Lake Gwelup 10km run

This run was not on my program originally. I swapped it with the Freo Fun Run the following week, as it is much closer and the entry fees were much cheaper too. Also, I didn't fancy running through the railway lines in Fremantle. So I thought I chose the softer option.

I was wrong.

When I started my warmup at the foot paths at Lake Gwelup, the race marshalls have already lined up the course with the orange cones. I noticed the course went off the paths and into the grass and gravel. Not my preference, but we can't always stick to things we're comfortable with.

I actually felt pretty good in the warmup. The 4.5 hour ride in the hills the day before didn't seem to affect my legs that much when I did the short 30 second bursts of sprints. And because the place was only 10 minutes away, I had plenty of time to stretch, relax and get myself ready. I thought to myself, I might do a good run after all.

I was wrong again.

I probably only felt good for the first 10 minutes of the race. After that, there some twists and turns in the course, and we also came to a short climb of about 500m. The run was a 2 lap course, so I took a mental note to prepare myself when we return to that climb on the 2nd lap.

Mitch Cleasby, who pipped me at the finish line at Perth Half Marathon 4 weeks ago, overtook me just after the 4km mark. It was then where it felt like my body surrendered whatever strength it has left, leaving me to run in survival mode for the rest of the run. When I passed the halfway point, the finish clock was showing 20:30 something. I'm already 45 seconds slower than I was at the halfway point at Lake Joondalup where I did my 10km PB.

My pace slowed down even more after that, probably about 10 seconds per km. I've already taken this to be a training run. A couple more runners overtook me, then an older participant stayed with me until the last km. With the finishing in sight, suddenly my legs felt a sudden surge of energy and I picked up my pace, finishing with a bit of a sprint. I crossed the finish line in 41:53, more than 2 minutes slower than Lake Joondalup run, and with an average pace of 2-3 seconds slower per km than Perth Half Marathon.

Slightly disappointed that I wasn't able to give my best. But I guess we can't be at our best all the time. So I just have to be contented with another good hard running session in the bag.