I change age groups this December and today was my last opportunity to try for a gold standard in my current age group. I have been disqualified at this event the previous two years but did achieve a silver standard at Newton Park earlier this year. I had to complete 9.8 km in the hour and and only managed a bit more that 9.6 km in the past.
We arrived at the track in plenty of time and I did a 2 km warm-up, afraid that my still sore back might be an issue if without a good warm-up. I tried to achieve a steady pace at the start and managed to get to 5 km in just on 30 mins. For the first 3 or 4 km I was keeping around 15 seconds under 6 min/km pace so I was disappointed to be slowing down so soon.
My first warning came from my husband at around 6 km and one from another judge a couple of laps later. My first card (bent knee) appeared at 8 km. when the 10 min warning was called I was at the 8.2 km mark, 4 laps away from achieving my goal. Despite temptation to give up on my goal I tried to push my pace and managed to do a few laps at around 2:24. The 2 minute call came when I passed the start/finish line and I put in a sprint down the back straight and was very relieved when I passed the 200 m mark prior to the 1 hour. (That sprint picked me up a lifting card but it was worth it).
I slowed down immediately after passing the 9.8 km mark and put my marker down at the 1 hour call. I didn't feel much like going the extra 185 m to finish the 10 km but knew it was madness not to. I was slow to get going again but completed the 10 km in 61:14. That is a PB for 10 km on the track and an improvement on my Wellington age group record.
I had hoped to go under the hour for 10 km today but it wasn't meant to be. Philip pointed out that I walk in the middle of the lane instead of close to the inside edge, costing me around 2 m a lap. A wind catching me on one of the corners may also have contributed to my slower than hoped for time.
I set my Garmin to auto lap each time I passed the start/finish line. It does not measure the track distance very accurately but is a fair reflection of my pace. My average pace was 6:07 per km and average HR 161 bpm.
1 Hour / 10 km Track Race
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