Tuesday night saw the culmination of the aforementioned Summer Series of 10k races. The final 6th race in the series is different to the others in that competitors are started in Reverse Speed order according to a handicap arrived at by averaging the times in the previoius 5 races.So as anyone who has seen my previous times will know, I started pretty near the front, with the best runners starting a full 20 minutes after me.
Several things of note occurred;
1. Rachel overtook me after 5.5 having started over a minute behind, this was disappointing as I though for once I might break the tape ahead of her. She actually finished in the top 10 overall and won a T-shirt.
2. I overtook a horse! Yes it was moving and being piloted by a jockey/rider (no they weren't obese) but I suppose I would be exaggerating if I said it was moving at more than a slow trot. Pleasing all the same.
3. I actually got to see some fast people running. Normally the "elite atheletes" disappear on the B of the bang and I never see them again- I think that they are generally at home in bed by the time I finish. But the handicapping worked really well and in the last kilometre they came streaming up alongside (and past me) at alarming pace, it made me realise quite how far I've got to go in terms of improving beyond the group of seniors and stragglers I'm usually surrounded by.
As for whether I manage to keep it up without the spur of competition to galvanise my resolve remains to be seen!!!
