Must do better

I'd set myself a goal this year of a podium finish (my first) in the Sydney Striders races. I was hoping today was going to be the day...

No beers all week. Well rested. I was taking this serious.

Parked down near the hospital and jogged up to the start (approx 2.5km). By the time I got to the registration area I was sweating buckets. It was very humid so already a seed of doubt was planted.

Another 500m warm-up and was soon lining up at the start. The gun fired and we were off. I took it out hard and went straight into 3rd place. It seemed like a few of the normal pointy end guys were missing. Today was my chance.

Felt very good going through 2km in 6:31. I'd already opened up a gap to the chasers and my focus was on keeping the pace honest. But by the next checkpoint (4km) I was only running at 3:30/km pace and I was really pushing hard. This continued through 5km (approx 17 flat) and my efforts did not match the km splits. No matter what I tried I could not get below 3:30/km. Something was not right.

Then my thoughts turned to consolidation. I was sitting comfortably in 3rd place and I was confident I could hang on. But still no speed to speak of and sub 3:30's were not happening. By 7.5km (approx last turnaround near the stone arch) it was apparent that the chasing pack were closing. The long grind up the hill saw my pace drop to 3:40/km and when I reached the roundabout it was only a matter of time before getting overtaken. Sure enough at about 8.5km a young lad came trotting past relegating me into 4th. There was nothing I could do except watch.

Every section of the course seemed to be uphill. The last loop came and I was focusing on not being overtaken again. As I climbed the final section exiting the loop I put the head down and gritted the teeth. As I looked up the young lad in front had taken a wrong turn (right instead of left to the finishing area) and suddenly I was back into 3rd position. At this point my conscience got the better of me and I shouted over to him and he turned back to rejoin the race. I then slowed and waved him past me to finish immediately behind him. So back to 4th...

The time was 34:48. Well over a minute slower than what I was after. Perhaps it was the humidity, perhaps I just had an off day. In speaking with the other guys I know the humidity was a factor but it seemed to effect me more than others. Very disappointed. I know I'm capable of much better at the moment.

Oh well, I'll have another crack next month though I'm guessing some of the usual suspects will be running making my goal that much harder. But that's half the fun. You don't want these goals to be easy!

Finished with a 2.5km warm-down. All up 15.5km. Always have a beer before a race (the night before, not during your warm-up). That's my lesson from today. And tapering is a waste of time for a 10km race. HTFU.