The Sandcastle 10K was a great, but challenging, run. My plan called for an average 3:50 pace, with a faster start as (much of) the first K was downhill.
Coach John Hill had asked if I wanted to try for a Sub-39. He had warned me that if I was struggling by 5K, I'd be in trouble. While a net downhill course that finishes with a fast final kilometre, there are plenty of undulations, especially in the second half.
I had not done this race before. Long story short, I reached halfway in 19:33 and finished in 40:02. My splits, according to my watch, were 3:44, 3:44, 3:53, 3:53, 4:20, 4:30, 4:24, 4:11, 4:03, 3:20 (!).
It was fun to try this pace, it just didn't work out this time. I simply faded on the undulations in the second half, though tried to keep running as hard as I could. I didn't feel bad, but didn't feel great either. There was no extra zip.
As John suggested, I let go on the final downhill using 'helicopter' arms to keep me steady. John had been at 3K and 5K to cheer on his runners, providing splits. He was also about 500m from the finish and told me to 'kick my butt' to gain a little extra speed.
I finished 3rd woman overall. It's a great 10K, well organized and it finishes in a beautiful spot though unfortunately Tim, Luka and I couldn't stick around this time. I'd like to do this race again, with experience on the course. Here are the results.
Thanks to Chief Chiro's Dr Paul Fleming for the pre-race treatment.
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