And here we are again.

The first race I wrote about last year, the one I signed up for when I first started running, the Braydeston 5k was back again yesterday.

Once again, the weather was annoyingly beautiful. Not quite as baking as last year, but I’ll be honest, I might have preferred a little more overcast!

Parking is in a field a short walk across a field from Braydeston Church where the race begins. It’s not exactly an arduous treck on a beautiful summers day!

I felt weirdly nervous, I run 5k all the time these days, but I felt a bit of pressure to do better than last year!

This year there were crepes available, yum, yum, and some fabulous raffle prizes as well. We picked up our numbers and spent some time lounging (and posing) in the sun in the lovely church yard before the start was called.

The course itself somehow manages to feel like it’s all entirely uphill. It isn’t, of course, there’s at least 1 steep downhill and much of it is undulating, but I certainly wouldn’t call it nice and flat! Unlike last year, I made it round this time with no walk breaks, but I have to say I was still feeling a little queasy at points, I really don’t like running in the sun, give me a nice overcast afternoon any day.

There’s a turn back at one point on the course, so you can see faster runners heading back in your direction. It always does wonders for your self esteem when those runners are spiderman, a woman in a coconut bra and a man in fishnets and a pink wig. *sigh*

It’s always tricky getting an exact time, as it takes a few seconds to get over the line. Last year as I crossed the line it said 30:15 ish on the clock, my Nike+ said I’d run my fastest 5k at 29:44. This year  as I crossed the line my official time is 29:53. My Nike+ says 29:42 (and knock off a couple of seconds as I didn’t stop it immediately!) I’m pretty happy with that.

Here I come!

Goodie bags, water and medals collected I retired to the shade to cool down a bit and examine the haul. I have to say, for the entry fee, and considering this is a charity race, the medals and goodie bags are brilliant! It contained, cake, cereal bars, an energy drink, a carton of vita coco, skin care samples, and the obligatory water bottle to add to the stash.

The medal is a rather natty 2013 shape.

It was nice to be back at Braydeston, and I’ll definitely go back next year. I couldn’t hang around for the raffle unfortunately as I had a soup drive to get to, but there were some cracking prizes to be won, so I’m sure everyone went home happy!

It’s weird to think that last year I ran this as my first run, and I had worked my way up to that 5k, and this year I’m just starting training for a half marathon. Gulp.

And here we are again.

The first race I wrote about last year, the one I signed up for when I first started running, the Braydeston 5k was back again yesterday.

Once again, the weather was annoyingly beautiful. Not quite as baking as last year, but I’ll be honest, I might have preferred a little more overcast!

Parking is in a field a short walk across a field from Braydeston Church where the race begins. It’s not exactly an arduous treck on a beautiful summers day!

I felt weirdly nervous, I run 5k all the time these days, but I felt a bit of pressure to do better than last year!

This year there were crepes available, yum, yum, and some fabulous raffle prizes as well. We picked up our numbers and spent some time lounging (and posing) in the sun in the lovely church yard before the start was called.

The course itself somehow manages to feel like it’s all entirely uphill. It isn’t, of course, there’s at least 1 steep downhill and much of it is undulating, but I certainly wouldn’t call it nice and flat! Unlike last year, I made it round this time with no walk breaks, but I have to say I was still feeling a little queasy at points, I really don’t like running in the sun, give me a nice overcast afternoon any day.

There’s a turn back at one point on the course, so you can see faster runners heading back in your direction. It always does wonders for your self esteem when those runners are spiderman, a woman in a coconut bra and a man in fishnets and a pink wig. *sigh*

It’s always tricky getting an exact time, as it takes a few seconds to get over the line. Last year as I crossed the line it said 30:15 ish on the clock, my Nike+ said I’d run my fastest 5k at 29:44. This year  as I crossed the line my official time is 29:53. My Nike+ says 29:42 (and knock off a couple of seconds as I didn’t stop it immediately!) I’m pretty happy with that.

Here I come!

Goodie bags, water and medals collected I retired to the shade to cool down a bit and examine the haul. I have to say, for the entry fee, and considering this is a charity race, the medals and goodie bags are brilliant! It contained, cake, cereal bars, an energy drink, a carton of vita coco, skin care samples, and the obligatory water bottle to add to the stash.

The medal is a rather natty 2013 shape.

It was nice to be back at Braydeston, and I’ll definitely go back next year. I couldn’t hang around for the raffle unfortunately as I had a soup drive to get to, but there were some cracking prizes to be won, so I’m sure everyone went home happy!

It’s weird to think that last year I ran this as my first run, and I had worked my way up to that 5k, and this year I’m just starting training for a half marathon. Gulp.