Joggers World Fun Run Series
I signed up for the Joggers World Fun Run 5km event last week, knowing it would be a good indicator of how my speed training is going. I haven't run a 5km race in recent years so also wanted to see what time I could run.
The 5km category was classed as 'Elite' and the entrants were required to be able to run 5min/km pace for women, and 4min/km pace for men. I scraped through on the pace requirement (currently running about 4:45min/km avg) so thought I'd give this category a go.
The event was a cross country event, with a mix of pavement and grass track. I got nervous when I got to the event as I realised the majority of it was on grass, and this might slow me down a bit.
The other events (2km, 4km and 8km) were all timed to finish up as our race started, and as the announcer told the crowd they were about to see some of SA's fastest runners and perhaps even Australia's, I suddenly felt very out of my league!
I started at the back and didn't want to get too caught up with how fast everyone was going. I thought I'd likely come in last, and I knew I was going to get lapped, so wasn't going to let either of those things worry me.
It turned out one of the other women was running about my pace (although I had to work very hard to keep up in the first lap, my first km split was 4:19min/km - faster than I knew I could maintain). I sat behind this lady for the first 2 laps, and made a pass shortly after that. My lungs were exploding and having these very quick men come flying past me made me feel like I was moving backwards! There were some very fast men and women out there - it was impressive.
I had a quick look over my shoulder to make sure I still had a decent gap on the next woman, and seeing I did was a small relief for me as I completed my last lap and came through the finish line.
My final time for the 5km was 22:48, which made that one of my fastest recent runs. This was a bit faster than my Corporate Cup times this year, so I am pleased with that (especially so considering that it was on grass). The threat of coming last was obviously a good motivator to power me along (I came in 4th out of the 5 women racing, and 9th of the 10 total).
I bumped into a couple of friends that also ran; Karen Boettcher was 3rd in her age-group for the 8km run, and Matthew Cox also ran in the Elite 5km and was the 5th male in.
It was an enjoyable and well organised event (with lots of random draw prizes). The fourth and final event in the series is on September 12th: http://funrun.joggersworld.com.au/
