It was the last 10km of the Striders season this morning. I didnt sleep well and so when the alarm went off and i could hear the rain coming down i was very tempted to roll over and just go back to sleep....but after 2 x snoozes i decided to get up and go for it, as i figured i would only regret it if i didnt do it. And i wouldnt be able to put it right until February when the new season starts.
I got to Lane Cove in plenty of time to register and do a quick warm up on the course. Saw Kathryn and Andrew and chatted to them before the start and then off we went.
Based on my recent race experiences i decided to go in with a race plan this time which was to go out hard for as long as i could and try and hold it in the knowledge that the back 4km was basically down hill. Lane Cove was after all the course where i had set my 10km PB a few years ago and so i obviously liked it! Although i didnt have a target time in mind, i was aiming for 42.xx in the back of my mind.
Unfortunately there was no 40 minute pacer for this race and so i had no-one to follow to start with. Plus, as i started quicker than i normally do, the familiar faces that i usually follow were all behind me! Still i could see Andrew and K ahead so i figured if i could keep them both in my vision for as long as possible, they would keep my time honest.
I went through 3km feeling good and with my pace around the 4.10/4.15 mark which i was happy with. My breathing wasnt as easy as it usually is but i figured this was probably as i was pushing myself harder and earlier than i normally do and was a good sign. As this course is hill, my tactic was to push the hills and then recover on the downhills.
The hill up to the turnaround seemed to take forever, but i still had Andrew in sights and so i figured i must have been doing ok. I then caught Andrew at the turnaround at which point he muttered that he was broken...to which i replied that the last 4km was downhill!
Andrew and i then ran together for the rest of the race, not really passing anyone, but not being passed either. Aside from a couple of keen sprinters in the last km. We kept the pace honest, around 4.15/4.20ish which was probably a little over what i really wanted from this section, but i was breathing pretty heavily by this point and the two "small" hills on the homeward leg really seemed to take it out of my legs!
We picked it up for the last km as per usual and crossed the finish line together. In hindsight i could have probably pushed the last couple of km's a little harder but at the time i really wasnt that bothered.
Had a nice catch up with K and Charlie afterwards in the pouring rain. Even managed a snag which i usually avoid!
On reflection, this was the best 10km race i have done for a while. Mainly due to having a race plan and going out harder than i have done recently. I also think that taking it easy at Track on Thursday night helped and meant that my legs were fresher, especially in the back half of the race.
Time: 42.45. Place: 63/179.
Km splits:
1km - 4.07
2km - 4.01
3km - 4.15
4km - 4.10
5km - 4.35
6km - 4.27
7km - 4.15
8km - 4.22
9km - 4.24
10km - 4.06
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