The road was a bit like a swinging cradle. Soft curvy slope heading down at the start
and then a gentle uphill that doesn’t really ask too much out of you, but in
its own way reminds you that to enjoy throbbing you have to take the thumping
in your stride. Being on a cost road, had
the road only headed down, rather than a finishing line, it was only the sea that
you could look forward to.
In the midst of all this, I was checking my
watch every now and then, making sure that my rhythm of 4:36 minutes/km was
being kept.
I’ve now got a couple of 10km races under
my belt, but for this season it was the first one. And firsts always bring their excitement,
from opposite points. At one point, I
was looking forward for the first race to kick start properly the season, and
at the other end I was afraid that it would all go awry. Running is cheaper than therapy, but having
had two consecutive negative 10km races at the end of last season, rather than
just run, I had to race again to properly banish them both.
Running is just a metaphor for life. And thus control was my priority. I used to treat every race as a possibility
for a personal best. As if to arrive
from one point to another you only have to press the accelerator and treat the breaking
pedal as just something in the way.
The first five kilometres were now under my
belt and the tempo was exactly what I planned albeit admittedly one kilometre
was making up slightly for the other. It
was now all about how to react for the last five. Deep, deep down before I was dreaming that
maybe I can start to fly after the fifth kilometre, but I knew that on the day
and at this stage of the season, it couldn’t be possible. But one stride after another, I equally knew
that I am getting closer to the finishing line and the discipline in the pace
is being kept.
I felt strong enough to take on a couple of
runners, but the clock was showing an average pace of 4:37/km and then
4:38. Knowing that now I am only in the
ninth kilometre I did press hard, and managed to lower my average pace by a
second. Another second and I would hit
exactly the target.
The finishing line though has arrived, the
watch had to be stopped, and had to do with an average pace of 4:37/km and a
total time of 46:12.
Breathing it all out ten whole kilometres
instantly made up for it. The great
after race feeling was about to start.
