Didn't want to get out of bed this morning. Felt flat warming-up, the strides were a real effort. A bit thin in terms of competition this morning, with Neil Pearson being my saviour for a an actual race. The likes of Barts (too fast for me anyway), Tom, Quentin, and Alex all tapering for the JP Morgan challenge next Wednesday evening, it was an actual chance to take line honours at a Striders race! The gun went and my plan was simply to stick with Neil for at least the first 7-8km, and then see how I was feeling. Let him do most of the work up until the final hill before the turn around. But at this stage, I could sense that he was struggling, so decided to push ahead, unsure whether I would regret this later on. Well, I did regret it - not in terms of getting caught, but the final 4km felt like hell! Every time I ran downhill, a small bit of respite was cruelly torn away by a sudden incline. Any chance of getting into a nice rhythm throughout the race were non-existent. At least on the way back there is no detour up to Sribbly Gums, which seems to get longer and steeper each time I race here. Held on for the final stretch, and thankful that the photographer was positioned just before the final flat 100m, as the photos would have been absolutely shocking! Finished in 33:59, a course PB. By no means super fast, but have to be satisfied given that I am getting back into it after a disappointing Melbourne race. Neil came home in second, followed by Robin in third - backing up after running a marathon PB in Auckland just 6 days ago! Anna took out the girls, followed by a close race between Moira and Sigrid for the final two podium places, with Moira just coming out on top. 4.5km cooldown with Neil and Chris (pacer today) for about 17km all up.
An easy 8km felt amazingly good today for some reason. Out before lunch once again, and it was humid. Felt totally relaxed and comfortable - could have honestly kept going for another 8km! Don't know how that works, especially considering I was struggling to walk prior to that. 4:33's at 131.
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