MY FAT CHANCE

My First RDC Youngers Experience Pt. 3

It started off with about 7 or 8 of us in the group with Mark (of 2nd Drop Records) leading it, the Elite nutter! In the first few minutes I remember turning to Atticus and saying, “Why do I get the feeling that I’m going to regret this soon?!”. Mark said it was alright for us to slow down and join another group if the pace was too fast and we did that in due time.

I was running, focusing on the task at hand you know…running at a fast pace and in the zone with Mark, Shameek and Mike in my sights, determined to catch them! What followed were some of the fastest splits I’ve ever done, from 2.5mi to 3.5mi in the run I was averaging a 6:30/mi pace and from 3.5mi onwards it was at a sub 7 minute pace, very pleased with that! 

The large group that kicked the second half off was now a lot smaller. What was 15 was now 8. What was 8 quickly changed to 3’s. What were 3’s changed to a 3 and a 2 with 1 dropping off. And towards the very end what was a pair was now a sole runner. 

For a brief moment I caught up to Mark and Co. and they quickly left me! My breathing was heavy but I needed to push on, how else was I going to get home?! Hilary then caught pace with me and set the standards for the rest of the run! It’s a lot better running alongside someone then when by yourself, you can motivate and push each other on. For the last half-mile of the race I was in la-la land, there were endless canal tunnels that confused me, I forgot where I was and Mark and Co. were. They were so far in front of me and Hilary we couldn’t see them, so we just ran on. Passing all the strangers I had waved too before but I was serious now! No talking! No faffing! No waving! I don’t know why I was so serious, I just was, I was pushing myself.

…Remember how I said there were endless canal tunnels? Well guess what, I was at the last one now! Huzzah! I can see Mark, Mike and Shameek there waiting for us, I was so happy at that moment, it was Forrest Gump time. Time to forget and fly! I upped the speed for a sprint finish just so the whole run could be over that little bit quicker! Slapped / shook hands with the Elites and cheered on Hilary for the final stretch! (She was only about 2.5 seconds behind).

Wow, it was over. What a run that turned out to be. I was dedicated to the cause and put in some good mileage and some record splits for myself! After that we moved on to mingle and have Tom take photo’s of us! I think after each session we’re all going to get a little closer, know more about each other. We cheered each other on at the beginning and at the end.

And there you have it, my first RDC Youngers experience.

My First RDC Youngers Experience Pt. 2

We were all geared up, running shoes, shorts and t-shirts (some sports bra’s I guess too for the ladies) all round, ready for what was approaching. A run from Mile End running track to the Olympic stadium and back! It took us along the canal, next to the park and finally in sight of Londons main attraction for next year.

My RunKeeper has the run coming in at 4.6 miles. All of our brilliant gps gadgets at the crew gave us a range of either over or under 5 miles. So for my sake I’ll just stick to my skewed tracking! 

So we set off…running the canals to our destination, around 18 of us in total I think. Sticking together at a reasonable distance and having small conversations as well as shouting, “BIKE” when necessary! That was fun…me being me I was waving to strangers and saying hello, trust me it makes it a lot easier to do that when people are staring at you when you run! And running with RDC that’s happened each time, it’s not everyday you see a big group of runners like that. As we ran I wanted give Bridget advice when we were running because I wish I had some sort of advice when I started this journey. She’s starting out now but she’ll have finished a half-marathon a few months, ah I’m so excited about it all!

Nearly half way now and some interesting conversations have cropped up. Ruth and Linda are getting to know us all whilst Mark is telling a few of us about why we ‘made the cut’ and something all of us share, he so eloquently put that something as us having, “get off your arse-ness” which is always good to know! 

We eventually turn off the canals and hit the bridges to the Olympic Stadium Site! The area is agonisingly close to my house, I won’t lie I was thinking about how easy it would be to go home from where we were! But I knew that was never going to happen, we were only half way of course. I was good spirits, still breathing well and I had plenty in the tank, I wasn’t quite ready for what was to follow though. We split into 3 different groups for the run back, i’ll say the groups were Greyhounds, Hares and Tortoises. I went with the Greyhounds, because I was in good spirits of course…

Part 3 up tomorrow.