Thursday 2 August 2012

Jetty 2 Jetty

Sunday 15th of July saw another running of the Jetty 2 Jetty fun run. Lining up at the start of the 10km I had set my goal for myself that I thought may be out of reach at this time of year. I was aiming to run a sub 36min 10km which would break my pb of 36:20.

If only I had her record
The three weeks leading in had seen more of a focus on my run with a lot more speed sessions than I usually do. One of my key sessions was an 18km run broken up as 6km controlled (4:45min/km pace), 6km tempo (4:30 pace) and 6km race pace with 4 x 30sec intervals going straight back to race pace (3:40ish).

I though I would have a bit of fun with my race name instead of the usual first or last name to go on there so during the registration process, I mixed it up a bit. (As per the photo). I was hoping for some speed as per my namesake.

I got to the start line with plenty of time until the gun and had plenty of room. As the start time approached, we became crowded with a lot of runners who thought they were alot quicker than what they actually were. As soon as the gun went off, the sprinters took off and I was immediatley in about 15th. Over the next km the race started to sort itself out and I had settled into about tenth after covering the first km in about 3:20.

The two leaders had immediately shot off the front and were followed by another two runners. I was in the next pack of about six only 15 meters behind third and fourth. From there, we were running approx 3:30 pace and I was going a bit quicker than I had intended but was feeling comfortable so maintained my spot in the pack.

After the 5km mark, the pack had dropped to just three and I was sitting in behind the other two runners nicely as we made the turn and headed into a headwind for the final 5km. I sat in behind them and did not move from their tales. At the 7km mark, I was on pace to run a sub 35min however still had two tough climbs to go at about 8 and 9km mark. The downhill finish was a blessing after slogging it over the last two hills and they had cost me a little as I crossed the tape in a time of 35 min 35secs and sixth place overall. I had acheived my unexpected goal time and beaten my pb by 45secs.