Striders North Head 10km - 5th and another PB (32:45)

Saturday, March 07, 2015

Dragged Lorie and the dog (Molly) out to North Head for a 10km 'taper' run with the Striders. Felt sorry for the wife ... pitch black, raining and on chauffeur duties.

No hiding behind a '45km ultra 7 days away' excuse. With Barts, Tom, QR, CT, Criniti and Lewis all at the line, there was plenty to chase.

Attack early was the plan, and by 3km I'm struggling at the wrong end of a 6 man band.


Once it snaps (as is inevitable), you never want to be plopped out the back. Strangely Criniti had a really slow start then passed the pack with ease.


I decisively move past Lewis, CT, Neil and finally Quentin around the peninsula loop, hoping to latch onto a surging Tom. I celebrate this in front of the camera...


5km at the Stone Arch turnaround in 16:10ish (PB for the distance).

By now its down to drafting off Tom for 5km. No different to me in the 1990s: I'd chase the Mr Whippy van up the street with the lure of a $3 choc-top soft-serve cone and that creepy music. The back of a sweaty shirt is certainly no tasty treat, but I still hung on for a good 4.5km at sub 3:20 pace.

The final turnaround with 400m to go had me searching for reserves for a final surge. I found nothing and despite a respectable 3:17 final split, the gap widened to 15m by the chute.

Delighted with the 32:45 10k PB. 30s faster than my effort at Homebush last month.

Splits below show how destructive the early splits were:

First 5km in 16:09 (3:16, 3:11, 3:09, 3:18, 3:11) - PB for 5km
Second 5km in 16:35 (3:24, 3:18, 3:18, 3:16, 3:17) - PB for 10km

Some of the HuRTS guys after the race
HuRTS summary: Barts (32:20) left us all for dead and Tom (32:39) looked too unnaturally comfortable. Quentin, CT and Lewis all 33s and Andy and Macca sneaking a sub 35. Forgot to offer Timmy a handicap (37s). Rumours that Charlie races well (40 flat) proved true ... 2 min ahead of Wooey.

Finished with a 4km warm-down with Lewis, Barts, Tom and Criniti before returning to a miserably soaking and hungry wife. Great morning all round.

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