The Running Librarian

My favourite number...ermm

Earlier tonight I took part in the final race in the Gravesend Floodlit Series. This is a series of 10k races, which take place at the Gravesend Cyclopark, this is a fantastic facility designed to facilitate both cycling and running around a 2.5km track, which used to be part of the old A2 road before it was widened.

I had previously run the 5th race in this series and had finished the 10k race in a respectable time of 48:17. I had entered the 6th race in this series which was due to be held in March, but unfortunately I was unwell, so missed out on trying to beat this time.

So on to the 7th and final race in this series and with the clocks going forward it meant that we were going to be running in daylight rather than darkness. As a result I had high hopes of beating my time of 48:17 by at least a minute, if not more than that. As it turns out I did much better than this and came close to running sub 45 minutes, which is a big benchmark for me! Here are my mile splits for the 10k race:

• Mile 1 - 7:15
• Mile 2 - 7:17
• Mile 3 - 7:32
• Mile 4 - 7:19
• Mile 5 - 7:18
• Mile 6 - 7:29

I'm not quite sure what happened during Mile 3, but it probably cost me a sub 45 minute 10k. So my finishing time for the 10k was 45:03, which I was absolutely delighted with. I cant remember the last time I ran close to 45 minutes for 10k and I've only ever run 10k sub 45 minutes twice and they were both a long time ago, so there is definitely the potential for me to do so, which makes me very happy!

 Bring on the summer and even faster times!