| Race Details | |
|---|---|
| Event | GLCL 2017 Road Race Series Race 5 of 5 - Cwmbran |
| Date & Time | 01 August 2017 19:30:00 |
| Type | Leisure League |
| Position | 259 of 548 |
A bit of a different Leisure League race for me tonight. On Sunday I will be running the Gloucester City Marathon so now is not the time to be pushing hard and risking an injury. Instead, my plan for today was to enjoy the event, take it steady and make sure I had 4 races completed in the series 
.
This last race was organised jointly between Fairwater Runners and Griffithstown Harriers and it’s probably the second flattest course out of all the different GLCL races (Undy being the flattest with an elevation of 0ft!). Although the route is pleasant and mostly flat, I do find that it is a little on the boring side given there are 2 laps of the riverside path and I run along that section fairly regularly on my long runs.
So this year, I took my place in the starting pack outside of Morrisons, but I was a lot further back than I usually am. After the safety briefing, we were off and it took every ounce of my concentration to stop myself from launching off the start line at full throttle! At the end of the first mile, my watch informed me the pace had been 8:14/mile. Perfect! I was keeping at a steady pace, slightly slower than marathon pace, but it was only the first mile so about right in my book.
After the first lap of the riverside paths, the route moves up Llanyravon Way, which is a moderate hill, before starting on the second lap. This was where I started to overtake people. Given I was looking for a steady training run, I was able to maintain a good pace up the hill, where the people around me were pushing hard to keep going. It was an odd feeling passing people with relative ease when normally I am pushing hard to maintain my position, or at least not lose too many places. When I crested the hill I tried to maintain a steady pace back down to the riverside and only slightly increased my pace in the last mile.
Overall it was a nice run, but I don’t think I’ll do it in this manner again. If I need to take it easy in future, I will run from home. It didn’t feel right not putting everything I have into the race. I did, however, thoroughly enjoy our standard tea and cake session that followed .
Time to concentrate on Gloucester City Marathon now.