Elmbridge 10k

Well - I can't say I started with high hopes after the run two days ago, and after brekkie I got an awful lot of phlegm coming up for some reason - I'm starting to wonder if it's nerves or something! I busied myself watching the German Ironman thread on the forums, and left wondering if Plummie had made it out of the water. turns out he did :o)

Anyway - off to Elmbridge, cursing the heat, but the clouds started to gather and I seriously expected rain. As it turns out we didn't get any, but it did cool things down, even though it was still pretty muggy. Better than blazing sunshine anyway.

I milled around, chatting to Sutton runners and internet peeps, and then before I realised what was going on we were lined up t o start. My Garmin lost my HR and I only just managed to adjust the strap before the hooter went. I set off, feeling I wasn't runnning fast but was struggling to breathe. "Bum - it's not going to be a good one". Then I glanced at the Garmin and saw that I was running 4:15 for a kilometre, so slowed noticeably and the HR recovered and I felt better - working hard but not too uncomfortable.

My plan was to run about 4:45 - 4:50 for the first 5k, and then sit on 5:00 kilometres until 7k, and then run about 5:10s to 5:15s for the last three, using the buffer I'd built up in the first half. This worked well, and I built more of a buffer than originally intended. Here's the splits:

So - halfway, and now I could afford to slow. I knew there was a drink station coming up soon from the last time I ran this, so decided to keep up my pace until then and then walk through, and hopefully still hit 5 minutes for that kilometre. The water station was a bit further back than i remembered, at about 5.6km, but I managed to pour a cup of water over my head and drink a cup in about 12 seconds, so probably didn't lose much. That kilometre came in at 5:02.

I found myself passing a lot of people who'd passed me at the drink station, and felt comfortable. I foudn out from therun on Friday that I could run okay at that HR, so although I slowed a little when the HR neared 180, I did keep up the same pace. That kilometre came in at 4:56, and I decided in the eighth one to slow a bit to make sure I didn't really crash and burn. As it turned out I probably needn't have worried, I kept going well, and even managed a fab sprint finish. I didn't feel like I'd accelerated much - but the time says otherwise!!

So - overall dead chuffed - my doom and gloom predictions after Friday's run didn't come to pass, and I was pleased with the way I managed to hold my pace past three miles. yes - there is some HR drift, but it's very gradual, and given the closeness of today not at all bad. My second half is still slower than the first, but there's only two splits over five minutes and then only just, and one included a water station!