Sunday 14/8 Brisbane Road Runners 10 Mile

Sunday Long Run, 100mins, 20k, avg 4:55mins/km

Got up at 5:30am and headed out to West End for my first Brisbane Road Runners race. The club conducts 25 races each year ranging from 5km to marathons and these events are held on a loop course at West End taking in Brisbane's scenic Riverside Drive. I arrived with less than one minute to the gun for the 10 Mile race, which for those of you born after 1972, is 16.09 k's. I then calmly proceeded to sign up for Club membership, pay my race fee, stretch and have a chat with Pat Carroller team mate Peter, who was on marshalling duties. Four minutes after the gun, I finally started the race and set off after the field in last place. Oh yeah, I should have mentioned that I was not racing and was simply taking the opportunity to do a training run on a accurately measured course. Secondly, I wanted to scout the course and familiarise myself with it in anticipation of the odd 5k race I will participate in over the Summer.

I enjoyed the experience and ended up passing a third of the field as I ran my usual Sunday long run pace, taking care not to accelerate as I ran down contestant after contestant. I must confess at this point that I often take sadistic pleasure in overtaking another huffing and puffing runner be they a backmarker I am lapping or someone I am overtaking. Often, no matter how tired I am or how much I'm hurting, I will pass the runner and try and pysch them out by putting a relaxed and serene expression on my face and keep my breathing very normal. Its a tactic that can pyschologically demoralise an opponent and may come in handy a few years down the track if I'm in a head to head duel to win a big race.

After completing the 16k's of the race, I immediately continued on and added another 4k's to the tally before heading to work. After the shoe debacle on Tuesday, this time I forgot to bring a fresh shirt to wear so I had to wear my warmup jumper around the office instead. Fortunately, its casual wear on the weekend's.

After work, I was off to the Broncos and watched referee Tim Mander butcher yet another Broncos game. Whilst the Broncos were outplayed for most of the part, they gutsed it out and hung in there for most of the game despite a misfiring backline and despite being given no favours by Mander. I've been convinced for a number of years that the Broncos win-loss record is significantly better under other referees that it is under Mander as is the penalty count and I'm now going to research these figures to prove my point!