This was my third Alterna "do it for Dad" 10km race and eighth 10km race in all. I was hoping to run a personal best (sub 45:22) as I my training up until the race had been strong and I felt in really good shape.
The morning of the race it was pretty warm and sticky, from previous years I remember being quite chilly at the start so I knew that I would have to manage the heat as well as the tough uphill section between 6 and 7.5km.
The start was pretty crowded and it seemed that yet again this race was attracting more people than the previous year. I seeded myself a few rows from the front and concentrated on getting up to pace and seeing how it felt. During the first kilometer I could see that I was off pace but couldn't get my legs to pick it up that much, I figured that I would settle down and speed up gradually as the race wore on. The second and third kilometers felt easier and I got myself into a good rhythm. I was hoping to follow the 45 minute pacer but he dropped out with an injury after about 1.5kms. After first the turn-around and heading back towards the start it started to get hard, my pace started to drop and I tried to fight it as best I could. I managed to keep going at a decent pace but the effort level was creeping up and I was starting to struggle. I came through the 5km mat at 23:39, quite a bit off the target I had set myself so I was a little disappointed to say the least.
Splits for 1st half
1km - 4:31
2km - 4:26
3km - 4:32
4km - 4:39
5km - 4:36
With 5 kilometers to go I was really struggling, my pace dropped again and then as the hill started it dropped even further. The other runners close by me also slowed and it was hard not to get stuck at the same pace as them. With a 5:03 7th kilometer I made the decision to push and get away from the other racers and try and speed up in time for the downhill section. This tactic worked well, but I soon became aware of a blister on the sole of my right foot. I pushed aside the discomfort and after turning at 7.5km I focused on getting my pace up and started trying to pick off distant runners. With 2 kilometers to go I really started to push, there were about 6 runners that I could see ahead of me and I upped the pace trying to pass each of them one by one. Despite the discomfort of the blister on my foot I really started to get into a groove and passed all 6 runners. As I entered the path and grassy section of the finish area I was running as fast as I could flying past another runner in the last 100 meters.
Splits for 2nd half
6km - 4:57
7km - 5:03
8km - 4:50
9km - 4:33
10km - 4:07
In the end my time was a respectable 46:16, not a personal best, but a course personal best. I struggled quite a bit during various parts of the race but was very pleased with the way I picked up the pace in the last 2kms, finishing very strongly.
