I have a lot of work but I will also have time to relax and chill. Soon enough I was on the start line and the gun went, a bit to my surprise. I jumped into action and I found myself near the front of the crowd which I was pleased with as usually I get caught in a big bunch of people. I kept myself calm and just went with the initial pace and was happy with my positioning. The field soon started to split but I found myself in a little group of three early on which made it much easier, because we got the first lap done with not too much energy exerted. However I say this but going into the beginning of my second lap, my legs start to burn and they feel exhausted and I suddenly think... 'argggg, I've gone off too quick.' The thought of this I think actually motivated me to keep running fast because I knew I wouldn't forgive myself if I went off too quickly because then I knew it would be all my fault. I kept pushing hard around the course and one of the girls in our little group of three soon broke away from us and I was unable to keep up with her pace so the group turned to two. With the finish line in sight, I was still side by side with this other girls and I knew it was going to be down to the last few hundred metres. I tried to push on with the pace and was at the front and just tried to keep progressing strongly, I had no idea where she was at this point and knew I better not turn around. What I didn't know at the time was I had a comfortable lead on her but I kept pushing hard until I crossed the line in 7th. I was so pleased with 7th in the senior women race and even more pleased with 3rd in the u20 race, a huge improvement from my 13th last year in the u17 age group. I finally started to feel all my hard training paying off. The exhaustion I felt as I crossed the line was like no other. I was D E A D! I was on the floor for about 5 minutes before I was able to get back up and I knew that was the most I had pushed myself I think ever and it has given me the confidence that I can push myself to near my limits if I really put my mind to it. Yes, that was probably one of the most painful races I have raced, but it was so worth it for the result! Now I must say a quick apology for the lack of blog posts, but I have realised that I am sure you would much rather quality over quantity. There is no point me writing a rushed blog post, which I done on a forced topic. My favourite thing is posting about how my races have gone, whether they went good, bad or ugly. I have another race in a few weeks time so I am sure that will be featuring very soon. Also I have some very exciting news that my sister is pregnant and is due in just over a weeks time now, so it is all very exciting at home and I have now become obsessed with baby clothes instead of sports wear... I guess this is probably a good thing. Also on Sunday we had a baby shower which consisted of lots of food (particularly cake) and was just generally such a great afternoon. I hope you have all had a good weekend and if you had any races that they went well.
Love G x |
HelloI'm Grace, a 18 year old runner, and fitness fanatic. Join me on my crazy journey through life, squeezing in an adventure in every second of spare time I have. Archives
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