arlier in the week, the forecast for Wokingham had been reasonably good - 10C and only 10-12 mph winds. Given the previous two weekends’ cancellations, I am grateful it was on at all, but the forecast in the day or two beforehand began, however, to look pretty fearsome: a 43mph headwind for the final 5 or so miles, combined with an unseasonable 13C. Nonetheless, this was a relatively key marker for me in the London build up, and so was keen for a strong hit out. I raced XC a week before, and did 20M on the Monday six days out. Following this, I kept it to just 4 -6M easy and strides type runs, working well with lots of family time over half term.
Upon arrival, the weather was pretty fierce - heavy rain and winds so strong the baggage tent was shaking. Having made great time of the motorway, I had time to mull over targets for the day, settling on sub 1:22 being outstanding (PB of 1:18:5x) and sub 1:24 probably being on track for a sub 3 at London, given the poor conditions. Impressively, Xempo offered pacers every five minutes form 1:15 - 2:30. So I thought I would follow the 1:20 pacer for the first few miles - with the tailwind it made sense to run these a little above average goal pace but to tag on to a group. Nice chat with an impressive vet (Mike Sheridan) in the tent, then a 2ish mile warm up as the atmosphere started to build nicely.
After the usual rambling so on the PA (potentially longer and less coherent than any other race I’ve attended), we were off. If you’ve not done it, Wokey is a great race for having a good pack around you at most paces, at least in the first two-thirds of the race. I latched on the the 1:20 pacer, who surprisingly ditched his time stick after a 100m or so. Fortunately he kept on his t shirt. It felt a little punchy, but I was keen to maximise running in a group - and a gap had already formed behind us. The first mile was 5:50 (6:06 is 1:20 pace). It was at this point he said that he would bank lots of time I order to deal with headwinds later... I am keen for pacers to run even effort, rather than even pace, but this seemed a bit extreme in what is largely a flat race. He said that 5-8M would be tough into the wind, so I resolved to try to stay on until at least then if at all possible. The bungy cord was in operation, but I just about kept in there. Unlike some, I definitely enjoy running in a group. I find it motivating, as well as the obvious drafting benefits. I don’t find it too distracting watching out for stray legs etc.
We ticked along at about 5:56 average, above my PB pace. There were plenty of crosswinds, with the headwinds coming in waves at various points between 5 - 8M. I seemed to get a little distracted at the drinks station just before
8M, and fell off the group then. I was conscious that it would be damage limitation from this point onwards. The winds varied with our route direction, but I was, perhaps inevitably, feeling very, very tired. I was getting overtaken significantly more than I was overtaking, but I tried to tuck in a draft for at least a while on each occasion. From about mile 9 onward, my mile splits were 6:10 - 6:30ish, and by the last mile I was truly hanging on. I was well aware it would be very tough finish - the wind had been very noticeable even at the pedestrian warm up speed on this road. I ploughed through the treacle to finish in 1:22:12.
Despite being overtaken a lot - a sure sign of a relatively poorly executed race, I am happy with the result. Given the tough conditions, lack of sleep and ongoing back/hip issue, this still puts me firmly in sub 3 territory.
Although I could hear the wise words of HA in my head, I headed out on a longish warm down to get 20M down. This will definitely take longer to recover from - but I thought that an additional 40 minutes, given I was out all morning, wouldn’t impact family time too much and so didn’t want to pass up on the opportunity. Felt pretty bloody knackered, but really enjoyed doing an out and back along the course. Interesting how overdressed many of the runners in the 1:35 - 2:05 range seemed to be. So many leggings, long sleeve under tops and rucksacks. I get it if you are training for an ultra, but it must slow people down. Nice to see Reg (formerly of these parts) out on his bike.
A nice, albeit brief, catch up with a mate at the end, before heading back. Just about survived being deafened by the V-Dub sound system van. Ridiculously loud - confirmation of my middle age.
Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 6:07(6:07/m) 156/174bpm
2) 1m - 6:04(6:04/m) 174/179bpm
3) 1m - 5:58(5:58/m) 180/184bpm
4) 1m - 6:05(6:05/m) 188/191bpm
5) 1m - 5:58(5:58/m) 182/189bpm
6) 1m - 6:10(6:10/m) 172/179bpm
7) 1m - 6:13(6:13/m) 172/178bpm
8) 1m - 6:02(6:02/m) 176/182bpm
9) 1m - 6:14(6:14/m) 173/178bpm
10) 1m - 6:24(6:24/m) 175/180bpm
11) 1m - 6:42(6:42/m) 176/180bpm
12) 1m - 6:32(6:32/m) 179/184bpm
13) 1m - 6:34(6:34/m) 184/187bpm
14) 0.18m - 1:10(6:34/m) 184/188bpm
6:07 6:04 5:58 6:05 5:58 6:10 6:13 6:02 6:14 6:24 6:42 6:32 6:34 1:10
