Polaroid Helensburgh 10K

Thought after Tuesday that I could at least give the Helensburgh 10K a go and drop out if the injury flared up. Conditions were damp and only slightly windy, which was fine for racing, but meant I couldn't wear the new Hyperspeed 5 as they have a tendency to suck up surface water and cause blisters. Instead I went with the Brooks Green Silence. Decided to aim for 3:25 per kilometre and see how long I could sustain it. This went reasonably well for the first few kilometres - in fact, better than I had expected - and I found myself at the back of a group which gradually pulled away as my lack of fitness began to tell, and I struggled with mild stitches on both sides.

At 6K I was still a few seconds inside a 3:30/km average but by 7K I had dropped outside. I felt like my legs could manage a faster pace but the strength to pick it up just wasn't there. The stitches I had suffered practically from the start had conveniently masked any hip or hamstring pain, but my injury made its presence felt inside the last kilometre and I began to limp slightly. I crossed the line in a chip time of 35:32, giving me 17th place and 7th M40. Although not too bad under the circumstances, this was a frustrating 51 seconds down from last year's time, which would have been good enough this year for 1st M40. I was second finisher for Garscube. Average pace was 5:43/mile.