Race report: TC 10K in Victoria

It was a bright and sunny race morning, a few clouds in the sky, but what looked to be perfect race conditions. There was some 10,000 participants, which seemed double that amount when I watched them streaming in at the end of the race in the inner harbour. My sister Jill joined me as we were dropped off to warm-up near the start.

The gun went off and we were on the move. I was held up a bit at the start as there were probably some 100+ runners ahead of me and I had to go around a few. Shortly though, the pack was strung out and it was clear sailing. My plan was to hit the 1st K in 3:42ish, and I did this by clocking a 3:40; so I was happy with my first K execution. My legs felt really good at this point, and I questioned whether I was going fast enough during the first k as I hadn't quite found my groove. When I hit Dallas Rd. all was good, and then the turn-around point was reached, and I realized there was going to be a fair headwind. You never notice a tailwind, but always a headwind. The headwind was fairly tough and lasted roughly through 3.5k-8k, but it was affecting everyone equally, and I took solace knowing that no one was pulling away from me during this straight stretch.

I passed the 5K mark in 18:14, which was a good solid mark and then I put the watch away till the finish. I concentrated on sticking with the group in my pack, especially a guy in an orange tank-top, and a female runner just ahead of me. There was a guy behind me, so close, and obviously drafting, that on two occasions he actually kicked my heels, yelling a "sorry" the second time. No harm, no foul.

With 1000m to go, I tried to increase my speed as best I could knowing that I'd done repeats greater (and faster) than this many times at the track. I pressed to the finish and clocked 37:19, a new PB. My Coach has been a big factor in dropping my times and getting my head tuned for racing. Another big factor has been Sarah, for allowing me to go on these road trips........

I was very satisfied with this race, not just because of the PB, but almost more importantly, because I felt I could go faster (in different conditions) and I felt great after the run. I had a beautiful sunny day to look forward to, and it was only 08:37:19

Race results here

It was nice to shake hands, meeting Michael, fresh from London, and the author of this fine blog

Sidebar: Jill's running form has seen improvement of late. A comment was even made to that fact, albeit from a biased source. Kidding! All the running and running clinics has certainly reaped rewards.