Llanrug 5k

I hadn’t done a regular 5k in ages! Only the recent Parkrun, and the Sbrint 'Stiniog which was so hilly it is quite in a different league from the more typical quite flat 5k. And the last one in that category I had done had been the Awyr Las race in 2014… and that is a bit of a pity, as it is quite a nice distance.

When I became a club runner I became aware of more races. One source was the club championship races. There are mountain and road championships. I am ignoring the former! But very interested in the latter. And there were two 5k races on the list of races that count towards it. And the first of the two was the Llanrug 5k. As soon as registration opened I made sure to get on that list.

It was an evening race, after work. And that meant one complication: food. You have to make sure you eat well before the race so you're not lugging your stomach content around. That can get quite uncomfortable! But work also has a say in when you can get around to sitting down for dinner. I ended up home a bit later than I intended, so also eating later than I intended. And I tried to eat a sensible amount, which wouldn't be much. I'm not quite sure if I managed it!

I drove up, got my number, and did a little warmup. I was burping proficiently! That's what you get if you have eaten too recently. I also saw many familiar faces: Sam and Anna, and Tinka, and Nia Meleri with her whole family, from the club. And more. Some of my warm-up I ran with Mary. And then it was time to gather at the start.

At the Parkrun I had started too far in the back, and had been surrounded by slow people. I didn't want that this time. I went off quite fast. Sometimes it pays off! I had had the same strategy at the Felinheli 10k. 

I might have overdone it. I was getting tired quite quickly! But then it was just a matter of just keeping going. I think I was breathing heavily for about 4.5 of the 5 km. Oh well! That will teach me. And in the meantime I was just taking in the route. It was nice!

Early on in the race

I was glad when I got to the 4 km sign. Only 1 km to go! I really had to drag myself along now. And when I got really close to the finish I heard something behind me. I half-turned and saw something green. Probably an Eryri Harrier! If you have to be overtaken just before the finish anyway, then the best people to do it is them, but I still try to avoid it. I managed to squeeze out a bit of an acceleration.and stayed ahead. 

I was so tired when I crossed the finish. And it's not as if I had been fast! My time was 22:24. I had been faster on that Parkrun I didn't take seriously! I had clearly misjudged this. Oh well. At least it felt good that I had thrown out everything I had.

The green shirt behind me had been Arwel. I think we have a bit of rivalry going on! I tend to finish quite close to him. And if I'm having a good day, I finish just before him. Three seconds faster at the Ellesmere Port Borders League! I suppose this time he might have just had a worse day than me...

I found a bunch of other Harriers behind the finish and had a little chat. But then it started to rain. Time to go and get a jacket. But by the time I had come back to my bag, and drank my recovery drink and a bottle of sports drink, I figured I might as well stay put. Probably, pretty much everyone would have finished by now, and everyone else would be coming in as well for the prize ceremony. 

There was plenty of opportunity to clap for fellow Harriers. The top three of women consisted entirely of them! With Anna first and Tinka third. I had been so slow I wasn’t even close to a category win. But that's okay. And I just drank a second bottle of recovery drink. I had once won several tubes of these tablets you can just chuck in water and le voilá, electrolytes sorted; might as well use the time for avoiding the next day’s dehydration headache. 

Immediately after this ceremony there was another one. This was by Welsh Athletics. I didn't really know what it meant. But they started handing out lots of medals, quite many of them to people I knew. And then I got a silver medal in my age category. That's nice! No idea what for but I was chuffed.

Happy with my cryptic medal

(The next day it became clear that this race was the North Welsh regional 5k championship, and I had been the second fastest club runner in my category.)

By then it was time to go home. I really wanted a shower! And it was getting late. On the way to the car Tom came by in a group of road bikers. That was a surprise! He didn't really have nice weather for it. But I could now go and have my necessary shower…