August 11, 2014

Bassingham Bash 2014

The Bassingham Bash is a 5 mile road race that takes place every August during the Village's annual gala. Theres stalls, vintage cars and a brass band - and in between this the road race which is popular with local clubs and sees a good turnout on good days as there is always signing on on the day !
 
This year I am running for Lincoln & District Runners which have been my first claim club since the turn of the year and I was proud to line up in the green club vest at the start. My target was to beat last years time of 38 minutes… this is how the miles ticked by….
 
Mile One 6.58 - A lap around the village and paced sensibly. I had a target man for the day and took him in the first mile , only for him to take the place back and start to disappear up the road ! Still, at 6.58, a good first mile in the bag.
 
Mile Two 6.58 - Nothing like consistency is there ! Comfortable second mile, the gap to my target man didn't increase, and I still had a backwind to push me down the lane. Felt OK, and was surprised to hold the first mile pace !   
 
Mile Three 6.59 - Come on now, is the Garmin broken ! 6.59 and all three miles run within a second of each other. I caught my target man too and opened up a gap myself so a success first half of the race. Turned into a headwind toward the end of the third mile and then the slog began !
 
Mile Four 7.25 - That headwind was cooling, ut did nothing for the pace which began to slip. The course also had an upward profile too which didn't help matters. Not being fully 10k match fit, I tired slightly and it was no big news to see a 7.25 mile pop up on the old watch !
 
Mile Five 7.16 - The big mile ! A final attempt at an injection of pace as we headed back into Bassingham. I had another clubmate to pick off but also after a glance behind, had to be wary of target man as he wasn't that far behind and would be pushing hard. I caught the clubmate at 4.8 miles, and managed to finish strongly in 35.36- which was a good three minute improvement on last years effort.
 
An enjoyable event, and a mainstay on my race calendar ;-)

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