I did a 36:10 PB here last year in windy weather, so I knew that in the right conditions, this 2-lap route over the famous F1 circuit was fast. The question was, only 3 weeks on from the Rotterdam Marathon, how much spring would have returned to my legs? Post-marathon speedwork had not felt very comfortable, so my expectations were not high.
Despite is being very windy for most of the day, the wind dropped right away by race-time. It was also overcast and reasonably cool for early May. I had decided to run a conservative first 5k lap at around current PB-pace at most (5:49/mile) and take it from there. In my previous two 10ks, I’d set off around 5:42-:5:45 pace and not been able to hold it.
I started quite near the front of the pack, but by the 2k-mark had been overtaken by many runners. I didn’t let this trouble me, as my mile-pace up to the 2k mark was about 5:47 – plenty fast enough. My conservative tactics for the early stages were to prove a good move as, from about 2k to the finish line, I was overtaking people.
During the 2nd 5k lap, I gradually applied more effort until, during the last km, I was running close to max HR. In the closing stages the Garmin was telling me I’d averaged 5:44-pace. Recently, the Garmin has been flattering me by about 2s/mile. On this occasion, it was the reverse, and by the finish I’d actually achieved an average mile-pace of 5:42.5 and a fantastic new PB (and NHRR MV45 Club Record) time of 35m 28s. I also achieved my first ever negative splits (over any distance) with 5ks of 17:57 followed by 17:31.
I’d always hoped that all the marathon work would also help me achieve big half-marathon and 10k PBs. After my tired 10k performance in the Norfolk wind in late March, I’d started to wonder, but this race did, after all, provide final part of the jigsaw. I’ve had many pleasing achievements since joining NHRR, but this last 3 months has been very special, with PBs and new Club Records over Half-marathon (March), Marathon (April) and now 10k (May).
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