Brecon 10 Mile Hilly Road Race

On Sunday morning I woke up and decided to run the Brecon 10 mile hilly road race. I had signed up for it but had a bad cough, was on anti-biotics and hadn't run for a week. My last run was my 10 mile trial run and I abandoned it after 6 1/2 miles as I felt so ill. Up until I woke up I thought I was going to give it a miss but no, I went against all common sense and decided it was a good idea to run!

I met my Pegasus pals at the athletics track in Brecon and we had time for a pre-race selfie.

Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese!

This was our view of the start line.

Lots of familiar faces... or backs of heads

We were quite close to the start line but we still nearly missed the start. One minute we were chatting away and then next people in front of us had started running so we quickly joined in.

Luckily for me, Garry decided to stick with me for the run. Running is so much more fun when you run with friends.

My running buddy Garry and the awesome Brecon views

I'd been warned to take photos on the way out as the way back was pretty much all uphill! The first 5 miles consisted of me thinking "I've got to run back up this hill!"

Runfie!

I have to admit, I was happy to be running and my cough seemed to disappear but the run was really hard work. Even the stunning views didn't seem to distract me from the pain.

Taken while running

Wait for us car!

The bridge around mile 6... or 7... or 8... I can't remember!

If it hadn't been for Garry, I would've given up at around mile 6 or 7. I ached from head to toe, it was hot and I just wanted to sit down for a second but Garry kept me going. He is a legend and I am so grateful that he stayed with me for the whole 10 miles.

Me and Garry

From about 9 miles onwards I could've fallen down at any step but something kept me on my feet. The race ended on the athletic track and I couldn't wait to get to the finish line.

Very nearly at the finish!

I usually end a run on a sprint finish but I had nothing left in me, if I tried to go faster I'm pretty sure I would just fall over and have to crawl to the end instead.

Exactly how I felt

When I stopped running I discovered a new fun thing called jelly legs. I had to walk from the finish line to the medal, t-shirt and water tent. I have no idea how I got there, all I wanted to do was this...

Let me lie down!

Somehow I got my medal, my t-shirt and a bottle of water then one of my Pegs gave me a banana which I scoffed it down like I hadn't eaten for a year then downed the bottle of water. I felt a bit better and started to remember my own name.

Tis me... Sara!

Me, my man and my new medal

Me and my Pegs... plus a photo bombing Les Croupier

T-shirt AND a medal!! Ka-ching!

Medal close up!

My aim was to complete the race within 2 hours. This would mean me doing 12 minute miles and I thought that was achievable if I could just keep going. Well I actually completed it in 1 hour 52 mins and 55 seconds which is an average pace of 11:14 minute miles!!

Now races aren't all about time, medals and t-shirts, they are about other things too like 'how many calories did I burn off so how much food can I now eat?' Priorities people!

1215 calories burnt off... where's the cake?!

Yup!

On the way home my lovely man took me to McDonalds for my post race treat! He is a god!

McDonalds quarter pounder meal and a McFlurry... heaven!

I came away from the race in pretty good condition considering I hadn't run more than 8 miles total for a couple of weeks but I did pick up a couple of war wounds.

War wound 1

War wound 2

I decided that the McDonalds wasn't enough of a treat so ended the day with a bottle of Asti and a chocolate cornetto whilst cwtched up on the sofa with my man... bliss!

Post race treat number 2

Here are the provisional results...

273 out of 285 runners!

I am really happy with coming 273 out of 285 especially as I had prepared myself to either come last or to not finish at all.

My main reason for running the Brecon 10 was to see if my training was on track for the Cardiff Half Marathon (have I mentioned that I'm running a half marathon?!). I thought that if I could do 10 miles of hilly road racing with 2 months left before the half then I could definitely complete 13.1 miles of flatness in Cardiff.

But completing the Brecon 10 mile was about so much more than my half marathon training schedule. It made me realise that I can push myself to the point of collapse and still remain standing (well wobbling!). It made me ache from head to toe but I am loving the pain, it hasn't dented my buzz and I can't wait to get my runners on again. I have accomplished so much more than I ever thought I was capable of and I'm so damn proud of myself.

For those of you who have read some of my older blogs, you know exactly what my struggle with low self-esteem has been. When I started this journey I had no idea who I was or what I could do with my life. It's been an emotional 10 months but I wouldn't change a second of it.

*high 5s self*