Met Lewis, Jamie and Charlie at Bike Addiction then Rochey in Freshwater. We walked the Oliver St hill, trying in vain to keep ourselves fresh. Jamie was full of fake positivity - an example being "But at least this strong headwind is blowing the humidity away!". Jogged on. Walked a bit of the Griffin St hill thinking WTF. Got to Dee Why, said hello to a few familiar faces (Nick Roberts, Vlad, Tom do Canto, Elle, CT, Scotty) then did a few run throughs. And suddenly I'm feeling ok and quite bouncy. Line up and tell myself to stay in touch up the hill this year and not back off too much.
The gun goes and Tom DC, Vlad and Courtney Atkinson quickly form a lead pack of 3 up the hill who crest only about 20m ahead of a large pack including CT, Lewis, Tom Middleton, Mitch Dean, Scotty, the 2 lead girls (Danielle Allen and Vic Mitchell), myself and a few others. Then off the top Scotty kicks hard so I follow him, but he keeps on kicking to catch the leaders and I'm thinking this is madness. So I settle down and CT comes past. By the bottom, CT, Mitch, Lewis, Tom M and I have formed a group and we get into a good pace. 3:21 first km including the monster hill, 3:06 next km. Now we're on Parkrun territory and I head the pack for a 3:15 then a 3:13. We get back on Griffin Rd and straight into the wind so I settle in behind Mitch. This will become a common theme throughout the remainder of the race. We hit South Curly and it feels slow so I jump ahead up the hill to the Diggers and try to get a gap. But there's a reason it felt slow - I've hit a wall of wind and it's a solid effort to maintain pace. Mitch comes past but it looks as though at least the pack has split.
Do the switchback at Freshie and realise we have split. We're only 20s behind Vlad and Courtney (TDC is now well ahead) and there's a similar gap to CT and Tom Middleton. Shout out to CT. But where is Lewis and Scotty?
Up the nastiest hill on the course by my old house on Charles St and it's still me and Mitch. Sweep down to Queensie and I'm still tucked behind him into the headwind. It feels slow but resist the urge to push ahead. Was this a mistake? Who knows. Wait until I can see the line with 500m to go and kick hard to get a gap. But sense I haven't dropped him as the picture below shows. And so repeats the situation of last year. 50m to the line and he drifts past with me having nothing to respond.
Approach Mitch post-race and apologise for drafting behind him into the wind most of the way. He barely acknowledges me, says "that's racing", and moves on. I think, yep, you're right. More motivation for the next race.
33:27 is 3s slower than last year but a solid effort in the conditions. CT is next home and I have to drag him off the road. I think he's getting his mojo back and he'll be putting the pressure on next time. Vic Mitchell looked good in Olympic Year to beat Danielle convincingly. Scotty limps home after pulling his calf early on. Charlie finally makes some effort after Elle (looking in fantastic condition post baby) gives him a scare.
Join Burkey, Charlie and their mate Youngy in Belgrave Cartel for some Mafia Eggs. Then crash for the day as I'm farked. Couldn't even mow the lawn.
100m to go:
Not sure what happened to my singlet, but is NOT a crop top:
CT in next:
Jamie has a tough day in the office but always smiling:
Last but by no means least, Kirst chooses the toughest course on the toughest day to run her first 10km post cancer. Runs just over an hour. Then turns up to her Sat morning running group thinking they are celebrating the Sun Run with breakfast only to have to do another hour's training session. Very proud of her. We'll sleep soundly tonight.
2 comments:
You have your dads running hand!
How did you let Mitch dean run you down with such a big lead.yes your crop top is rubbish but better the mitch's attire. What a sight for the crowd as you cam into the finish. Well done anyway!
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