When I last posted about my 'get the Strava 10k badge each month' challenge, I'd just failed at September because my race was too short and then I was too lazy to do another long run.  Happy to report that I'm back on track now!

October's 10k was another local race - but this time with a UKA verified course and entirely closed roads.

Well, mostly closed roads. Some sections were definitely closed off, some were possibly only closed in the direction of running, and other times there were just cars everywhere.  Maybe they were just being twats ignoring the signs, I don't know.

official photo by Charles Whitton Photography

It was cold, but sunny.  I'd gone for long sleeves, but no sunglasses. In hindsight, short sleeves would have been fine and sunglasses might have been useful.  Ah well.

Obviously I set off at far too quick a pace, but at least now I've sort of learned that lesson and did manage to slow myself to something more sustainable. In fact I only stopped to walk at the water station - because I still haven't figured out how you drink from a cup while running!

As we ran back into Waterwells business park, I knew we were near the finish line but couldn't see where it actually was, which was a bit annoying.  Turns out it was tucked away around a corner behind a building, so difficult to judge if/when to start on a sprint finish.

I'm really pleased with how this race went, especially as I set a new PB of 55.38!  The medal's quite nice too (even if my photography sucks)

tags: Gloucester running