This is the second year running that Geth and I have run the Yorkshire 10 Mile. Last year, it was a very pretty race, and although I was struggling a bit as my training had suffered, I really enjoyed the scenery. This year, it was the opposite way round.
As forecast, it was absolutely chucking it down in York today, and it was the wettest race I’ve ever experienced. My running glasses are not water-resistant, and so, because the rain was so heavy, I was basically running the race blind. I couldn’t see the puddles, resulting in very wet feet. My hearing aids were getting waterlogged and kept cutting out. In short, I was pretty sensory-deprived and unaware of my surroundings. I didn’t notice a single mile marker, and I only realised two of the water stations were there after I’d already run through them. Luckily, it was so wet and cold that I really didn’t need to drink much water en route today.
However, Geth and I were both hopeful of PBs, as last year’s race was the only 10-mile race we’d done and we both felt we were in better shape this year. Geth took a good chunk off his time, as he’s had a really good year training-wise, though he is suffering with a knee issue that needs to be seen to. Last year, I’d aimed for sub-2hr but had ended up with 2:06:38. This year, I aimed for sub-2hr again, and was fairly confident I’d get it as my training between the GNR and Yorkshire has been much better. I ended up with a time of 1:47:31 – a 19:07 minute PB! I’m really happy with that, especially as the conditions were so miserable.
I doubt we’ll do this race again next year, as the organisers are moving it to later in October and it doesn’t really fit in with our race plans for next autumn. However, assuming I don’t end up saying ‘never again’ to marathons after I do London in April, I may come back and do the full marathon sometime.
