BRRC 10 Champs
Saturday morn Mat and I started out early and put in about 5k before hooking up with the 6am gang for an 18k green bridge loop. I had no idea what pace we were going and was pleasantly surprised to find out we averaged 5:07s for the 23k as it felt very comfy.
It was great to have a couple of 'special guests' along - Michael from PCRG, and Sharon, who was 2nd lady in the Great Wall Marathon last month.
*****
Sunday morning was the 10k Champs at BRRC where I expected to come in around the 46 minute mark. Not that I was going to hold back, that's what I thought I was capable of at the moment.
Right from the outset Karen, Linda, Parmy and I formed a little pack. The four of us are around the same standard so it was game on! There were just two girls ahead of us and after a few kms we reeled one of them in. The other is a 40 minute 10k runner, there was no chance of getting her.
Man, it was such hard working hanging in there. Half of me was saying 96 points for 5th would be good and I'd win my category anyway, but the other half said "toughen up" and go for 2nd and 99 points. Unfortunately for her around the 6k mark Parmy dropped backed a little (also suffering the dreaded gammy hammy syndrome) so that left three of us battling it out. With 3k to go I got a tiny bit ahead of them but knowing Karen has such a strong finish expected her to come back at me any time, and just after the 9k mark she did just that.
I tried my darnedest but couldn't catch Karen, but was glad she gave me a reason to push hard right to the end to finish 3 seconds behind her in 44:55. And Linda was just 3 seconds behind me to notch up her second best time over the distance. I can't remember the last time I raced like that. It was really tough and trying to stay focused was such a challenge. But it was kind of fun. And how good is it to run in a pack and push eachother like that!
There were lots of happy people out there including fellow bloggers Shane, Eddie, Blair (who I will hunt down next time!), and Robert Song. What a run in the 5k by Robert's Song's boy Kewell who's looking very good for the junior event at the GC next week.
Also I noticed several other PCRG-ers stepping up to collect bling for age category wins or places - great stuff guys!
Congrats also to Clairie who did the 10k Running4Research that started down the road after we wrapped up. Just a pity there wasn't a prize for "first pregnant lady who had to run part of the course with a 2k sign that BRRC inadvertently left out because she didn't want anyone in the Running4Research race to get confused".
It was great to have a couple of 'special guests' along - Michael from PCRG, and Sharon, who was 2nd lady in the Great Wall Marathon last month.
*****
Sunday morning was the 10k Champs at BRRC where I expected to come in around the 46 minute mark. Not that I was going to hold back, that's what I thought I was capable of at the moment.
Right from the outset Karen, Linda, Parmy and I formed a little pack. The four of us are around the same standard so it was game on! There were just two girls ahead of us and after a few kms we reeled one of them in. The other is a 40 minute 10k runner, there was no chance of getting her.
Man, it was such hard working hanging in there. Half of me was saying 96 points for 5th would be good and I'd win my category anyway, but the other half said "toughen up" and go for 2nd and 99 points. Unfortunately for her around the 6k mark Parmy dropped backed a little (also suffering the dreaded gammy hammy syndrome) so that left three of us battling it out. With 3k to go I got a tiny bit ahead of them but knowing Karen has such a strong finish expected her to come back at me any time, and just after the 9k mark she did just that.
I tried my darnedest but couldn't catch Karen, but was glad she gave me a reason to push hard right to the end to finish 3 seconds behind her in 44:55. And Linda was just 3 seconds behind me to notch up her second best time over the distance. I can't remember the last time I raced like that. It was really tough and trying to stay focused was such a challenge. But it was kind of fun. And how good is it to run in a pack and push eachother like that!
There were lots of happy people out there including fellow bloggers Shane, Eddie, Blair (who I will hunt down next time!), and Robert Song. What a run in the 5k by Robert's Song's boy Kewell who's looking very good for the junior event at the GC next week.
Also I noticed several other PCRG-ers stepping up to collect bling for age category wins or places - great stuff guys!
Congrats also to Clairie who did the 10k Running4Research that started down the road after we wrapped up. Just a pity there wasn't a prize for "first pregnant lady who had to run part of the course with a 2k sign that BRRC inadvertently left out because she didn't want anyone in the Running4Research race to get confused".
posted by Tesso at 9:29 AM
8 Comments:
always so competitive Tesso, great stuff. no mention of injuries either so it's all looking good for the weekend. might see you one dya this week but got a few work trips still. if not see u sunday!
you have to be happy with a sub 4:30 pace! Well done.
Sounds like fun, painful but fun! Good luck for the weekend and I hope the gammy hammy behaves itself.
Sounded more like you were running in a "pride" than a "pack."
There you go showing that "ticker" again, you know the one you reckon you you don't have ;)
As long as you can hold on those last 5 kms in the half you should have a good race this Sunday.
I love the mind games we runners play on ourselves. I think the mental battle is just as hard if not harder than the physical aspect of running.
It certainly helps when there are people around you in a race, usually I find myself alone but lately I too have had the bonus of some company.
Nice running and congrats on the bling.
See ya at the GC
Great run. Pack hunting must work for you. Your races always sound like fun.
Now if you could have thought of something less wordy, they might have had such a prize for Clairie. You've got to be able to fit the words on the medal!
I'm glad it was 'kind of fun'. You don't quite get that sort of racing in 12 hour ultras ;)
You forgot to mention the detail about you working all morning in the cold after your race just to support the Brisbane Running community!!!!!
I think I wouldn't have bothered running on Sunday except I knew you were going to be there and I had to earn my right to eat breaky :)
Not long now until Gold Coast so stay wrapped in cotton wool Tesso!!
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