Evening all, Aussie here with another (yes, another) post race report. Today's race was only 6 days after the 8.2 miler and it's the 10K Riverside Run... a replay of my first ever 10K back in July where I managed a 1:07:24 in pretty hot conditions....
So - I know the course and I'm down there about 20 minutes before the fun begins... pick up my race pack, pin on the number (easy now - getting used to this) and then make my way to the start line... It's not really phased but we're going to be going off in waves today so looks like I'm in the third wave... no bother there, we're all looking for chip time here anyway (except the really fast ones)...
Bit of a wait and then before I know it, we're off down the towpath... and today I'm pushing myself a bit harder than normal... serious face on, heart rate up and away we go... it's warmer than I thought it would be today so that's making things a little bit interesting but nothing I can't deal with... lots of mud and puddles about and I just decide the best option is to run through them... too much messing about to dodge them! I've learnt now to use someone in front of me to pace myself and then if I feel they're a bit slower than I want to be going, I pull out past them... No point pacing too slow now if you want a PB...
The first 3km tick on by without much fuss (although I'm wondering if I have gone out too fast by now) and I'm letting Miss Garmin tell me timing information... 5k in and I'm at a 30 minute 5k... all I can think now is "negative split" and you'll get a sub 60 minute 10k Aussie... off we go!
Well, not quite the way it worked out... buoyed by my 5K time and my pushing to date, kilometers 6-7 saw me slow down a bit (not much, but "over 6min/km" pace) - not to worry... I was feeling quite tired at the 7KM mark as we passed the event village when I got a huge push from the 2 little Vegemites ... "Go on Daddy! 2.5KM to go!".... Onward we go then! Put the pedal and think maybe I can make up the time then... the encouragement from the crowds and the kiddos really does help and I push on as hard as I dare (knowing I've still got to head to Richmond and back yet)....
Alas, the tank is emptying quickly and I hit 9K at 56 minutes.... to pull out a sub 60 10K today I'm going to need a 4 minute kilometre... not today my friends, but maybe next time! I still did manage to pull the "Aussie Special Sprint Finish" today though and overtook about 5-6 people in the last 400m of the race... I still had a little bit left in the tank but I was on fumes!
I cross the line in a time of 1:01:32 with the Vegemites running beside me, almost a full SIX minutes faster than I ran the same course 3 months ago... If you ever need proof that pace comes by keeping at it and practicing - there it is... 
It was a hard race today... I needed a few minutes post-race before I could talk to the kiddos, but I pushed myself as hard as I dared to and I ran the whole way... and 10K is a looong way!
Really happy with myself and so pleased that even with all the stuff life is throwing my way now (work, travel, stresses) that running is the one constant... it centres me, it keeps me sane and it keeps me fit... and I have the most awesome family supporting me out on races... it's fantastic!
Happy running y'all... Hope you Parkrunners had a top run today and good luck for all of you racing tomorrow!
PS. Mrs Aussie is about to embark on Week 5... she's not been as disciplined as she'd like, but she is getting there... won't be long and we'll be running 5Ks together...
Aussie has been busy... 
ParkRun and 10k plans
