Canberra 10km

World record conditions for the Australian Running Festival, kicking off with the Canberra 10km. Got out of bed just before 6am and was greeted by a very chilly 6 degrees Celcius. Jogged to the start line, and tried my new warm-up. This consisted of 15 minutes easy, followed by 3 x 60/60 on/off. Felt alright, but hard to tell as it was bloody cold (I'm from Sydney, so am allowed to whinge)! Lined up and was ready to go. Had a quick chat to Ken Gibson on the start line, where he told me he was aiming for 32:30. I thought he was on drugs - either he was disillusioned or he had actually improved significantly. The thing about this course is that while Canberra is predominantly flat around the CBD region, the course designers must have managed to find very possible hill available and put it into the 10km course! Anyway, my race plan was to hold a comfortable pace from the start, and then really put the hammer down at the 7.5km mark (thanks Tom). This worked quite well. The first kilometer is straight uphill - I didn't freak out this year as I did last year when I saw 3:30 on the watch. Nevertheless, this year was a much more palpable 3:22. I relaxed on the downhill, hitting out two successive 3:14's. From here in in, it is undulating - very similar to a roller coaster. I think I was sitting in a lonely 7th at the 5km mark where I hit 16:31. At this stage, I knew a sub-33 was going to be a massive ask. Got through the horrible 5-6km mark where there was another nasty hill (all the memories from last year came streaming back). Then it was just a matter of consolidating until I got to 7.5km. At this stage, I could still see 5th and 6th. Knowing that one of them was Ken, I knew that at this point I had to put the hammer down if I was going to reel him in. Caught him just after the 8km mark. Went past him with a mile to go - and this is where the nasty final climb begins. I just wanted to finish now! Held on for the last kilometer to record a not too bad 33:25 to finish 6th outright. By no means a PB, but a 30 second course PB (from 2015), so definitely satisfied with that. Like always, you I want to run faster, but I will definitely take this well - as it was a hard fought run on a tough course. It also puts me in a good position heading into May. Ken finished 6th, and Christian ran an impressive 34:10. I joined the two of them for a nice lap around Burley Griffin (Ken took us on the tourist route). Now heading to Ken's famous Canberra Cafe called Stand By Me where I am faced with a first world dilemma - should I get the ful medames or French toast (apparently they are famous for the latter - but believe it or not, I have actually never had French toast)!