Running our Wednesday session on Tuesday evening, and without Joe, I picked the pace up. I wanted to compare how I could perform against how I run with Joe. We use our Wednesday sessions in different ways. For Joe it's a fast run and it's about trying to improve week on week. I have a different agenda. It's more of a steady run for me, and it's a way to encourage and help my pal to improve, as well as a reason to see him and socialise, both on the road and in the pub afterwards.
Over the last eight months or so we've brought our average pace down from anywhere between 8 and 8½ minute miles to around 7:45-7:50, but on my own I got just under 7 minute pace, To be fair, it was a little later in the evening, and cooler for that, and I wasn't held up much. I was working rather harder, though!
It feels strange resting on a Wednesday, but then it's not the norm to be racing on a Thursday. The Rowheath race is the first of a three race series, is part of the Warwickshire Road Race League and is also the Warwickshire County AA 5km Road Championship, so it should attract a large and high quality field. It's been taken over by Birmingham Running Athletics & Triathlon Club following their merger with Birmingham Rowheath Athletics Club.
I missed the whole series last year, and in 2009 my results were all over the place, and not exactly outstanding, mainly I think because they were my first 5km races. I recall thinking the course was quite tough, but it was nothing in comparison to Roundhay parkrun. Provided I can get a decent start, without too much jostling, I would hope to be maybe a minute faster in comparison to 2009, and return a sub-19:30 performance. There, I've said it!
It'll be a good test to compare myself against a good club-runner field, including some ex club mates, although parkruns have some excellent athletes as well of course.
Correction:
It's the second race, on 14 July, which is part of the Warwickshire Road Race League and is the Warwickshire County AA 5km Road Championship!
No comments:
Post a Comment