Don't be afraid to use it

I was pretty pumped after Sunday’s workout. Exhausted but pumped and seeing it as tangible proof that I’m getting fitter by the week. Coach summed it up best though (as ever) by telling me that it seemed to him that I was in great fitness right now, don’t be afraid to use it! So that is my mantra going into my 5k tomorrow night. Even though I’ve ‘trained through’ this week (after all my main eye is on the 10k in Richmond in two more weeks) the plan is to lay it all out there tomorrow night and notch a good time. I’m hoping I can get myself into a good group and get pulled along by them. Last time I ran a 5k on the track I was solo the whole way and that becomes a bit of a chore when you are running 12.5 laps! I’m also going to break the race down into kilometre segments rather than miles- 5 kilometres seems a lot more manageable on the track than thinking of it in terms of three miles plus 200 metres!

So that race will be all over by around 10pm tomorrow night. Then it will be a question of warming down correctly, scarfing some food down and heading home for a few hours sleep before the RFYL 4 Miler Grand Prix opener on Saturday morning at 8am! I really like this race. It’s a tough rolling course and being the first race of the Series always seems to attract the big guns. My best race I ran there was back in 2006 when I ran 21:03 and I think if I wasn’t doing the 5k Friday night I would have had a shot at going under 21 at this race but as it is I am assuming my legs will be trashed from the race and I’ll be making up the numbers with a good view of all the racing going on at the front. I’m essentially running the race solely as it is a GP event and would cost me the points if I didn’t turn up. I’d be watching it anyway so I might as well be out there on the course in some shape or form!

We’ll see. All I know is that come 8:30 am Saturday morning I will need a nice long nap. Chances of that? Minimal to nil!!