Tees Barrage 10k

Tees Barrage 10k - Having just about got back to full strength after the Sheffield Half Marathon I opted to stick with my plan and run the 10k race at Stockton. The course had to be changed once again this year with the good news being that the course was 5k shorter than usual but the bad news was you had to go twice round, some runners might say it's boring doing laps but it makes it a lot more interesting of a race for the spectators and supporters. The wind was strong and with the course having so many short turns it was bound to be a tough test. The race started and I found myself just behind two North Yorkshire Moors runners, Jim Bulman and Alasdair Tatham, I thought I would try some mental distraction seeing as Bulman is on the verge of beating me so I shouted out " come on Bulman this is not even marathon pace " he laughed but stuck to his pace so onwards it was. Reaching the 2km mark my calves were stiffening up, (this is quite normal for me after hard half marathon races and marathon races as it takes a minimum of ten days for me to get back to being 100 percent fit) so instead of risking a fast finish I decided to go with a long hardish consistent effort for the last 8km. I opened up a small gap on Bulman in 2nd place but each time we took a sharp turn he seemed to close the gap slightly. By the end of the first lap 5km he was still hot on my heels but then in the next km I managed to increase my lead which did wonders for my morale. I was pleased to see the 8km mark as my legs were getting worse and I was sure I was beginning to run with a slight limp but even so I didn't feel as if I was slowing down. The taste of victory does wonders for helping you ignore any suffering and even the last km into the wind didn't seem so bad. I finished in 32 minutes 48 seconds with Bulman 2nd in 33 minutes 16 seconds, Alasdair Tatham 3rd and Andy Chaddfield of Billingham Marsh House Harriers returning after a bad injury was 4th.
I have no doubt I will be back to full fitness by Wednesday so I should be raring to go by next Sunday for the Ripon 10 miler.