It was a gloriously sunny morning on Sunday with just enough of a breeze to keep us cool and with a 10.30 start it was also nice to have a bit of a lie in.
I only entered this race the weekend before and I hadn't run over 8 miles for quite a while which meant that I wasn't sure how I would get on running 15. With this in mind I deceided that I'd treat it more like a training run. As it was a 2 lap race I planned to take the first lap easy and then, if I felt ok, push on for the second lap. Prior to the race I had a chat with a couple of fellow Tri-anglians that I met up with, knowing that the next time I would see them would be at the end.
I really enjoyed the first lap and I settled into a nice and easy pace at the back of the field. The website said that there were hills at about 2 and 5 miles but they were more like gentle inclines which went on for about half a mile. Apart from that, it was pretty flat along quiet country roads which were generally sheltered from the wind that had picked up. The only problem I had was working out how quickly I was going compared to the other runners as there is a single lap race which starts at the same time and I couldn't easily tell who was running the 15 miles and who was running the 7.5. I know that I said I was treating it as a training run but I still don't like being overtaken.
Got to the end of the first lap in 1:06 feeling good so I decided to up the pace slightly. It was during the second lap that I came across a Norwich Road Runner who I have met in previous races, as I was about to overtake him, he sprinted off for a 100m, then I would slowly catch him up again. This continued for about 2 miles and I was getting fed up with it until eventually he stopped sprinting off and I managed to overtake him.
The second lap was completed in an hour, so I was pleased with recording a negative split and I was also chuffed to overtake several people in the final couple of miles who left me for dead on the first lap.
Overall a very enjoyable race on a lovely sunny morning.