Regents Park 10K - How I ran my "worst" 10K and still had fun

Today I took on the Regents Park 10K. It was a no pressure race as this years goal was always a PB at Silverstone which was achieved. This was purely a "I'm in London so why not" sign up. With that in mind I had no real strategy other than go off too quickly and see if I can last. In short, I couldn't. After lap one I was well on course for a PB but the heat had knocked every ounce of energy out of me and I knew I couldn't sustain it. At that point, I made a decision to not try for the PB but to slow down, take the odd walk break and enjoy the scenery and a sprint finish. It was really hard going in the sun and I'm not great in the heat anyway. I used to not care if I completed a 10K unless it was a PB but you have to respect the distance and the conditions. No shame in accepting early on it won't be your day and enjoying the run rather than killing yourself getting a time you're not happy with anyway so a time which is over 5 minutes slower than Silverstone had to do - 53:53. Considering that got me 280th place out of 760 I think I wasn't the only one that wilted in the heat!

While I'm here I might as well give a quick review of the actual race...

Positives:

1. Really scenic route
2. The guy doing a warm up with everyone who was also the race announcer was an absolute legend!
3. Great PB potential (on a cooler day)
4. Marshaling was superb and course easy to follow
5. Good bling and nice selection of goodies at the end

Negatives:

1. Only one working toilet cubical. Had to hope there would be no "bear in the woods" incident!
2. Probably the least 'friendly' race I've run in. Usually there's someone you end up running with who helps get you through when you're struggling or likewise someone you can drag along. Everyone had headphones in and there was very little support around the track so no one encouraging you in the tough moments.

“Definitive” guide to running your best 10K

Welcome to one of a thousand or more blogs telling you how to run your best 10K. I’ll be honest, there’s so much contradictory advice from”experts” that some of them must be wrong. My conclusion is that all are wrong! We all have different bodies, schedules and different things work for different people. If you read my last blog you will have seen how I ran the imperfect race to a miserable 10K. However, I had one more chance...Silverstone 10K.

I was determined not to let that race become a failure but to become a launchpad for a new PB. I wrote out my training plan and went for it. If only it was as simple as that. My training plan was one I downloaded and it made me miserable! It all came to a head for me at a parkrun at Great Linford. Determined to run a PB I flagged badly and ran my worst 5k of the year. Something had to change so with the help of a wise and experienced friend I decided that I’d do 10 miles every Saturday to build some stamina into my legs and then vary some speed work in the week between pyramids, fartleks and tempo runs.

I wasn’t in 100% top condition due to a slight adductor strain from a race a few days before (more about that another time!) but I was taped up and ready to go. This time I stuck to my plan and ran 6 individual splits which had 5 seconds between fastest and slowest and then a sprint for the end. I finished in a bog standard time of 48:35 which was nearly 30 seconds quicker than my PB. Bog standard in general terms but you’re only ever out to beat yourself (and the person directly in front of you!) so I was chuffed. Do I believe I can go quicker? Absolutely. But the difference between Silverstone 10K and Festival of Running 10K was simple. I stuck to MY plan. Reading 10K guides are great and take lots of tips but find out what works for you and what motivates you.

For me:

1. 10 miles every Saturday to build stamina into your legs
2. 1x speed workout per week varying between pyramids, fartleks and temp runs

How not to run a 10K race

As I’ve said before, and I’ll say again (!) I am no expert but this year I learnt (again!) how NOT to run a 10k. Having spent the last few years focusing on long runs I spent the first half of this year determined to improve on my 5k and 10k PBs. I had a clear training plan and a clear goal. Then the day came...March 11th...The Milton Keynes Festival of Running. I was confident and training had gone largely according to plan. If you could ask me “what advice would you give to someone doing a race?” My advice would be simple. Run your own race, don’t get swept up with the crowd and most importantly enjoy it. So me being me I decided to completely ignore my own advice. Rather than doing what I had trained to do which was 6 even mile splits followed by going as hard as you can for the finale I just went off at the start. Mile 1 was too quick, mile 2 was even quicker, mile 3 was still too quick, mile 4 was spot on, mile 5 I was dying, mile 6 I was walking and the “sprint finish” felt like wading through treacle. As if it wasn’t already bad enough, I finished 1 second outside of my PB. Complete train wreck of a race. Ignored all my own advice and paid for it. BUT you either succeed or you learn. Next time I’ll tell you how I put this right at Silverstone. But if you want to run a terrible 10k here’s how:

1. Follow the crowd and ignore your own plan.
2. Do the opposite of what you trained to do.
3. Kill yourself in the first 4 miles so the last 2 are hideous and leave you never wanting to run again!