It was good to be back at the BPTT, after missing it in the last weeks thanks to the inclement weather and a broken down train. Also, Paul N showed up so I had someone of similar ability I knew who I could pace against. In the end, he did prove very valuable to tag. I got my second best time, not beating my PB of three weeks ago, but finishing comfortably under 20 minutes (19:38 – PB was 19:19 but next best time was 19:41.) A significant headwind for the last km probably did slow me down by a few seconds.
A couple of observations – unlike both of of the 10Ks I’ve run in the last week, I had nothing left at the end, and couldn’t have sprinted if I’d needed to – largely because I kept up the pace for the last 1km after overtaking Paul, anticipating he might have overtaken me.
Also, I really felt that my 5km pace was noticeably faster than my 10km pace – it hurts more, and it’s relentless the whole way around. Unlike the 10km, there really isn’t any “breathing time” where you can ease off and still put in a good time. With 5km, every second really does count.
Google Earth view down the finishing straight – 1.1km, marked by a white line.