On a perfect morning for running, cool and crisp and with virtually no humidity, I decided to revisit the Striders North Head Star route that I had used to prepare for the Sydney and Melbourne marathons last year. It is an honest route with plenty of hills and I figured it should give me a fair indication of where I am at.
With both Roly and Tim opting for the Striders 10k hitout yesterday, I was running solo.
The first part of the route is basically flat which enabled me to set a good sub 5 min pace for the first few km's and warm up the legs.
I managed to hold this pace until Manly Dam where I naturally slowed as the route winds its way through North Balgowlah before dropping down to the spit. By this stage, I was averaging 5.15's for the run so far - exactly where I wanted to be.
From Clontarf I recalled that the route resembles a roller coaster through to Manly with some sharp hills and matching descents. Still, I was able to keep the pace honest, making it to Manly still averaging 5.15's for the morning and feeling strong.
From here the route goes straight up Darley Road before circling North Head and back via Shelly Beach.
Although the last few km's along the beachfront were hard, overall the legs felt pretty good considering that this was the longest run I had done since Melbourne.
All up 3km in 2.36, averaging 5.13's for the morning. A perfect way to start my Sunday!
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