TC10k

How times change...I remember last year I would have been so happy to have run a 35min 10k. I ended up with 37:35 at the TC10km exactly one year ago. Today, although I ran faster than last year, I am disappointed at the time that I would have been have with one year ago.

Going into the TC10km I wanted to see how I could do with pacing. In every running event to date I have gone out far too hard and ended up blowing up. The only reason I have gotten through with ok times is because the faster starting pace averages out with the blowing up pace in the rest of the run!

We decided that sticking with the women at the start would be a good strategy today and that is what I did. I found that through the first km I was actually thinking more tactically - bridging up to another small group or person and kind of "hopping" up the field. I could see people ahead of me through the first couple of kms that I wanted to pass but rather than speeding up to catch them then and there, I waited patiently and kept it steady (well, maybe slowing down a little...) eventually reeling in 2 of the markers that I had set early on in the race.

So I came out of it with some good and some bad. The good being that it was faster than last year, and that I was patient and remained confident that I would make goals I'd set within the race. The bad being that I did not get the time I was after - even though it was a time I would have been happy with 1 year ago. To that end, I'm going to head to Vancouver in 2 weeks and try to slaughter the SunRun course!

You can read all about the entire performance of the PT team on Noa's blog. The guys all ran well - definitely thanks to the great coaching and time put in by Noa, and a sign of things to come!

Right after the run I started getting stomach cramping and it's been going on all day now (it's now approaching 7 and a half hours of it...). I am pretty certain I ate a SMALL amount of wheat yesterday and this is the result. For all those that have stomach issues, looking into wheat-free or gluten-free diets might be a good idea. I am a Coeliac and have been since I was a young child so I am used to the "restrictions" it imposes. Those "restrictions" are a common misconception that most people see with a wheat-free diet, but these days (yes I may sound old, but in the '90s it was a lot worse!) it is easy to eat well and avoid most grains associated with wheat.