Some Like it Hot

Some runners like to run in hot conditions, others prefer the temperature to be a bit cooler, I fall into the latter category. Thursday June 2 was the day of the Dumbarton 10k, the third of the Polaroid Series of Road Races. It was also the warmest day of the year.

I had went through my new ritual of drinking 500ml of water two hours before the race but when the sweat was pouring off of me after my ‘warm up’ I knew it didn’t bode well. This was my fifth time running this particular race but the first time since the introduction of electronic chip timing. The course had been amended to facilitate the technology and now started and finished in the same place, the park next to Dumbarton Academy. I took my position amongst the 880 or so runners and at 7:30pm we were set on our way over the blue mats, out of the park and a sharp left onto Crosslett Road, about a hundred metres on we turned a sharp right and then left onto the cycle path and through East End Park.

I had made a conscious decision to pace myself, in order to conserve energy in the heat, but I was still surprised at how many runners dashed off in the early stage. I was running with Erica Christie and Jim McMillan, my time of 4:08 for the first kilometre was maybe a wee bit fast but not too much.  The route continued along the path, turned left, up Third Ave, and then right and was now parallel to the A82. The second kilometre had taken me 4:17, I was happy enough with that but Jim had dropped off the pace. There had been a slight steady climb for the first two kilometres and although the next kilometre was slightly downhill, I was starting to tire and was struggling psychologically to keep going. The 3rd k took me 4:18. I was pleased when the route left the path and joined the pavement on the A82 at Milton, as I knew that the turning point was in sight. The 4th k had taken me 4:25 and a number of runners including Erica, Mark McGoldrick and Maria Dye – with her music blaring- had overtaken me. The marshals and supporters at the turning point gave me shouts of encouragement as I turned a sharp right and back onto the cycle track. Although the support and the turn had given me a lift, the 5th k had taken me 4:30. However I was still on course as my 5k time was 21:36 and I usually have a negative split.

The water station was a welcome sight, not so much for the little water which I needed to wet my mouth but for the rest of the bottle which I poured over myself and refreshed me so much.

There was a slight steady climb for the next two kilometres and although my pace improved slightly to 4:26 after being refreshed, it soon dropped to 4:38 for the 7th k. Despite that and the tiredness, I was feeling slightly upbeat as I overtook Westerland’s Peter Grassl, who had beaten me at the West District Cross Country Championships at Irvine earlier this year and had, more recently, run a sub 20min 5k at the Glasgow parkrun.

The course left the A82 here and we turned left, back onto Third Ave, and then right, continuing on the cycle track back towards East End Park but then diverted rightwards, up Smolled Road, and then a sharp right turn took us onto Crosslett Road but running away from the Academy. I was expecting Peter to chase after me and presumed that my old sparring partners Norman Boyle and Tom McMillan would also be closing in on me but I didn’t seem to have much more to give and the 8th k took me 4:27. I knew that the route continued on roads until the Finish. We turned left onto Dumbuck Road, left again and a right took us onto Overwood Drive before turning left onto Round Riding Road and the 9k marker. The 9th k had taken me a disappointing 4:34, however I was holding my own and had Maria Dye in my sights. We turned left onto Bonhill Road and I managed to catch her but just as we were about to turn left, back onto Crosslett Road, local runner, Yvonne Boyle, cheered on by the Dumbarton support, overtook me.

I managed to find an extra gear as we approached the Academy and overtook Yvonne before turning left back into the park. I could hear my name being shouted and gave it one last push, managing to overtake three guys, before crossing the Finish Line in a disappointing 43:44. The 10th k had taken me a more respectable 3:59.

I was shattered and after collecting my Goody bag made my way back to the Academy for my recovery drink and to support the other runners completing their races. However I couldn’t deny that I was upset with my performance and, rather than staying for the post race chat and prize giving, I headed back home for a rest.


Results
I was literally just in the door when I received a text on my mobile advising me of my time and placing. I was 223rd out of 876 finishers, in a Gun time of 43:54 and a Chip time of 43:44. (OK the text actually said I had run the Helensburgh 10k but, that aside, it was still great service from the organisers.)

I had a look back at my previous results which revealed the following Gun times:

Year Time
2000 46:15
2001 44:14
2003 46:20
2005 44:31
2011 43:54

I was still disappointed but at least I had the consolation that I had run a Course Best. A further look at the results indicated that I was not the only one to have suffered in the heat, with many fellow runners clocking slower times than usual.

Hind Sight
In hind sight then it was not a terrible disappointing result and as Hal Higdon points out ‘you can only run the race in the conditions at the time’.  Maybe I should have stayed for coffee, after all it was my turn to buy it.

Full Results
 
Some Like it Hot