Wow! what a run! Possibly one of the more stupid things that I have ever thought of doing, incorporating a 10k race into a long run, but had a really enjoyable run!
The run to the event was reasonably uneventful and got to the race start feeling good and full of energy. The race itself was pretty tough going towards the end. I had finished my sports drink just before the start of the race and was experimenting with peri-race nutrition and giving fruit pastilles a try for a sugar source. Unfortunately, the water station was 7km into the race, so when i was trying to eat the sweets, i found that i couldnt really swallow them as was so thirsty. Also, I found that trying to chew the sweets hindered my breathing, so all in all, think I will have to go back to the drawing board.
I usually use lucozade tablets, but am going to try using powder next time to pre-mix and have in a drink. I think the problem with this will be carrying enough drinks to last a long run, or, being able to quickly put the powder into an empty bottle to refuel at drinks stations. The pace of shorter runs doesn't relaly allow for stopping, so this is probably going to be a tactic for marathon/20mile races.
The run home was pretty brutal. Managed to keep a fairly even 9-9:30min/mile pace which was comfortable, although I think that I waited around for too long after the race finished and my legs began to seize up making it difficult to start running again.
That being said, managed to keep going which is a good sign that I will be able to withstand the mental pressures of multiple distances races next year, even if physically I feel like im pretty drained.
Also, I need to remember that im not likely to try and do a 42 minute 10k in the middle of a marathon!!
The run log can be found here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/131376892
On another note, thanks to a generous donation by an old uni friend, i've now hit 1% of my total saving goal, and the page hasn't even been up for a week yet!!
Hopefully thats a good indication of things to come as the challenge progresses through the year!
