Here I go again. That dreaded 3k race. It’s insanely quick and I enjoy/hate it in equal measure. This was my 4th running of the popular race, and the first time it had rained. Statistically, in Scotland, that is on a par with winning Euromillions. Every one of my 3 previous 3k jaunts had come within 5 or 6 days of a race elsewhere. This time I had raced in Kirkintilloch nearly 8 days previous. I was fresh in comparison. So, I hoped for a PB.
My three previous efforts were:
Feb: 10:33
Mar: 10:38
Apr: 10:34
Could I get under it? Certainly conditions were favourable. The weather was cool and the drizzle quiet enough to be unobtrusive. There was a mild cross wind too.
In my previous runs here I had set off too quick, started to flounder in the middle and had to hang on at the end. I wanted to buck that trend and finish strongly.
I set out on the first km really trying hard not to get caught up in the sprinters around me going off like the clappers. Normally I am breathing out my arse after 300m! Today I controlled the pace better and covered the first km in 3.24 – 6s under my 3:30 per km pace which would give me a 10:30 time. I was in 10th place at the turning point.
I consciously slowed on the next km, but a bit too much as the garmin record shows. But I felt really comfortable, and should have done given I was 3:39 for the km. This meant I was 3s over pace after 2 kms. I have never finished this race strong but would need to now to break that norm to finish on 10:30.
As we turned and headed past the brown boat house I picked up the pace. I had two guys ahead of me, but I was closing in. I pushed as deep as I could and overtook a guy with a red tee, just like me, but the blue chap was out of reach. My pace for the last 1/4 mile was 5:15 per mile. That is a as fast I can run, really.
Did I break my PB? Yes, I came in on 10:28 according to my watch. Delighted with this effort. The official time was 10:28 and I finished 9th out of 57 runners. Once again, big shout out to the organisers who do this all for charity. A great piece of work. And a shout to mates Barrie and John who both ran cracking races as well!
If you want to find out more about this nice wee race go to: http://www.3konthegreen.com
James Stewart 