Ka Boom

  After a few hiccups over the last few weeks with messing about with a cold and some sort of stomach virus I eventually turned things around by Sunday morning and decided I was fully fit and ready to race. So that is exactly what I did today by the means of the Teesbarrage 10k, this race is not exactly a fast course and there is always a bit of a breeze to contend with. On the plus side it is also by no means a slow course, there are plenty of supporters giving encouragement and it's well organised sounds good to me.
   This time I opted for a slightly longer warm up than my last race in March as I couldn't manage to sit still and I was keen to get started, my plan was to try and run the race in under 33 minutes or just over at worst. Finishing position was also very important considering the excellent prize money on offer  but I was confident that I could avoid jeopardising my time if I was tangled up in a race battle.
   Bang ! And the race was off, I went with my good old fast start and just about had it under control. I opened up a lead and then kept working at it, my theory being that by half distance in a race you should not loose any places unless that is you are in a close battle with someone else or your wheels come off as they say. By the time I reached the three 3km mark my lungs and heart began to hurt, not like the normal pain involved with the shear effort of racing but more like when I have the onset of a cold. No time for excuses so onwards it was, I got to half distance so in my head I should now be on for the win. I was expecting to be well away in the lead but fellow club mate Ste Middleton and old rival Alasdair Tatham North York Moors were only around two hundred metres behind. Errm interesting and Errm I can sense trouble  sprang to mind. I went with engaging auto pilot for the next three kilometres as I wanted to ease the lung pain a touch and also if I was caught then I would be ready for action. 8km marker and if anything the gap had grown which did wonders for my morale, Middleton swapped places with Tatham obviously not by choice. I upped my speed and took the victory in 34 minutes 26 seconds, I thought I was slightly faster but that's probably my fault. I will take what ever is on the final results list. ( 34 mins 26 it is. )   In summary around 1 minute 30 seconds off what I thought I was capable of, not too happy with that. Concerned with the heart and lung pain ? Probably post cold/chest problem not fully recovered at a guess. Winning the race, Ka Boom ! Dynamite Dunn is back in business.