Tata Steel Cardiff Bay 5 2011 - Race Report

The Cardiff Bay 5 was very much a last-minute affair. I had only decided to run the week before and had still yet to register half an hour before the gun! Even so, I was left with plenty of time to amble over to the starting area and chat with a few friends who would also be running. The atmosphere was warm and amicable right from the off. Indeed, I would have been utterly relaxed if only my Garmin hadn't flat refused to find a satellite signal.

At first glance, Monday, 2 May 2011 was a perfect day: Cardiff was graced with blue skies and lavished with spring sunshine. But looks can be deceiving. A stern wind was whipping in off the coast. Before the start, the announcers said the conditions would be 'tough'. What's in a word? Well, quite a lot, it turns out...

I had purposefully left a little room between me and the starting line -- I knew that the front runners had posted times well below 30 minutes the previous year, and I was aiming ambitiously for 33 minutes. My friends were with me right up until the gun (well, the horn). This was a welcome change. I'd grown accustomed to lining up alongside strangers at events like this.

Honk! We were away (and thankfully, so too was my Garmin!). Immediately I fell into a quick but comfortable rhythm. My usual strategy would be to sit back and save something until the final third, but that wouldn't cut it today. The latter half of the course was along a barrage completely exposed to the wind, so I was anticipating a tough final mile or two.  Best to get a decent start, I thought.

In fact, the wind was a factor much sooner than I had anticipated: Lloyd George Avenue served as quite an effective corridor! I tucked in behind another runner who seemed to be pacing himself quite well. Mile 1 was on the horizon: 6m 26s. Hmm. A touch quick, perhaps. But how did I feel? Well, pretty good, actually! 

After the first mile marker, we looped back on ourselves and were aided briefly by a tailwind. I could still see the front runners ahead, but they were stretching steadily into the distance. It would have been silly to up my pace. As I made my way back down Lloyd George Avenue, I could see the rest of the field on the other side of the central reservation. I heard a "go on, Ed!" from my friend Helen but sadly couldn't see her! Then I gave a wave to my friend Martin, who still looked pretty comfortable at that point. Mile 2: 6m 27s. Steady as she goes.

We had a bit of a break from the wind next. Mile 3 ran alongside the docks and various warehouses afforded us some shelter. It suddenly struck me how warm it was in the sunshine so I veered off into the shade. Some runners started to fade; others -- mostly club runners -- held it together. Mile 3: 6m 34s. OK, so I had slowed a little, but not by a great margin. So far so good.

Just after mile 3, a club runner from Port Talbot struck up conversation. This was his first event in several years. He had been quite an accomplished runner in his younger days and wanted to get back into it. He asked me what I was aiming for. 33 minutes, I replied. He 35, apparently. I assured him he was well on track. He asked if he could stick with me until the finish line, and I was glad of the company. We egged each other on as the barrage came into view.

Tailwind. Grab it with both hands, I thought! In fact, I said as much. My newfound friend agreed. We made good progress along the seafront, but when we looped back on ourselves, we were immediately battered by 20mph winds (well, that's what the forecasts said, but I would love to have had an anemometer!). I put my head down and leaned forward. The wind was hitting us diagonally and was a definite obstacle. Mile 4: 6m 34s. I was tired by now, but the end was within reach.

A few hundred more yards of the barrage. I saw Helen and Webb coming in the opposite direction and told them both to brace themselves! Soon I was winding my way towards the finish. Somehow I had become a wind breaker for a pack of runners. With less than half a mile to go I was exhausted -- the conditions had really taken their toll. Then I saw the finish line. "Come on, last push", I said to my fellow runner. I sprinted for the remaining few yards and came over the line in 32 minutes dead. Great stuff.

Distance: 5 miles (Garmin: 4.88 miles)

Time: 32m 00s (Garmin: 31m 50s)

Avg pace: 6m 24s (Garmin: 6m 32s)

Position: 40 of 655 (putting me in the top 6.1%)

Official results can be found here, and my GPS data here.

P.S. I noticed there was no mat at the start line, so I think chip times were from the gun. That would explain the discrepancy with my Garmin time.