With the light nights rolling in, the midweek races start to appear. I've been putting in some decent speed sessions recently so I was looking forward to seeing what I could do over 5km. The race starts with a climb up to Cowm reservoir on the road before taking a semi rough track around the perimeter of the res. It's a two lap course before a run back down the hill to where we started from.
I wasn't 100% sure how to run the race in terms of pacing so I just set off pretty quickly and thought I would see what happened. I climbed up to the reservoir and already had a little lead so going over the top I started to stride out and push on. We went through a few stiles and crossed a bridge before coming back down the opposite side. The track was a lot rougher but was pretty flat so it was just a case of watching your footing.
I wasn't 100% sure how to run the race in terms of pacing so I just set off pretty quickly and thought I would see what happened. I climbed up to the reservoir and already had a little lead so going over the top I started to stride out and push on. We went through a few stiles and crossed a bridge before coming back down the opposite side. The track was a lot rougher but was pretty flat so it was just a case of watching your footing.
On the second lap I was feeling ok. My cadence was still good and my breathing wasn't too bad. I was focussed on keeping a good technique as normally I start to tire and my form becomes shocking. The second lap came and went and my splits were pretty even. I strode out back down the hill into the finish. I finished 1st in 16.20 which I was pretty pleased with as the course wasn't super fast. Going forward I think I'll try and get into a few 5 / 10 k's this summer and see what times I can run.
Photo courtesy of Running Photos MJH
Photo courtesy of Running Photos MJH