Better than expected TELL 10k
Having not run 10k in a while, and a recent 5k that I couldn’t even break 20 minutes, I wasn’t feeling too confident going into this race.
It actually went very well. I finished in 38:44 (8th place). All the Nagano training wasn’t a complete waste then. I started fairly steady and was able to gradually increase the intensity as it went on. I gradually reeled in three guys who had passed me early on. A fourth managed a sprint finish to beat me by a couple of seconds.
The race was two loops around the Palace. It’s basically flat apart from two decent hills on the north (up) and south (down) sides. I had done a few days of really tough hill work near Eiko’s parents home during Golden Week and I think some of it paid off. I started the final hill climb with the eventual 7th place runner beside me. I really powered up it. My heart-rate hit 186 at one point. Highest I’ve yet recorded. I was in front at the top but felt completely wrecked. My stride was all sloppy for a few seconds but I managed to get back into it and keep going till just at the finish he sped past me. I couldn’t respond.
Still very happy with my time and the bottle of brandy that I picked up for my troubles. Should be able to target a mid 18 minutes at the next 5k TT.
