Tracksmith Twilight 5000 ⚡️ A great run out for my second race of the year!
Rewind 365 days & I had just ran the same race, absolutely emptying the tank in the process & crossing the line in 15:49, which on the night was a bit disappointing, 30 seconds off the target.
This time round I toed the start line way off that fitness, with my only goal being to not come last, knowing that everyone else had ran sub-16 this season, with my best being 16:13 last month.
As the gun went I decided to drop straight to the back & take a couple of laps to assess how to not come last. I moved up a place & then sat in with a group of about 6 who were running around 16-flat pace.
To run sub 16 I’d need to run 77 seconds per lap but we were starting to slip to 78 or 79. I could see a runner ahead, number 364, who I reckon was staying closer to 77’ lap pace. I really should have moved up but didn’t want to empty the tank with a while to go.
So I stayed where I was, knowing I’d slipped off pace but believing that with a strong kick in the final km I could run sub 16.
The thing with the track is when you get to the final km, you don’t really see it as the ‘final’ part of the race, like you do on road, as you still have 2.5 laps to go.
So I kept on at the same pace, crossing the line for my penultimate lap at 13:39. This left me with 141 seconds for the final two laps if I wanted sub 16. But once again it felt too far to kick, & instead I ran that lap in 79’.
Finally it was the last lap, and I had 62’ to run it if I wanted sub 16. I don’t think I’ve ever ran a 62’ lap.
I spent the first half of the lap doing mental maths to see if it was doable, & before I knew it was coming into the final 200m around 15:35. I then knew it wasn’t possible, but kicked anyway, overtaking a couple of people & eventually crossing the line in 16:06.
All of that to say, I missed out on sub 16, but that was never really the goal anyway. What I did do was not come last, so we’ll call it a success!
Moving into Autumn, I don’t have any big goals or races planned; I just hope to stay injury free & hopefully build a good base in the process. Onwards & upwards 💪🏼
& shoutout
@simonrphoto on the 📸!
