Yeah, another PB – but one that really means a lot! Hometown race in not-ideal conditions but I pushed hard and got what I wanted, so I’m feeling pretty good about this result.
I had no niggles or big health issues before thankfully, a nice change, I was coughing a bit but it cleared soon enough. Legs felt pretty fresh and ready to go. Quick easy warmup jog for 1km, then some dynamic stretches and a few drills. Gel on the start line, I was just in front of Stu (110min pacer). I was disappointed there was no 90 min pacer as my plan to was draught them in the headwind home, so I wasn’t feeling excited for the finish when we started.
Set off well, despite some idiots in front who decided to slow/stop at the actual start line after a rolling start… twits. First km was a bit slow, there was a lot of traffic and I had to avoid Boris’ flailing arms and legs as normal ;-). Picked up the speed from km 2 and didn’t do a slower km until the last stretch from 18k. Felt fine going up Harley Shute and even picked a few people off despite taking it ‘easy’. Started easing into a consistent sub 4:10 pace for the flats then hit Queensway. I was quicker by at least 10s on each section here and felt pretty good going up, I actually enjoyed (yes “enjoyed”) this section of the route, weirdly. Had a nice friendly battle with some nice dude throughout then we got caught by the youngest Mills bro so had a little chat with him (Will). The middle km was a little slow, slight incline along the ridge and I remember thinking that I was working hard and wondered if I’d gone at it too quick early on, but I kept digging and found more energy. The Ridge section felt hard in truth but I got spurred on near the end as I realised Jake wasn’t far behind me. The climb up to Hillcrest was actually OK too, managed to gain a few places here and made space for a spectacular cone turn, with jazz hands ;-)
I purposefully eased off slightly on the first descents just to give my body a chance to adjust, and get a gel in me. It was here that Jake caught me, we ran for a bit but I lost him on the Harold Rd descent. I wasn’t going slow here but not flat out (3:37 km) and wanted to save something for the seafront.
Passed Luke near the speed camera as his legs had gone, kept Jake in my sights though.
Hit the seafront with a 4:14 average speed, which I knew would do it for me but I also knew I would be working hard to maintain it. First windy km was 4:18, at times I saw sub 4:20 so had to give myself a stern talking to and pushed harder. It was tough here, not many other runners and relentless headwind. Average dropped to 4:15 so I dug deeper. 2nd km on the front was 4:19 and my average dropped to 4:16 which was in “missing out on sub-90 by a few seconds territory” so I was not happy with that. Got really spurred on by the drummers, gave them a dance, then high-fived a few mates on the front which also helped (although Kate’s robust high-five almost stopped me in my tracks it was so strong!). I overtook Will Mills which felt pretty good.
I knew I had to push hard for that last km and get my average up, so found some speed somewhere and forced myself on, managed to close the gap on Jake every so slightly and overtook about 3 people who looked liked they had given up on life, averaged 4:08 on the last km. It wasn’t a sprint finish as I was pretty cooked, but I had a strong ish finish in my legs and was very happy my average was back at 4:14 and I knew I’d snagged a sub-90!
Stopped and almost instantly felt fine, which was nice. Chatted to the faster gang and most people were feeling great about it which was really positive. Jake smashed it, so happy for him!
Strava says it was my 2nd quickest HM, 8s slower than Eastbourne, but chip times put me ~30s quicker, so it’s a PB for the course and probably for the race distance. Very pleased.
No niggles or injuries sustained except a cut toe near a poorly cut nail (whoops) which is a little sore. Legs feel pretty good at the moment.
