My 10k PB of 43:48 was set about 10 months ago on a hilly course so a sizeable PB at the Great Manchester Run on Sunday was a given as long as I could avoid disaster.
The real question was whether I would be able to dip under 40 minutes. Various online pace calculators told me that based on my half marathon PB I could but then again these pace calculators can be very wrong.
The day dawned bright and breezy. It was possibly a bit on the hot side but over 10k it shouldn't really be a big deal.
The race has a separate women's elite start and I chose to watch this rather than make my way to the front of my wave. It was fun seeing Dibaba and co. warm up and start the race but it did mean that I didn't get near the start line.
Once the race started my legs didn't seem to want to go much faster than 6:35 minutes/mile pace. So this is what they did and that is pretty much the story of my race!
Although I was in the first wave, supposedly containing the faster runners, I had to overtake hundreds of runners in the first half of the race and this didn't help my pace. I also suspect I wasn't fully hydrated. I followed my normal race routine of half a litre of water two hours before the start. However in the heat I could have done with more, and the start was delayed.
I went through 5k in about 20:40. I had now given up on sub 40, it was just a case of trying for a negative split.
The course did open up in the second half and I did manage to get into a decent rhythm, running the fourth mile in 6:30. However I then started tiring slightly and two miles at 6:37 pace saw me home in 41:13.
I am not really surprised that I could not dip under 40 minutes based on my lack of speed work recently and the fact that I have only just recovered from a marathon. At least my PB is a bit more respectable now and I have a nice easy target of sub 41 to aim for in my next 10k.
Freckleton Half on 22nd June next - much more my sort of distance!
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