Bristol and West Fast 5000s – My Track Debut
Last Saturday night I made my track debut at the Bristol and West Fast 5000s event. Regular readers/followers will know this is the race I’ve been training for over the last 6 weeks or so.
The event was put on by Bristol and West running club and held at the Yate Outdoor Sports Complex. I must admit, its an impressive set up there. Having next to no previous track or general athletics experience it was all new to me but it looked great.
I travelled up with my coach Simon and his wife Katrina. When we arrived I registered for my race and got my race numbers. That’s right, race numbers. Being a track first timer I didn’t realise I’d need a number on my back as well as my front.
Its the little things like that which make these experiences different. I soon saw a few people I know from Instagram so had a good catch up with them. Dan and Jemma were both in the first race so I watched them get underway then went to change.
Cheerleading
There was a few of us cheering them on. We were allowed to stand on the track to cheer as they had cones to sperate the 4 racing lanes although the races soon stretched out into single file affairs.
It was during this race that I started to get an idea of what it would be like to race on the track. The laps seem to go by quite quickly and I was wondering just how repetitive it would feel.
The race was soon over and they both did great with Dan bagging a big PB. At this point it was time to get myself warmed up as there was only one more race before mine.
I did a couple of laps of the adjacent football pitches before returning to the arena to do my drills on the track.
I’d only ever run one lap on a proper rubber track before so warming up on it gave me an idea of what to expect. The surface there had recently been relayed so it had a lot of bounce and felt quick.
The race before mine was soon over and we were called to the start line. Similar to the double race numbers, the race chips were also different.
The majority of road races that do chip timing either have the chip on your number or give you a tag to put on your shoes. Here, we had to attach a plastic chip to a strap that had to go around our left ankles. Why the left? I have no idea to be honest but I soon forgot I was wearing it!
Track racing is tough
We were given our final instructions and with a shot from the starting gun, we were off.
The plan was to run at 6min pace which meant 90secs per lap. Simon was happy for the first couple to be a little quicker as long as I settled down to the planned pace.
The first 4 laps flew by. I had Simon shouting instructions from the start position and some of the Instagram crew cheering along the home straight which helped massively.
I was starting to feel the pace of the race over the next couple of laps but according to Simon I was still bang on target. It was nice to know I was maintaining the required pace.
This is the kind of race that you have to largely ignore the watch. Its more about feel and if you’re lucky enough to have your coach there timing your laps you don’t need it.
The field had split into groups. I was leading the third group back and exchanged the lead a couple of times. This was one of the biggest mistakes I made during the race. Along the home straight was quite a strong head wind. Instead of tucking in behind others, I ended up protecting those behind me from the wind.
From lap 7 onwards my pace started to drop. I just couldn’t maintain it any longer. A couple of laps later and my little group had completely split. With 600m left to go Simon told me to really dig in and push on to the finish.
This was the second mistake I made. I went too hard too soon so by the time I heard the bell for the final lap I’d expended most of what I had left.
I attempted a sprint finish in the final 100m but I was done and I crossed the line in 19.06.
A great night of running
I was initially disappointed. For the second race in 10 days, I’d hoped to PB but had fallen short. I walked round the track back to Simon with my head down. Turns out I was wrong about the PB.
Simon has now repeatedly told me that 5000m and standard 5k races should be separated so technically I got a new 5000m PB by default.
We did a little post race analysis but Simon was happy with my performance. Racing on a track certainly isn’t easy and it doesn’t guarantee a quicker time than racing on the roads. It was, however a fantastic experience and one I definitely want to have again.
Getting PB’s is great but they aren’t the be all and end all of running. As long as you put in the work they’ll come eventually, each “failed” PB attempt is a step in the right direction.
After chatting to a few people about the race I went and showered. I then got some food and made my way back to the track to watch the remaining races.
There were a few others I knew running in some of the later races and they all did great with Matts sprint finish being hilariously epic in the way it was executed!
Overall, it was a great event put on by Bristol and West AC at a fantastic venue. It was a brilliant insight in the more elite side of running and seeing what others go through to run so fast was inspiring.
What’s next
So with my goal race now in the books, its time for the next one and I don’t have long to wait. I’m running Wessex 10k this coming Saturday (3rd August) which was a bit of a last minute decision.
I had planned to do Totnes 10k on the 4th but it was sold out when I went to enter it. With Wessex 10k being the evening before and entries still open I booked it.
Simon and I spoke about me lacking speed endurance which is helped by racing more. So with Wessex being my third race in 3 weeks I could be on for a good time. I’m not going to worry too much about a PB, I’m just going to run hard and see what happens.
