Today three months ago I finished the UTMB. A good way to celebrate is go out and run a 10k. For about a month now training has been good running a 25k with 1000m D+ in the hills behind Barcelona and the shorter in between runs I could run at better pace. The hard thing was deciding on just that for a 10k, what pace would be good for me at this moment. I knew that going for sub 40 was not possible yet, so I took a bit of a gamble and went for 4m10/k.
When I left home it was raining a bit, but it looked like something that wouldn't last for long. When I arrived at the start area still a few drops where falling but after changing into my running gear and leaving my bag in deposit it stopped raining and the warm up was relaxed. I had plenty of time, but since I wanted to really try my best a good warmup is important. Just before 9am I entered my box, a bit more at the back because for more than a year I did not run a fast 10k and the boxes are decided on your best 10k in the last 12 months. The ambience is great, live music of a well-known catalan band and many many people ready for a run.
The first 3 kilometers were very irregular because people were going slow and it was crowded. At some parts I ran on the side walk and at others I had to continuously change pace and look for ways to advance people in order to maintain pace. The first kilometer was in about 4m15 and the second just below 4m10. Past the 4k mark we soon turn onto Gran Via, a very wide avenue, and here I finally settle for a good pace without having to struggle to maintain it too much, it is still crowded and I still pass runners, but at least there is enough room for that now. I pass the 5k mark in exactly 21 minutes, so I go just above 4m10 pace, but I feel ok. After the 7k mark I start to feel a bit tired and slow down a little, knowing that the approach to the finish would be downhill so there I could pick up pace without effort. I pass the 9k mark at 37m50s, so if I could run a 4m10 over the next kilometer I would finish in 42 minutes. Just after the 9k marker I shout out to Montse and Jordi who were there to cheer me on. When I see the finish line I pick up pace a little bit to try to finish under 42 minutes. Unofficially I think I did manage to do just that, 41m56. Very happy with the regularity of my running and in general with a good feeling.
