My third time running the Mid Cheshire 5k in the last 16 months and having ran a PB here in the 2019 spring race and again in the 2019 summer race I knew it was a quick course.

Just like 12 months ago, I was going into the summer race having not had the best training. Last year I had missed a big chunk of the summer due to a calf strain. This time around I had missed 6 weeks of running after a spell in hospital with appendicitis.

I had managed to get back running 6 weeks before this race but the focus has been on preparing for a bunch of virtual marathon runs in the autumn, rather than the speed work required for a 5k PB attempt. So it was safe to say, I wasn’t coming into this race with high hopes of beating the 17:48 from 2019.

The weather forecast was showing rain up to 8pm and 15mph winds, so it didn’t look perfect for a quick race. With the rain on my mind I was in two minds which shoes to race in. The Nike Pegasus Turbo 2 or the Nike Vaporfly NEXT%. At first I was going to go with the Turbo’s as they offered more grip but in the end, I my a late shoe change and went with the NEXT% just for the speed and resonsiveness from the ZoomX foam and that carbon plate.

In the end, the weather wasn’t an issue. It was actually sunny on the drive up to Kingsley although it did cloud over for the race and the wind was coming from the north which meant we would only be running into from the start of mile 2 for around half a mile and that stretch was uphill anyway.

This was my first race since The Big Half in March after having all my 2020 races cancelled. This was also one of the first road races to go ahead with the new COVID save guidelines in place.

I have to say, the team at Mid Cheshire 5k did a fantastic job getting this race on and making the athletes feel safe at all times.

They reduced the field size down to 350 runners and split it into an A race (sub 16:30 runners) and a B race. I was in the B race.

Each athlete had to submit their predicted finish time ahead of the race to enable the race director to split each race into waves of 10 – 20 runners all of a similar pace. I entered 18 minutes for my predicted finish time, more wishful thinking than any guide on what I felt I could run.

Race bibs were mailed out ahead of the event to reduce touchpoints.

On the night, there were separate warm-up areas for the A and B races. The A race went off at 7pm and the B race at 7:30pm.

Each bib was colour coded and there were corresponding dots painted onto the road where you were to line up, all following the physical distancing guidance. Each wave would then be set off around 15 – 20 seconds after the faster wave in front. In theory, you shouldn’t be caught from behind or catch the wave in front.

We were told no spectators were allowed so I had to tell my wife and daughter to stay at home, much to the disappointment of my daughter. In reality, there were quite a few people there spectating who had to be told to spread out around the course.

Mile 1 – 5:23

Last year there was a pile-up at the start of the race which had cost me a few seconds. The start this year was much much smoother. Starting off with a group of 20 runners all aiming for a similar pace to me was good. There was plenty of space to go off at your own pace and run your race.

I did position myself towards the back of the yellow wave but found myself passing virtually all bar 5 girls straight off the line. I knew from last year that the first mile was downhill so I wanted to hit that hard and make the most of a fast start then see if I can hang on to it.

I looked at my watch just shy of half a mile and saw that I had gone off FAST and that first half mile I was pacing at 4:57/mi. Now I wanted to go fast but that was the kind of pace that would last 1 mile then I would blow up big time so I eased back a little.

I still felt strong and in control at that point, this photo was taken around the half mile marker and I am holding good form. That didn’t last as you will see at the end.

The 5 girls in front were going off at a blistering pace, I was struggling to hang on to them.

Towards the end of that first mile as it started to level out, I passed one of the girls. The next mile was uphill so I was preparing for that battle, trying to hold a fast pace running uphill and into the wind.

That first mile flew by in 5:23 and was my fastest ever 1 mile. Clearly I need to work on my 1 mile time trial if I can set a 1 mile PB during a 5k race.

Mile 2 – 5:46

So mile 2 starts when we turn left and hit the hill straight away. Let’s be honest, it’s not a massive hill, it’s not steep or high. It’s a 30ft climb over half a mile before turning left again.

30ft at sub 6 minute pace feels a little tougher than at marathon pace but I hit the hill hard. I knew I had the endurance to hold a really high heart rate for a long period of time from the marathon training. I went straight passed the 4 girls and then wondered whether I was going too hard but thought I would just stick with it and see what happens.

I could see some of the earlier wave in front, that was my motivation to keep pushing. Try to catch and pass the “faster” wave whilst keeping my wave behind me. Race mode kicked in, not clock watching.

The second half of mile 2 is a gradual uphill still but you don’t notice it.

Mile 2 ticked up on the watch, it was 26sec slower than the first, to be expected on a uphill mile. More importantly, I knew straight away that it was around 5 seconds faster than mile 2 in my PB race and I knew that mile 1 was faster so a PB was on the cards if I can keep pushing.

Mile 3 – 5:40

Mile 3 levels off before another left turn. Yep, you guessed it, we are running a square here so what comes next? another left turn…

All I wanted to do was just keep the arms pumping and driving the legs hard. I felt in control still, probably up to the last 400m. The heart rate was up at 178 which was high for me, but I have been that high and higher during some endurance intervals recently so I could ignore that.

Once we took the last left turn we are back at the start. From here on in it was downhill to the finish. Time to finish strong.

I had a plan of sprinting the last 400m and I did or at least it felt like I was sprinting. Looking at my split now, that last 0.14 mile was at 5:33/mi pace so not quite sprinting and down on the 4:57/mi pace I came down that hill at not so long ago.

As you can see from this photo, the arms are working hard and the body twisting with the head rocking back. Not the perfect form and this was something I was expecting. I have not been able to do any core strength work since the end of May due to appendicitis, so the core strength isn’t where it should be right now.

That said, I crossed the line in 17:34 which was 14 seconds faster than the August race last year and a new 5k PB, finishing up in 182nd place. Yep, it’s a damn fast race.

Thoughts on the race:

Very pleased with how the race went. I know the splits look shocking with going out so fast but that was my game plan. I wanted to make the most of the downhill start.

To have come away with a 14sec PB 11 weeks after I was lying in hospital with appendicitis and just 6 weeks of running under my belt since May, was a big surprise. To have done that with just endurance training and not speed work shows the baseline pace that is there.

I know with some more 5k speed work over the next 6 months, I can beat tonights PB and I think I can push for a sub 17 5k.

For now, it just feels so good to be back racing in person.

Speaking of which, I really enjoyed the COVID safe race format. I felt the controlled wave starts opened up the road so we could hit our pace straight away and no overcrowded. Then having the incentive of catching the runners in the wave in front really drove me on in the 2nd and 3rd mile tonight.

It did feel strange lining up like race cars on the starting grid but if that small bit of weirdness is the price of a safe in person race then I am all for it.

 So today was 12 months since the 2019 August race and the 2019 photo came up on my Facebook memories today. It made me laugh at the comparison to the 2020 race photo. Literally a mirror image of each other.

When does this running business get easy? 12 months on and the face is full of pain and anguish.