BRRC 5k - 1st 17:27

BRRC 5k - 1st in 17:27 - 3:15, 3:24, 3:33, 3:41, 3:39

This was a race like none other.

After Pat cancelled Thursday and Friday speedwork along with next Tuesday's 3KTT, I thought it might be an ideal opportunity for me to have a hitout over 5k at West End. It was a reduced volume week for me anyway so I could afford to miss the shortened 90min long run and besides, I wanted to have a crack at finishing the year with a new PB in every distance from 3k to the Marathon whilst also picking up my first win for the year after a win-less year to date. I would also try and have a crack at 16:50 averaging 3:22's.

I rocked up to the new starting venue at the South Brisbane Sailing Club and after a 15min warm up and strides, we were away. After 400m (inluding a bungled attempt to start my Timex) it was already down to a race in two, myself and David Williams who ran a handful of sessions with PCRG three or four years back. I recalled having the edge on him back then and was confident that I had improved more than he had in the intervening years. However, my brow furrowed when Williams pulled up alongside me and we ran for a few hundred metres next to each other jostling elbows along the way. Eventually, I'd had enough of this and put in a short, sharp surge to break away before resuming what I felt was 3:22 pace. Alas, the sound of runners slapping the bitumen behind me did not fade away and before I knew it, Williams pulled up alongside me and we ran together through the 1k mark in about 3:15 or perhaps even a touch quicker.

I swore under my breath as my pacing plan went astray and put in another surge to go in front. I had come into this race untapered and with an increased workload the previous week and now the legs were starting to hurt and I hoped like hell that this time Williams would be dropped and stay dropped!!! Again, Williams fought back and overtook me but noticeably slowed the pace after he went past me. Encouraged that he was trying to slow down the pace, I immediately surged again for the third time - this time, I would drop the bastard once and for all!! But this time, I didn't have the strength to go on with it after my surge and Williams countered it staight away and we again ran side by side through 2k with a 3:24 as I shook my head at the absurdity of the situation - this was like a 1500m race on the track, which incidentally, I've never done. The next kilometre was like an episode of Groundhog day with almost five lead changes, with neither of us able to go on with the job. After three k's of cutting each other to pieces with repeated surges, followed by occasional slow downs, I had given up on the idea of a fast time and was contemplating the strategy of drafting closely for the next k and letting Williams do all the work before unleashing a big kick 400 out. As I bowled along in the lead and considered strategy, Williams put in a huge effort to overtake me going up the hill behind the Boat Shed and glancing across at his exertion, I sensed it was his last throw of the dice. He couldn't have picked a worse place to have a High Noon shootout with me for I have long practiced the art of going strongly up that very hill at PCRG Time Trials without breaking stride or losing momentum as I crest it. Sure enough, I finally shot clear after maintaining my momentum past the hill and Williams' footsteps finally receded into the distance. The cost had been high though and I knew that the final 1500m was going to hurt before I could collect my first 'W' of the year. Surely enough, ugly splits of 3:41 and 3:39 followed as I battled home, annoyed that a u-turn 150m from the finish line interrupted my efforts to finish with a fast last 400m. I crossed in 17:27 about 20 or 30 seconds clear of Williams, missing my PB of 17:26 by the smallest of margins. No doubt I would have got the PB had the final u-turn been 500m away and well before my kick. But the disappointment of the time was offset by the valuable racing experience I picked up and the satisfaction of coming out on top in a head to head duel - that kind of race was worth 10 normal races in terms of learning the art of racing an opponent head to head.

A satisfactory finish to a solid year, my friends - which I'll recap later. Happy New Year everyone!