Sunday 19 October 2014

RACE RUNDOWN: Cabbage Patch 10 (2014)

Ten mile races are few and far between around my area but are a brilliant distance to compete in. Falling short of a half marathon but a bigger challenge than a 10K, the distance is very doable and enjoyable. 

This is the second time I have ran Cabbage Patch 10 (first Race Rundown for the event HERE). Held in Twickenham in the name of The Cabbage Patch pub, the ten mile course is a fabulously flat, scenic route. With very little training behind me for this, in the week leading up to the race I was a tad worried about my ability to complete the course. I myself haven't ran this sort of distance since April and with only a couple of eight mile training runs behind me, I opted to take this event easy and enjoy it! Waking up at 7am to get ready and make my way there, I felt SUPER keen to get going.
Arriving at the The Cabbage Patch pub, I met my best bud from home and dropped off all my stuff in the bag drop. I started to feel a little nervous as all us runners made our way down to the start which is half a mile away but having my pal there to natter to helped. To add to my nerves, my Garmin wasn't finding signal and whilst this sort of thing would normally frustrate the hell out of me, I actually stood back and saw it as a blessing. Switching to stop watch mode, I made the decision there to just see how I got on and simply go with the flow.

This event only logs a gun time so for anyone looking to take part, I highly recommend counting the time from when the gun goes to when you cross the start line. It took me 35 seconds to reach the start line so I knew I would need to subtract this from my finish time. Saying that though, having the stop watch was still handy as I would know my exact time when I reach the end.

I crossed the start line with my friend and we stayed together the first four miles having a good chatter and catch up. We were still managing 8.30 minute miles between the chit chat and I was feeling ok. I could tell she was eager to trog on ahead so after saying farewell she was off and I was on my own to take in the surroundings and find my pace. 

What I love about this course is the mixture of grounds. From town centres and residential streets to country lanes and riverside running, the route is really rather pleasant. I reached the halfway mark at 42 minutes and surprisingly felt like I had a lot left in the tank. I decided to pick up the pace a tad and push on. It was great as I began to pass people one by one and taking over other runners is the best feeling ever. It shows clear progression right in front of your eyes and I felt my confidence soar each step I took. 

By mile nine (which by the way is marked on the course way too early!) I dug deep for the final mile and crossed the finish in 1.21.21. Not a PB but much, MUCH faster than I was expecting. Plus, I had a huge grin wiped across my face which normally isn't the case at finish lines (it tends to be a look of pain and nausea ha!).

Overall, my legs felt like they had a good run but weren't tired, my body didn't ache and I certainly didn't feel disappointment. Picking up our complimentary technical t-shirt, we headed back to the pub to collect our belongings and of course have a post race snap with some cabbages!
The Cabbage Patch pub is soooo busy at the end with everyone changing, ordering drinks and milling around we decided after a quick change to head to a nearby pub for a well deserved carbed up lunch. I opted for this super scrummy bean burger and chips. It was delish and I think very much deserved. 

RACE OVERVIEW

Course: 5/5
Scenery: 4/5 (I gave it a 3 last time but I definitely don't think I appreciated it enough then)
Facilities: 3/5
Water Stations: 5/5
T-Shirt & goody bag: 4/5

My time: 1.21.21 (PB remains at 1.18)

LIPSTICK RUNNER'S OVERALL RATING: 4/5

Find out more about Cabbage Patch 10 HERE.


Lipstick Runner.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for your positive review Sarah. Glad you had a good race, it makes all the difference to us to know that runners enjoy the day. Louise Penn (on behalf of Cabbage Patch 10 organising committee).

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    1. Thanks for the comment Louise! I had a wonderful morning. Beautiful run and beautiful weather!

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