Captain Cranky and the Cool Night Classic
After a tough session at Pat's in the morning I didn't want to risk injury by going flat out in the CNC last night. Not that I could have even if I wanted to, my legs were tired and there were soooooo many people.
Clairie, Steve FS and I did a 1k warmup (from Riverside to the start) before squeezing into the first pack. It was just so crowded, it was impossible to get into any sort of decent stride. At about the 3km mark a traffic cop was going totally beresk on the one and only road we had to cross. He told us all he would see to it this race was never going to be on again! After making us wait about a minute or so he begrudgingly told us we could go. This was just before we got on to the Story Bridge .... and its narrow walkway with people walking and cycling in the opposite direction. It was like the start of the race all over again.
Still, I managed to enjoy myself. From the start I'd been running and chatting with Cassie, Emily and Jean from the PCRG but I lost them at the hold up. But going over the bridge I hooked up with other PCRG-ers Dan and Peter, and we stuck together until the finish.
*****
This morning I backed up for another Pat session. It was the same deal as yesterday, 2 x 4mins and 1 x 8 mins. I really just wanted a tempo run so did the 2 lots of 4 mins at about 85%.
After that we turned for the 8 mins and I thought I see once again how many people I could pass, and how many I could avoid being passed by. I picked up the pace but still wasn't going flat out. Then with about 500 meters to go I'd passed everyone in front of me so it was on! Though Gary was right on my tail I hung in there to be first back, beating him by about a meter. For both of us the return journey was just over 7 1/2 mins.
So that's what the view is like from the front :-)
Clairie, Steve FS and I did a 1k warmup (from Riverside to the start) before squeezing into the first pack. It was just so crowded, it was impossible to get into any sort of decent stride. At about the 3km mark a traffic cop was going totally beresk on the one and only road we had to cross. He told us all he would see to it this race was never going to be on again! After making us wait about a minute or so he begrudgingly told us we could go. This was just before we got on to the Story Bridge .... and its narrow walkway with people walking and cycling in the opposite direction. It was like the start of the race all over again.
Still, I managed to enjoy myself. From the start I'd been running and chatting with Cassie, Emily and Jean from the PCRG but I lost them at the hold up. But going over the bridge I hooked up with other PCRG-ers Dan and Peter, and we stuck together until the finish.
*****
This morning I backed up for another Pat session. It was the same deal as yesterday, 2 x 4mins and 1 x 8 mins. I really just wanted a tempo run so did the 2 lots of 4 mins at about 85%.
After that we turned for the 8 mins and I thought I see once again how many people I could pass, and how many I could avoid being passed by. I picked up the pace but still wasn't going flat out. Then with about 500 meters to go I'd passed everyone in front of me so it was on! Though Gary was right on my tail I hung in there to be first back, beating him by about a meter. For both of us the return journey was just over 7 1/2 mins.
So that's what the view is like from the front :-)
posted by Tesso at 2:26 PM
6 Comments:
Nice job Tesso
A couple of quotes to celebrate the theme of front running.
"You set the pace, you control the race." Steve Prefontaine.
"Better a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy." My mate Frosty.
What a grumpy copper. Only in a bad mood because he has to work while you happy folk are out running.
You should have invited the cop for a run at Pat's - put that testosterone to good use.
I only get the view from the front in handicap races ;)
the crowds and tight squeeze sounds like the races location is numbered, sad copper or not!
we seem to have a problem in BrisVegas, that runs are actually discouraged with the pathetic cost for street closures ... you'd think an event like this would be good for the community and promoting a healthy lifestyle ..... image the marathon we could have if it went over the Story Bridge .... ok, i'm getting off my soapbox and moving away before i get arrested for creating a scene
Traffic cop??? Yeah I bet that's what he aspired to all his life - no wonder he was so happy....
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