Friday 8 May 2009

Troon Tortoises 10k 2009

We thought we may have got away with the weather as we headed towards Troon & a glimpse of blue sky was seen ahead but how wrong we were. Standing next to the sea in vest & shorts as the wind howled in off the coast and the rain driving horizontally up my shorts was far from pleasant, but there seemed a good turnout nonetheless.

The virtual gun eventually went off & we soon forgot about the weather (for the time being) as we turned at the end of the prom & got the temporary benefit of the back wind. This was only too short lived as every turn after that the wind seemed to become stronger & stronger & more head on. Then it started raining, then raining harder which then became something resembling sleet. If I ever get laser eye surgery I will at least know what it feels like.

First home was Me, Colin, somehow pulling a PB out of the bag despite the conditions - finishing in 36.39. Next in was Graham Ramage in an excellent 49.19, followed by Michael Rooney finishing his first ever 10k in 51.50. Mandy W also had a great PB in 55.20 then Graeme Allan came through in 1.01.24 which I think could be a PB but we'll need him to confirm that here. Graeme has yet to be repremanded for running with headphones but we think he was listening to either Chariots of Fire or a Self Help Session.
Well done all for turning up & running, to Gen for cheering us all on in the rain - this was a tough one and I can't remember the last time I was that wet & cold, apart from last night doing a 5k which wasn't a great deal better!

A couple of downsides for this race were the crammed registration area due to the weather which made it hard to actually get in the building to get your number, and also the fiddly chip timers that mean you have to unthread your laces then re-lace again. Not easy to get off when your pinkies are like mini-milks at the end of a cold race & especially annoying when you have elastic laces that need adjusting for ages afterwards.
Good points - a good cup of sugary tea after & cracking sausage supper from the chippy.

6 comments:

garethe said...

Well done everyone , i went swimming instead - wet but nice and warm in the fast lane !

is anyone out on the bike tomorrow ?

grazie said...

If I'm running again next year I'm taking my Speedo's and snorkel to ensure a PB!

Sausage Supper!?!?!?
How did I miss that?

Graham.

athelite said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
athelite said...

Well we did wait for you near the finish but never saw you. Did you leave the car on the finish line with the engine running? By the time we were tucking into a hot sausage you were probably half way home.

A.Stirling said...

The sausage supper was excellent and a bargain at £2.99. I'm not sure runners world will be advertising it as the latest recovery food, but it certainly hit the spot for me.
Despite the need for a wetsuit and a divers helmet at the 6k mark, it was a good race. Well done everyone!!

athelite said...

AAAhhhhhhhhhh ..... ALAN!!!
I wrote your time on my list & never put it on the Blog, so sorry!
Alan finished in a fantastic 43.13, an excellent time given the conditions - well done.