Saturday - Parkrun

Today was always going to be all about effort, with less emphasis on time given the conditions. Although the rain did manage to hold off the entire run, there were more than a few puddles around. Not to mention a gale force southerly which was essentially only hanging around the coast. Met Paul and Ben at the pool for a verybslow and easy warm-up. Not a bad turnout this morning with Macca, Hamish and Tom all showing up. Ben went out very hard, as usual - but I honestly found it tougher to stay with him today compared to two weeks ago. By the end of the first kilometer there were four of us - myself, Ben, Tom and another guy. I just stayed with the pack for the next kilometer before making my move at the start of the third. Managed to break free and simply just tried to keep it together for the final 3km. Got across the finish line in 16:50 exactly. A strong finish by Tom to get Ben, with the other guy fading quite a bit to finish fourth. Not over the moon with the time, but given everyone else was slower than usual today, perhaps it wasn't so bad. That chicane around the netball courts adds on 6 seconds (well, that's what I tell myself anyway). A very easy cooldown with Ben and Paul back home along the beachfront - which was probably not a wise idea today as it was straight into a massive southerly wind. First full week of three speed sessions in six weeks, and I've pulled up well! So very encouraging!