North Ayrshire Athletics Club 10k

Having maybe travelled through Saltcoats, where the NAAC is based, once in my life it was very much a journey into the unknown for me on Sunday morning. With satnav primed I set off on a cloudy, slightly clammy day heading for Ayrshire wondering what my third 10k race in twelve days would bring - a slightly faster or slower time, a bit of a slog or an even more difficult race? Who knew, my plan had been to sharpen my pace ahead of the Glasgow half marathon in less than four weeks time with the aim of being under two hours but my legs were not reacting as positively as I'd hoped.

I was delighted to find seven clubmates had arrived ahead of me complete with spouses, kids and dog. Next to the track the lovely aromas from the 'NAAC bar' and adjacent barbeque were tempting me to just watch the race while enjoying a hotdog (or two) but sanity prevailed and I headed off for a warm up instead.
The organisers sent the field off in waves according to their predicted time, some of us got our predictions fairly accurate while others, Sharon in particular, were well out (in a good way).
Despite starting in the pack behind John Boyd, Russell and myself Sharon came past us within the first half mile, pulling away impressively into the distance while Russell drew level with me soon after but I managed to pull away from him quickly on a short downhill towards the railway line. My legs were heavy and I guess I had my answer - it was going to be tough today, no surprise there I suppose.

A map for those of you who do know Saltcoats

Once the route headed south along the coast the wind really started making things difficult and John passed me just as we rounded Saltcoats harbour which didn't improve my mood. Deciding to man-up I dug in and kept him within twenty metres or so along a road I recognised immediately despite never having been there before, Seaview Road. It's the spot we all know, where the BBC despatch a camera crew at least once every winter along with a hapless reporter to film the waves crashing over the seawall and over the railway tracks. I had never noticed a road between the sea and the railway before but we had to run it's length, turn 180 degrees and all the way back again - the good news was that the wind was now behind us and, without any extra effort, I felt my pace quickening and began to close the gap to John. Soon we were running along an old railway line which should have been nice and flat but there were a couple of nasty kicks up where bridges and tunnels no longer existed and it was just after one such that I latched on to the back of a group of guys and used their pace to ease past John. He told me later his hamstring started bothering him about then (aye, right John!) but the thought that he would be trying to catch me was enough too keep me honest all the way back to the track and the long 500 meter loop to be completed before the finish line.
I was very glad that was over and rather surprised to find I was under 50 minutes again, 49.43 in fact, despite feeling pretty rubbish the whole way. Sharon meanwhile had run an absolute stormer, coming home in a superb 45.57 in 82nd place overall and leading harrier. She thought at the time it might be a pb but on checking found she still has another minute or so to trim before that happens, still a great run and time nonetheless. I was next home in 138th place (only sixth MV60 today in a much bigger field) with Seonaid Morton one second behind in 139th! This conjures up images of us sprinting down the home straight neck and neck, sadly the reality was that she had started in the wave behind so we finished entirely separately. This was definitely a pb for Seonaid as it was for the next harrier home, Lorraine Buchanan, in a superbly judged time of 49.59 - the Chester marathon training is clearly having the desired effect.
Closer to me than twelve days before John came home next in 50.11 and 147th followed by Julie in 50.38 and 160th position, another clearly benefiting from getting in some longer miles. Russell came over the line next in 53.23 and 214th and then Allison in 56.20 and 259th place. The other Thomson running, Andy, placed highest up the field of us all in 22nd place and yet another pb of 39.57.

A happy band of  harriers after the finish

All in all I'm fairly pleased with the results of my 'speedier' training with only 40 seconds between the fastest and slowest of the three 10ks and each of them sub-50. However, sod that for a game of soldiers, I'll be back to long and slow this coming weekend as I'm simultaneously training for a forty-miler in October!
Worth mentioning that yet another runner was out advertising our trail races, see below.

Proving to be a great idea Jim, worth all those sleepless nights?

In a double for Ayr Seaforth the race winners were Toni McIntosh in 37.24 and Kenneth Neill  in 34.00 exactly.
Overall an excellent set-up, race route and facilities. Throw in a medal, tee shirt, water, banana, caramel wafer and a mini roller for 'plantar relief' and I can highly recommend this one to you all.
Some photos of the day are here NAAC 10k Photo credits go to, yes you guessed it, Kenny Phillips, Sharon and Kevin McGarry
NB Nearly forgot the most important photo from the day, the girls' tombola prizes!