Chester Spring 5 – Summer Series Race 5

Chester Spring 5 – Summer Series Race 5 – Wednesday April 16th.

My memory of the Chester Spring 5 said a fast first three miles downhill offset by two slow miles back. Talking with Nick in the bar on Tuesday, that was also the way he read the course. However, working out my game plan, my splits from previous years told a different story; mile 3 was the slowest. I find a plan a comfort in the first half of the race, if someone I had anticipated beating is ahead of is me, I want to know if they are going too fast or I need to work harder. In the second half it's the legs, not the watch, dictating the pace.

Conditions at Chester were perfect for running, warm but not too warm and just a light breeze. In fact it was a beautiful evening with a magnificent sunset on the way home, though the M56 with Roy is not my idea of romance. The turn-out was good. Good that is for companionship and the club's performance in the Cheshire Grand Prix, less good if Series points are the priority.

Grand Prix results are not yet available but Damian, who was 2nd., led the Men's team with Peter only 3 seconds behind.  Then Jim, Barry, Trevor, who was  1st. M50, James, who we are pleased to be seeing more of,  Tom, 1st.M55, Mike and Rob.

Janine put her London legs aside to lead the Ladies team and also took 1st. L45, next Diane was 3rd.L35, Huma, who was 3rd.L45 and Kate, who was 3rd.L50. 

Rob Gilbert took the Series 60 points in League Two. You can read about Craig's "I had a real stinker" marathon in the newsletter but here I understand he had a big PB. Then came Jon, Paul, Matt and Janine.

Steve, who may find himself moving-up, was first home in League 3 from Tim, who started the Series in 4, then Diane, Richard, Andy, Patrick and Kate.

The downhill start was possibly to blame but also that there were seven of us together; Sue, Angela, John, James, Clare , Gail and myself. We sort of goaded one another into going faster. I looked at my watch at one mile, 25 seconds ahead of schedule, suicidal. Only instead of slowing, I went to the front of the group and ran the second mile at the same pace. I'm not really sure what was happening behind me but I knew that as the gradient switched from down to up that I would 'die' and the rest of the group would sweep past me. Only I didn't and they didn't. I've had lots of days in the last two years when for no explicable reason my running has been awful, it's lovely when it happens the other way round. Kate overtook me around halfway, passing as smoothly as she had at Whitley but as the race progressed there started to be a ragged edge to her running and slowly she was coming back to me. Patrick also came past, I thought the marathon in his legs might bring him back, but he eased away.  Huma, who has danced off into the distance in all the previous races, had also lost some of her poise and although there was never any likelihood of catching her, she never really broke free either. Five races, five League 4 wins for Huma, Ian took 59, Angie 58, John, Clare, Gail (still marathoned), James and then Simon, who despite being full of cold took 2nd. M70.

Sue, the pre-post favourite for League 5, took the 60 points, Janet was sufficiently recovered from her Whitley calf for 59, Julie eased the marathon out of her legs for 58, a good result for Leanne and also Belinda, who picked-up two places on Whitley. Roy's trying hard but fears the doctors have called his knee correctly, however he managed to get ahead of Trevor whilst Martin, as is his wont, was the race's laterne rouge.

Ian