Half Sub 1hr 35, 10k sub 38, 5k sub 18

In a way it was a weight off my shoulders having not done the training I´d wanted to. I didn´t get any running in last weekend and only 2 days in during the week of pretty bad training So, I guess I wasn´t really expecting much and that was grand for today.

I knew the key would be race tactics today so after my 10 mile "disaster" in that respect I started off at what felt like a really comfortable pace. Usually, I´m the one weaving between people at the start and then being passed out at the end. Today I had my sensible hat on for once. We went through 2 miles in 13:05mins and I was feeling fine but still wondering if it might have been a bit fast, time would tell but it certainly felt much much more comfortable than the 10 miler at that stage.

Mile 3 and 4 were run in 6:27mins and 6:43mins respectively and all was fine. In fairness the first half of the course was as flat as a pancake but knowing what was to come was good at keeping most people to a sensible pace. 12:47mins for the next 2 miles which took in most of Chesterfield Avenue. I noticed a sort of group of us gradually joining together at this stage and knew it would be good idea to stay in it despite the fact people were mentioning they were going at sub1:25 pace! That was not in my plan!!

Mile 7 in 6:27min and then mile 8 was the Kyber Pass. Surprisingly kept a decent enough pace there and did that one in 6:41mins. Strong enough headwind coming out of the road and a very welcome shower. I keep forgetting to wear my contacts so it can be a bit of a pain not being able to see through the glasses. At the stage we had a solid group of about 5 people and we all knew the plan. We were picking of other packs and everyone looked strong. I actually felt strong as well which is a great feeling at that stage of the race.

Mile 9 and 10 in 13:04. On target there despite the few hills. I´d forgotten about the change of the route in mile 11 and man I started to find it tough going up that part by the lake (I forget the name). I´d gone a bit ahead of the group without knowing it but by the end of mile 11 (6:36mins) they´d caught me and we were going good again. I felt good in mile 12 and did it in 6:35mins. I started to think that maybe sub1:25 was possible BUT then the inevitable happened and my lack of long runs caught up with me. People started passing me by and I couldn´t respond. I knew what was ahead of me at this stage and the key was to suck it up and keep a steady enough pace and not completely blow out. Got to the finish line from there in 7:06 which actually wasn´t too bad if it was more than the mile.

Delighted with my finish time and PB of 1hr 25mins 29secs. Great race as well. I was doubtful about this series at the start due to the numbers in it but it has been an excellent series really.

Ps. I beat my 10 mile time as well today going through in 65:10

Mon: 6.5k (7:23min/mile)

I had to get out today. My legs seemed to need it after yesterdays run even though I hadn´t planned to run till next week. I started off fast enough and couldn´t slow down. Finally came to my senses about 1.5k from home and slowed down a good bit. Way too fast for a recovery run but a bloody nice run