Today I ran the first annual (hopefully) Run the Runway event out at Diamond Aircraft, which took us up the runway at the London International Airport. An out-and-back route, it was as flat as you could ever hope for. And while wind can be a real issue on such a wide open surface, tonight the wind sock was hanging straight down. With a temperature of around 16 degrees C., you really couldn't have asked for better topographical or weather conditions!
But there was one minor issue: My IT band that had been bothering my left buttock and causing discomfort all the way down to my knee. I'd been treating it with stretches, exercises and ibuprofen, but I was concerned that it would cause me issues during the race.
I had a half a medium dark roast Timmy's before we warmed up. Coach John, Brian Hagemeier, Ed Soldo and I all went out for a 2K warm up. I ate a Mars bar and did one quick stride-out before getting at the start line, right near the front of the crowd.
Here are my splits according to the GPS:
4:03.90
4:14.28
4:16.83
4:21.18
4:06.44
Total: 21:02.6
The clock said 21:05 as I crossed, so the GPS wasn't entirely accurate, which is normal. My average pace was 4:13 per kilometre.
I was super-happy with this run. As always in a race, I felt like I wanted to walk during the last kilometre. But I grit my teeth and vowed not to walk. I concentrated on keeping the best form that I could while pushing forward with every stride. And once I rounded the last corner towards the finish, I found the energy to put on one final kick. I tried to get under 21 minutes, but couldn't do it.
Everything about the race was perfect. Even my issues with my IT band weren't a problem and I don't think affected my running in any way. I'm going to continue doing my stretches and exercises to make sure I get through Ragnar and the Columbus marathon.
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