Lassie Viren

Thursday (In Transit)

Friday 9.30am Sydney Olympic Park Blacktown

Australian Masters 10,000m M45-49 1st 33m28

After a monumentally long car journey (950KM in 12hours 20 mins including two or three rest breaks and two refills! having set off at 4.20am!!!) down from Brizzey we arrived at a hot Sydney!
Traveling with my oldest son Oliver he managed to transfer his cold to me! In truth I
had before but the car journey managed to incubate it and so I woke this morning with
the sore throat and runney nose. To add to my earlier tribulations I didn't anticipate scintillating performances. The good news was that a Southerly blew in last night and cooled it down to a chilly 20 O C! It was overcast and been raining. The indispensable SatNav got us to the track perfectly. Keith Bateman was going to be my major competition and I was pleased to meet him before hand. A really nice enthusiastic guy. I was bemused by the fact that he was going to run the race in these 'glove for feet' type shoes that replicate bare feet running. However, in the end he changed into flats to accommodate a niggle he was carrying. I had decided for the first time ever in a track race not to wear spikes but flats as I felt with a weekend of racing it would give my suspect calves the best opportunity to recover.
As ever , I hooned off but I thought it was conservative with a 72 sec opening lap. I could feel Keith close by and after 3 laps he came up and offered to take it in turns to take the pace.
We ran together like this for 10 or so laps. The wind had picked up and it was tough going entering the finishing straight and all the way down the straight. Eventually Keith didn't take his turn to lead out so I guessed he was beginning to struggle. I wasn't feeling great and at one point earlier thought Keith might push off as I was struggling. I passed 5K in 16m24 and just ticked off the laps. Hard hard work when you get to 10 laps and its 15 to go , then get to 15 laps and its 10 to go! I wasn't pushing - just surviving the duration and not inspired by the only split I really took note of (5K). So it was that I got to the last lap and brought it home in just 33m28
(Official Lap times went; 1.13, 2.30, 3.49, 5.08, 6.26, 7.44, 9.03, 10.22, 11.42, 13.02, 14.23, 15.43, 17.05, 18.27, 19.48, 21.10, 22.32, 23.54, 25.17, 26.39, 28.02, 29.25, 30.48, 32.10, 33.28) I'd have been lapped by myself with last years Hobart time (32.12). All things considered with the calves, the Stomach virus , the Cold virus, and the drive down here not a bad performance.
Great Medals. If I can come away from Sydney with one Seasons Best performance (from the 1500m or the 5000m I'll be happy!)