Week 8 Wrap-up

Week 8 was a good one because it finished with Run Melbourne on the Sunday. I wasn't sure how I'd go before the race. My lower right calf was feeling a bit sore the previous day when I went running so I was wondering if that was going to play up and it certainly felt like it would when I did a short jog as a warm-up. Yet once I got going, I didn't think about it again until the end and that was only as a memory, not as any actual pain. Adrenalin perhaps blocked it out but I haven't felt it since so I'm not sure what the go was there.

The run went really well. While not planning to get a PB or anything, I wanted to run steadily and see how I went. I looked at my watch now and again to see how my pace was looking but after the half way mark I barely looked at all. I could see km markers so I new how far I had run and since I wasn't really aiming for a particular time, it seemed a bit pointless to be checking my speed. I recall that by about the 7km mark, it seemed like some people were definitely dropping off a bit. Must have started too fast. I was able to maintain a good speed without too much variation it felt like. As I neared the finish line I was quite pleased that while my legs were getting more and more tired, I wasn't needing to slow down. What I remember of the finish line is that there was a nice downhill and then at the bottom of that, a flat stretch leading to the finish. I flew along that last stretch. Just wanted it done! I didn't really know what my time might be but felt like it should be a little better than my previous PB for 10km which was 45:58. My final time was 43:28! So exactly 2.5mins quicker than around Albert Park! Nice! I gotta admit I'm really happy with my time. It's encouraging to see all of my training paying off. I'm getting stronger and faster and it feels good. I wish I could remember things about the run that could make this more entertaining but it was a few days ago now and I guess I was fairly focussed on the race at the time.
Here's a photo of me with a great MCG backdrop.

This coming week is another slower week to let my body rest up after Run Melbourne.
Week 8 distance covered: 46 km