The proof is in the PB

'Why do you run?' people ask, 'Do you not find it boring?' 'Is it like, for a club?' or my personal favourite 'Do you get paid to run?' (I did once win a £5 gift voucher and a crate of ale but I don't think that counts...). To be honest there are SO many reasons but one of them is TO RACE. I turn up to training week in, week out in the hope that I can better my times and realise that it's aaaaalll been worth it (and for the Facebook likes, of course). A PB is concrete proof that you're getting better and all of the training is actually working - so yeah, it's a big deal.

I've always been a competitive gal and I think this is the reason I've stuck with running for so long. Bristol is an amazing city for running and you could probably do 2 or 3 races a week if you wanted to (but this would majorly fuck up my knees, my training AND my entire life so I tend to choose the ones that don't coincide with a hangover) and there is usually something to aim for maybe once or twice a month. I'm never going to be at the front of the pack so these local races are perfect for me. You get to know roughly who's going to be around the same speed as you and if they're spotted at the start line then you can GUARANTEE that you'll get the nod from your mates to stick with them like glue and attempt to glide past them at the finish. Generally this is someone you know (and actually quite like) so it's a bit odd to want to destroy them but HEY life is a competition and all is fair in love and 5km PBs...

When you're not the best runner in the world (or even in the training group), having a little competition with yourself is helpful as well. While my times are a little bit wanky compared to other people's from my club, it reaaaaally doesn't matter. My PBs are exactly what they say on the tin - personal bests to ME, and my main motivation to race is to beat my own times. Not improving can be a bit disheartening and if you've ever seen me after a cross country race where I finished 40 places lower down that I wanted to, then you'll know that 'a bit disheartening' is a massive understatement. On the other hand, getting a PB is one of the most rewarding things ever - liiiiike you've never ran that fast over that distance ever before in your WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE. Your life has basically peaked at that moment (until you get another PB). So this is what we're dealing with here...

 Not sure if you've heard (you definitely would've heard) but before the Bristol 10k I didn't get a PB for 18 MONTHS! That's a whole year and a half of training, trying and racing to be disappointed every single time. If we tally that up, it's approximately 18 races. Eighteen whole races of what I would call utter shite (and I did call them that, out loud, every single time).

BUT my life seems to have turned a corner. I'm not going to apologise for the rest of this blog post but I will warn you that it's basically just one massive brag. Me me me, I'm the best.

I expect you'll all have seen my ultra-braggy Bristol 10k post at the end of May? I maaaaay or may not have got a huge PB but whatever. In the 2 and a half months since that I've got another FOUR! Owwwww yeah...

 

800m, Bristol Open Meeting, June
When I was a young chav I was quite good at the 800m. I represented the school and the county in the distance but bloody hellllll it is not an easy one to run - and it's even less easy when you're a 24 year old woman in a race against several 13 year old boys... The nature of an open meeting means you're literally chucked in with all ages and genders depending on your previous PB. Last year I ran 2.46 for my 800m (fairly average) so was in with a lot of younger athletes, probably racing for the first time. FANTASTIC! Can't bloody wait. The boys were full of puberty and very excitable so went off like absolute loonys. Being the mature woman I am, I let them go and ran my own race - literally ON MY OWN, AT THE BACK. Ah well. I felt really strong until the last 120m when I thought my organs were going to fall out of my ass - Alexa told me after that I looked so terrible she was worried I would drop out - but I made it to the finish line in 2.45! A one second PB two weeks after the 10km, I'll take that. NEXT.

