My PB Smashing Cardiff 10K!

Sunday 11th September was the Cardiff 10K and, as usual, I was like a kid at Christmas on race day. My running buddy Clare picked me up and we headed into town. Clare was running with her Mind Cymru work colleagues so I wished them all a good race and went to meet my Pegs at the museum.

Our regular race meeting point... right by the toilets

Last year I finished the race in 1:03:35 and was happy to do this years in 1:05:00 or 1:06:00 ish as I hadn't been running as quickly as last year during training.

Pre-race selfie, I can't start a race without one!

Once all the Pegs had arrived, we lined up ready and waited for someone to walk by and take our photo. We were so excited when someone did that we broke out the jazz hands!

Jazz hands!

After all that excitement we made our way to the start line.

Pre-race joy... you just wait!

I was feeling great, ready to take on the race and give it my all. The start was crowded and the pathway wasn't very wide so it seemed to take forever to get into a bit of space. 

There seemed to be runners everywhere and a lot of people were weaving in and out trying to get ahead of the pack. I tried to keep out of the way as the weavers didn't seem to care who they nearly took out in the process. I thought it would ease off as we got further into the race but it didn't until about 7km in.

Trying to hitchhike to the finish line

I kept an eye on my Garmin as I had a rough idea of what pace per mile I wanted to do. I was surprised a few times when I realised I was running faster than the plan but still felt good.

Not long to go and still smiling

At about 8km I realised I was actually doing a good time and there was a chance I could finish closer to last year's time. I decided to really go for it and see just how fast I could do it.

Every bump in the road felt like a hill and my legs were objecting. I could see the finish but it seemed like miles away. I kept on pushing and somehow managed to beat my PB!

I finish in 1:02:44 - nearly a minute quicker than last year!!

New edition to my bling

I was buzzing! I didn't think I would get close to last years race time let alone beat it. I made sure I told everyone I saw!

I found some of the Pegs and we queued for our bags, this was the perfect time to exchange race stories.

Post race chit-chat

Once everyone had picked up our bags we posed for yet another photo... we never get tired of this!

Those Les Croups get everywhere!

My employers, Spire Healthcare, provided the sports massages for the event so I popped over to see my friend, colleague and physio Pippa. She is the person who fixed me after my IT band injury and she got me back running better and stronger than ever! Faster too!

World's Best Physio!

One of the best things about being a Peg is the social side of the club. We all get on so well and it's tradition to hit a bar and talk even more about running.

Post race drinks and cwtches for the boys

This race is what I needed to keep my confidence high and to keep me excited and motivated about my running. Next up is the Cardiff Half Marathon on 2nd October and I can't wait!