Sun 17 Jul, Sandy Point 10km Race

19km & same for the week

The Sandy Point 10km Race at Sandringham, road race and a flat one to 'boot', but known to be affected by the winds along the bay... Left home at 6.30am, according to Fox Weather it was 5 degrees and the wind was picking up. Arrived early and checked out the toilet situation, as per normal this is a let down for most fun runs. It is cold & windy and the bay sounds like it is as rough as the Bass Strait. 40 minutes prior to the start of the race, Cam & I check out some trails along the bay, the surf is up, which is not good as the bay shouldn't have surf, oh well it will be tough. We go for an easy 15 minutes and return to the car, change over to flats and do some strides and some stretching. Both of us are planning singlets and shorts, & I am racing with gloves.

Ten minutes prior to the race we make our way over to the start area in racing gear, we go back to the car to get jackets and we will trust the world and leave near the start/finish line (they we ok).

The race starts and I have a nice starting position, off we go, I'm probably in the first 20, once onto the roads I notice the wind, about a km into the race, a Sandy girl catches and passes, I link with her and she has a small pack following her (well done guys, 8 guys using a small frame girl as a wind barrier), I pass the 2km marker, 7.43, too bloody fast, about a km further that was confirmed, I started to feel the effects of the start and I dropped off the small pack, I was by myself and BANG the wind got me, 16:20 at the 4k mark and the race was gone. I struggled along and improved slightly but not much.

At the 9k area the HM runners were being directed to do an extra loop before returning back up the road, well no-one told me and here I am including an extra bit to my race, SHIT, a fellow 10k runner who was very shitty made me aware of it and I turned and only lost 15-20 seconds, back onto the road and finished the race without really increasing my pace too much.

41:49, not happy, even though this time is my second or third fastest, the whole race was a waste of time and effort. My mistake was the start and the first 2 kms, I did not remain calm and got carried away, I should know better.

2k Splits: 7:43 8:37 8:34 8:28 8:25

Cam too ran too fast for the first 4k and blew up in the final 3ks, he too did the extra loop, but the difference for him was that he did the entire loop and was passed by many who did not do this loop, but chatting with a few others I know of at least more than 20 runners who ran a part of or the entire loop in the 10k race!!!

I will be letting the organisers know that this occurred and they need to relook at this part of the race! The highlight of the morning was the 40 minute run along the Bay Trail after the race!

Now to prepare myself for the 12km AV race at Bundoora on Saturday.