To Singelloop Utrecht for new personal best, October 6, 2019
Disclaimer: Automatically translated from Russian
The road ten. Despite the fact that Ruitenburg Run Maasdijk managed to improve the personal record by 35 seconds (until 36:24), there was some dissatisfaction with the result. The question — did not give rest, but how could it have passed if the weather were better? Would you like to run out of 36 minutes? To test this in August, I began to look for a suitable race.
Having studied the list of competitions « someday run » and looked at the profiles of fast guys on Strava and where they showed good results, he found — Singelloop Utrecht. It is held in October, when the probability of heat is quite low. The track is fast enough, which was confirmed by Wikipedia — a pair of world records was installed here.
Registered. During registration, the number of a member of the Netherlands Athletics Federation and the voila — I ran in the competitive category with the start from the first cluster indicated. Excellent — there will be no crowd at the first kilometers, but there will be paisers to try to hold on to.
After Dam tot damloop there were two weeks to prepare. In the first week he planned to do one speed work at the stadium and gain some volume. There was wild rain on Tuesday during the competitive week, so I decided not to risk — running 5 km literally around the house when the rain subsided a bit. But on Thursday it turned out to run segments of 400 meters at a target pace of 10 km ( 3:35 min / km ): warm-up + 3x ( 400 @ T10 + 400E ) +@T10 + 400E ) + hitch. After that, a short run on Saturday and all — is ready to start:
On the start day, the condition is not bad — the legs are quite fresh, the weight is 69 kg. The weather forecast, however, did not please — all day rain, but it’s not hot, + 9 degrees. I’m going to jump on a train and go to the glorious city of Utrecht.
From the central station of Utrecht to the launch site about 3 kilometers. I got on foot, under the rain, looking at the local landscapes:
I changed my clothes and went to warm up — in the rain, the activity is not one of the most pleasant. He rubbed about 3 km and went to change clothes to the start. I revised my clothes a bit: instead of a TAG1 T-shirt, I decided not to put on my sleeves so that the — cap would not drip over my head. Gathered and went to look for a place to start. The rain is finally a little quiet.
He came to the start among the first and went to his cluster. In the first On the start he came among the first and took a place in the cluster. In the front rows he did not climb, so as not to get confused under his feet. A few minutes before the start, — country level athletes and guests from Africa were put in front of this whole crowd:
Before the start, the burgomaster pushed the speech. This race is a very important event for the city, annually gathers a huge number of participants and is referred to as gezelligste (which means « the most cozy ») — type passes through very picturesque and key places of the city. We will see.
Shot, ran.
It all started quite sharply — a lot of turns, part of the people flies forward. I try to keep up with the groups running at my pace. A couple of times he allowed himself to hide in order to catch up with the guys in front. I really want to drink. In general, it turns out to keep the target pace plus or minus 3:35 min / km.
I eat gel around the fifth kilometer.
The plot from 6.8 to 8.4 km turned out to be very difficult. By the sixth kilometer, he began to noticeably get tired, and closer to the seventh kilometer went a straight windy section — a wide renovated street with some fences. He ran here alone, open to all winds, was very sad.
At first I wanted to eat a second gel and perk up, but I thought that it was unlikely that he would already have time to reach me. A plus of water was not planned in front, but I still wanted to drink.
I try to increase the — step fails. I try to shorten the length of the step and increase the cadence — a little better.
The climb began on the eighth kilometer. That is, he was not obvious, but it was felt that something was wrong here. On the topography map on Strava, he later became convinced of this. It became completely sad here and they began to pick me up:
Overtaking guys helped a lot — tried to cling to them and not let go very far:
The finish marks — 500-400-200-100 meters appear. We collect the remnants of strength into the fist:
And the finish — finally it ended:
Even in dirty time on the watch you can see — about PR. I take a medal and go to change clothes, overcome by mixed feelings: dripping over my head, under my feet in the mud park, it’s cold, of all the attractions of the route, only the endless fence — was remembered, something completely different from the cozy home race.
Having changed my clothes (and at the same time dropping compression shorts somewhere in the tent), I put forward on the return path. In the meadow, the winners are awarded:
Having defended the award ceremony, I leave this holiday of life. A group of African winning guests with cups at the ready somewhere lead doping officers:
In the rain. Like captured French. Minimum kilometer and a half. Could any transport be organized?
A couple of short stops near local attractions:
I get to the station and an hour and a half at home. Check weighing — 68 kg.
By this time, official results had arrived: Time — 36:33 (9 seconds slower than PB and 34 seconds slower than what would make me happy … for a while) Common place in the competitive category — 64th of 151 In the competitive category M35 — 10 of 22
Half breakdown: 5 km — 17:57 — 3:35 min / km 10 km — 18:36 — 3:43 min / km
So what can I say. The weather was pretty comfortable, dressed correctly. The first half went clearly at the target pace. From the very beginning he fled in full force. Well, maybe he restrained himself on the first kilometer or two, but this can be neglected. The second half also worked at full capacity, however, the pace was noticeably lower. Yes, in the second part it was windy and in some places a little in the hill, but I don’t think that it was only because of this I lost 33 seconds. So just until he was ready to run out of 36 minutes. We continue to train.