So how did it go Pete? Glad you asked.
The Egdon Easy 10k is a flattish course around the Lodmoor Nature Reserve. A few little twisty bits, a couple of small inclines, and a flat drag back along Preston Beach Road into a decent breeze. Oh and it’s in the evening.
We started and finished at Weymouth College, although the start was delayed by about ten minutes as there was a barrier across the track at about 300m that nobody had the keys for! Anyway, we all managed to squeeze past without being forced to slow down too much, the braver souls vaulted over!
Decided to aim for something around 50 to 52 minutes, so wanted to start with just over 5 minute kilometers and see how it went.
After the initial burst of energy and a 4:49 opening kilometer I settled down and did 5:05, 5:13, 5:10, but then slumped to 5:18 and 5:19. At this point I tried to pick it up a bit, and whilst the legs were willing, my heart wasn’t. Up to now my heart had been averaging about 171, which is higher than the 165 to 168 that I know I can sustain, but seemed ok. However, as soon as I tried to speed up a bit my heart moved up to over 175 at which point I started to feel just slightly faint. This was the body warning me to slow it a bit (duh), so I did. Frustrating when I knew I had the strength in my legs. So then it was 5:10, 5:15, 5:21 before a magnificant sprint finish saw me home with 4:56, although that was slightly less than a kilometre. Final time 51m 38s, so within target range but a little disappointing if truth be told.
Overall, an excellent race that I’ll do next year if I’m still running. Definitely a course for a PB with only a few slight inclines. Well run (apart from the delayed start), well martialled, results online by early the next morning. Got a nice breathable t-shirt that I might actually be able to run in.
Thank you Egdon Heath Harriers.
Click here for the Garmin data.
