Striders 10km - North Head

Wasn't keen and very reluctant to begin racing again this season today. But the words of Gary, especially 'go have fun' really bought home the reasons why I run! So went in to the race somewhat more relaxed. It was great to go out there and bury the mental demons that have hung around since pulling out of the Sun Run one month earlier. The prime goal today was to finish. Honestly, I didn't think a sub-34 was on the cards. Went out with the front pack of Tom, Barts, Robin, Neil and CT. Hung in there until the 6km mark, but that is when the wheels started to fall off. To be honest, I was somewhat surprised to hold on that long. By that stage, CT had already been dropped. He cam up to me at about 6.5km and requested that we work together. Would have loved to have, but didn't have anything to offer. He progressively pulled away from me after the 7km mark. The final 3km was simply about finishing - couldn't care less about time or pace at this stage. In fact, I don't even know if I really paid attention to the Garmin for the majority of the race. Hung in for the ride, finishing in a half respectable 33:31, 6th outright. In the whole scheme of things, I am actually stoked! While not a PB by any means, it was only 3 seconds off my course PB set last year. And much better than what I was thinking all week!!! So slightly further ahead than what I thought - happy days. Tom got the better of Barts, running an impressive 32:28. Robin, the man who has improved phenomenally - ran a PB of 32:59 to beat Neil for the final spot on the podium. Joined the five of them for a nice cool-down, before being left solo to run the final 3km home. 20km all up! Very satisfied all round! Just really looking forward to following Gary and Ben's program to see what is achievable. The first week has been extremely encouraging, and most importantly, I am really enjoying running again - something that I haven't had since the Gold Coast last year!