Baker-Hughes 10k

Yesterday saw the running of the Baker-Hughes 10k in Aberdeen. I’ve completed this event many times in the past, but for this year I had high hopes of a fast time.

Back in March, I’d finished the Garioch 10k in 52:xx, my. fastest 10k for quite a while. Given that the Inverurie-based event is run over quite a hilly course, I thought I might manage to break the 50 minute barrier in Aberdeen, given that it’s a much fkatter course.

Leading up to the race, my training had gone Ok

We arrived at the start an hour-or-so before the off, as the traffic can be a bit of a problem around the beach. My wife went off to meet one of her friends and I warmed up along the beach front, running into an old running friend who was currently injured, Steve Mitchell.

As start time approached, I lined up in the 50-55 minute corral, then waited to cross the line a few minutes after the gun. I’d seeded myself better than in the past and had less of a problem getting held up by slower runners in the first mile-or-so.

For the first few km, it looked like I was on course for my target time – I eventually went through 5km in just under 25 minutes, and felt ok until the 6km marker came up, where I started to get an upset stomach. At this point, I had to slow down to keep running, hoping that the upset would reduce and I’d be able to speed up again. Unfortunately, every increase in speed brought the upset back again, and I eventually slowed to a walk going up the only hill on the route at the 9km mark. Once over the brow of the hill, I was able to start running again and crossed the finishing line in 55:18.

Not the result I’d hoped for, but you can only do what your body will let you on the day.