C++
Our drive to Mill Bay this morning was more thrilling and eventful then the race itself. Leaving town I noticed the gas gauge was nearing E (dependant on the angle of the road), but not wanting to fritter away any time before the race, I ignored Ally’s suggestion and proceeded up the Malahat.
With few clouds in the sky, we were treated to a beautiful sunrise and pulled over just after the summit (1,156 ft), to snap a few pictures. After a quick photo shoot, I hopped back in the car only to have my heart rate soar from resting to threshold in the turn of a key, as the bloody car wouldn’t start (with my eyes bulging out, apparently the look on my face was quite amusing).
Luckily, as I’d parked facing downhill and with Ally’s car a standard, I put it in gear, popped the clutch and drove straight to the nearest gas station.
The race started just after 7:00 under clear but cold (2C) conditions. I’m happy with the effort I put in, and more importantly that I managed to negative split (18:06, 17:40), but disappointed with my time, 35:46. I thought I had played my cards well and would’ve liked to have seen a faster (35:15) time given the level of exertion.
There was a group of 10 guys who split the first km about 5” ahead of me, but as I went through in 3:18 and was unsure of my fitness, I played it conservatively. With hindsight, I would have taken it out the group but as I managed to pull a handful of them back in the last 4-km I’m not too disappointed.
1-k 3:18
2-k 3:31
3-k 3:20
4-k 3:46
5-k 4:11
6 to 8-k 10:44
9-k 3:31
10-k 3:25
The turnaround is at the top of a significant hill and I told myself to wait until the 6-k point before going above threshold. Although not smooth, I felt controlled over the last 4-k and… had the race been another km longer think I would’ve managed to pass a few more from the early pack. Perhaps I played it too conservatively? I finished 21st overall and 5th in my age group (35-39).
6 comments:
Good job on getting the negative splits! Sounds like a pretty competitive race and with your marathon coming up you'll have plenty of distance to catch those other runners.
Good race. Be satisfied that you knew you had more in the tank.
Thanks! If nothing else, it gives me a very clear assessment of where I'm at, my strengths and my weaknesses. My 12-week countdown starts this week and I’m very much looking forward to the work… bring it on.
Nobody else runs negative splits in a 10k. I guess it's up to you to decide if that means you're very strong, started too slowly, or a bit of both.
Congratulations. I think you ran a great race, no matter if you're happy with it or not.
Yes, nice race. You maybe went out ten seconds slow, which is a good problem to have, especially given you are deep into marathon training.
That's a very strong second half, which is a great indicator of your current strength. Pay close attention to your recovery from the race, and recover well. Pace yourself over the next 9-10 weeks--every good workout deserves an equally good recovery.
Good work!
Solid run Michael.
It takes discipline to negative split a 10K. That kind of discipline will serve you well in the marathon.
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