1 mile, Bristol Open Meeting, July
Another open meeting, another mish-mash of runners. This one was a bit more horrendous as there were only 4 girls entered (I knew I was at least the 3rd slowest) and the rest were all proper fast blokes. A bit intimidating but all of the men were lovely and said if they thought they might lap us that they'd go around us, and not to worry too much. Last year I had ran 6.24 at a mile race in Eastville Park but I really wanted under 6 minutes... Bit of a tall order innit?! Again,  I let the blokes run off at their own speed and stuck to my pace plan (ish). Coming into the last lap I knew it would be a bit close to get under 6 mins so tried to put in a bit of an effort. This was clearly too much for my body and bladder to handle and I started to wee a bit (hahahha, I kid you not, this is a true story). The wee continued to trickle down my leg for the last 300m and as I crossed the line in 5.59 I collapsed on the floor to hide my exhaustion and very attractive wet patch. Who cares that your boyfriend has just seen you piss yourself when you've just got ANOTHER BLOODY PB?! Not me.

5km, Bitton, July
The dreaded 5km. Having ran 20.58 in January 2015 and progressively got slower ever since, the 5km has been the biggest mental barrier for me to get over. I've tried SO hard over the past year to get my time down but it just wasn't happening - and not even close. A few 22 minutes, some 21.30s etc etc but nothing that screamed 'YOU'RE AT PEAK FITNESS'. I ran the Bitton 5km in June and somehow ran 21.02 - my fastest 5km in years! This made me so determined to get back under that elusive 21 mins.... July's Bitton 5km was my target and to be honest there is little to report on. I started off with a great group of women (including my mate Lisa Newing - HI LISA) who were all sticking to a good pace and meant I didn't go off waaaay too fast and die in the later stages. I got to 2.5km in 9.54 so knew I just had to get under 11 minutes for the 2nd half to get a PB. This was probably the most comfortable I've ever felt in a race. I didn't panic, kept to a consistent speed and picked off a couple of the women ahead of me. I was 100% concentrating on Lisa - not only was she going at a good speed but she also had a FANTASTIC tan so she was very easy to see haha... I saw the '500m to go' mark and frantically tried to work out if I was on for sub-21 (I was!). I crossed the line in 20.30 and don't think I've ever been happier after a race. FINALLY!!!!!

800m, Avon League, July
After good runs in the 800m and mile at the open meetings, I decided to take the plunge and put myself forward to run for the club (rather than just myself) at the Avon League. The Avon League is a series of meetings between clubs in Avon (duh) and each competitor scores points for the club depending on their race position. The points are then added up at the end of the season and we either go up to the next league, stay where we are or get relagated. It's basically the Premiership.

ANYWAY I put myself down to run the 800m and as mum was coming along with me she put herself down to race as well. Bit weird to not have mumsy screaming at me from the finishing straight but whatever, we train together now so I'm used to staring at her sweaty back. I had been training well so really wanted to better my time from the open meeting back at the beginning of June. There were 11 women in the race and the first 2 girls were in a different class so shot off like little rockets. I was getting a bit stuck in the outside lanes and couldn't get round people so mum (in 3rd place) shouted at me over her shoulder to 'GET IN!'. Instructions noted, I moved ahead into lane 1 and settled into 4th place. Ended up running with another lady which was veeeery helpful as she shielded me from the horrible wind on the back straight. I basically used her (SORRY HUN) and then went past her on the last 150m, willing the finish line to hurry up. I stuck my head down in 4th place and ended up 4 seconds behind mum. She was 2nd A team runner and I was 2nd B team! Excellentttt points for the club. We had to wait a whole 12 hours for the official time but............. 2.43!!! A whole 2 seconds quicker than my time from June, and not a puddle of piss in sight.

So there we go, 4 PBs in 3 months. We could pretend that I'm being really chilled about this but I am absolutely chuffed. I've been training really well but not obsessing - aka have actually been enjoying my life - and it seems to be working. I think I will always be one of those horrendous people that thinks a little competition is extreeeemely heathly and am 100% going to be be a pushy mother when I have children, but it's probably my favourite part of running and when it goes right it does feel gloooorious.

My next race on the track is 3km at the Midland League next weekend. I've never done one before so technically it'll be a PB by default but OH WELL you can still be sure that I'll be bragging about it on Facebook.