Striders North Head 10km

5 September 2010

Ah I've been blogless for so long. Sheer laziness. And lack of motivation to spend more time in front of a computer screen.

I do have much to say. Training hard for the Sydney marathon, had a few fun event lately including the M7 Cities marathon, City to Surf, Mt Wilson to Bilpin, not to mention some fantastic HuRTS sessions lately.

But today it was all about the Sydney Striders North Head 10km. I was not feeling keen when I woke up after a horrendous sleep. I'd gorged on Thai takeaway last night and had wild dreams and a horrendous gut pain at 4am that I thought may signify the start of a bout of food poisoning.

Instead I believe it was simply the labour pains of my "Pad Thai baby"
So Matt Hook, my new training buddy from across the road, picked me up on the corner in the drizzling rain and we headed out to North Head saying "Hey at least it's not windy!", until we arrived and discovered that it was, in fact, horrendously windy out there.

I'd also expected it to be a tiny field because of the weather, but was pleasantly surprised to see almost 300 people including pretty much every runner I have ever met. I tell you what the Friday night pub is no longer much of a social event for me, when most of the people I know and like are the ones I hang out with at 6am on a dark, rainy, windy morning, shivering in singlets in the middle of nowhere...

The plan was to stick with Mike Conway and run an average of 3.45min/kms for a time of 37.30. Now I haven't run in the 37s since North Head about 2 years and 3 months ago, but training has been feeling good lately so thought I'd at least have a crack. Also I like running with Mike, he's a very even runner (whereas I surge and drop back constantly), and I've only got a short window before his return from injury is complete and he leaves me in his dust again!

Off we went and I stuck next to Mike. We did a good first km, a little fast, under 3.30. Eased up and passed through 2 km in 7:30, so spot on for 3:45/km pace. The little group around us was shifting and settling. Steve Hume took off, as did Mark Fiore. Matt flew past me at one stage. Then we hit the flat(ish) section out to the roundabout and there was a brutal headwind which left everyone trying to duck behind everyone else for cover.

Turning at the arch I was feeling really good and tried to push it a little bit. I found myself at the front of our little group and stayed that way for a while. I heard all the boys right behind me, but nobody seemed willing to take a turn at the front so I was more than happy to set the pace. Went through 5km in 18:33 and thought, crikey if I can hold this or go slightly quicker there may be a PB in it for me!

The second lap was uneventful, still that smack-in-the-face wind on the long flat and this time there was nobody to hide behind. I picked up a couple of runners and had nobody pass me, but I must have had a bit of mental drift after the stone arch turnaround the second time, because my pace for the next 2 km dropped back to over 3.50s. I didn't really notice either - one of the problems of not having someone either right in front of me or close enough to chase down.

What saved me was Terrence Bell easing up alongside like he was going for a walk to get the paper, just before 8km. I was still feeling good at this stage so tried to lift a bit and stick by his side until the end. I managed to stay close right up until the last 200 metres when he flicked it up a notch and pulled effortlessly away towards the line. I gave what I had at this point and crossed gasping in 37.26, but still feeling very good.



Anyway I was stoked with the result, the closest I've ever been to my PB, with no help from the dreaded headwind and I heard that the course was around 100m (or 20s) too long (garmin agreed) because of the first turnaround point. I take it as a moral victory - I probably ran the fastest I've ever run for a 10km and I felt relatively comfortable (more comfortable than I've ever felt in a 10km before).

Two good takeaways for me - (1) I reckon on the right day and with the right course I could sneak in 36.xx for a 10km. I feel it is possible now. And (2) it's heartening to feel that the training has been working so I might have a crack at sub 3 at the Sydney Marathon in 3 weeks.

Even better, after inhaling a number of baked treats and chatting to people, Matt and I trotted off with Terrence, Rob, Eamo, Owen, Andy and Dave Kane for a few extra kms along the Spit to Manly track. The boys were heading back to the Eastern Suburbs, however Matt and I turned after an hour and came back to the car at North Head for a solid extra 20km. With Matt busting out 3:40 pace the last few hundred metres!