Really enjoyed today’s race. It wasn’t raining and I felt good from the start. Didn’t get quite the warm up I wanted as it took a bit longer than planned to get there and had to collect numbers but still managed some of it. Anyway, started ok bearing in mind the first mile of this race is my least favourite bit anyway but once I got to the crossroads and turned left I got comfortable and settled down. Managed to get my strides a little longer again and gained a fair few places on the uphills. I also worked a bit on my downhill form with some success although there’s still a way to go yet I think. Was running in a group until we got to the long hill going back up to the crossroads when I managed to pull away from them feeling good and happy. By the time I got to the 9k marker I knew I could get past a few more runners and felt strong all the way to the finish. No records broken but really happy that I was only about 2 1/2 minutes behind my Barry Richards PB on a much hillier course .
Love this feedback. Ultimately that’s why we train hard, to be able to enjoy races, even tough ones like this. It’s great that you found yourself in a group but were also able to pull away. Then to produce a strong finish like that is awesome. You looked really comfortable when you passed me and the form looked great. To be honest your time on this course is probably as good, if not a better performance than the Barry Richards. I was 3 and a half mins slower yesterday and was working really hard. Great stuff Andy. A few tweaks to the plan going forward and that 5k PB will be ticked off next.
