Steady comeback there Phil, but you've done something I think I've only done at the Wycombe 10k...a negative split.
I did think about you after my race, and think "Phil's going to wheel out his line about 5.30 pacing for 27.30 isn't he" 
Right, let's have a bit of a report, if only to keep the spam NFL footy game threads off the top of the pile!
So...
A couple of weeks ago I asked the M Dog whether I was in pbing shape, and thus able to do the Victory 5miler. Being 160mile round trip, I wasn't going to go if he said no. However, he wasn't sure like me whether I was or wasn't, so we went for a late decision.
Last week's sessions made the mind up, and so it was on.
Unlike last year where I had a pretty fat pb, where a big pb was guaranteed, this year was more unsure.
When I first mentioned this race about 4months back, Phil, and my pal Bood were up for the trip, but over time Bood lost interest as I had a bit of a niggle, and Phil succumbed to his own niggle. Therefore, sods law dictated it was a solo journey!
Good conditions, with just the typical wind, being right on the water edge for a couple of miles. Did my longest warm up ever for a race, actually a full 3miles for once, hitting MP for the last 3/4m. Couple of strides and we were ready to go.
The race starts with a lap of a track, so it's impossible to start conservatively. I pushed my luck overtaking a Kenyan woman within 100metres but she soon re-overtook, and I never saw her again all race!
The mile 1 marker was ridiculously badly placed as I had 4:23 or so on my watch, but stopped the watch again at the true 1mile mark, for a first mile of 5:13.
So we had a good start with mile 2 coming on around 5.35 I later worked out.
Therefore, I had that "i'm on for a nice pb" feeling. Mile 3 is a bit underwhelming, a couple of small ups and downs (by a flat course standard), but no scenery, and no sense of where on earth you are.
Had a nice group of 3 of us, but at this point I was a little fearing they weren't going to be keeping the pace high enough to stay on the pb trail.
3miles came around 17, which made me worry a little, as that'd be 5.30 pacing to get under 28, and I'd experienced the decent level of wind on the back straight from 4miles on on my warm up.
However, i can now be sure that the 3mile marker wasn't accurately placed, but the 5k marker was (they started a 10k race this year as well for the "less serious and newbies" for some reason....a longer distance, how bizarre!).
So 5k was hit on 17.23, but I knew there was work to do.
3 1/2miles or so, and we were back on the kind of mini pier next to the river, and time to work hard as the wind was reasonably strong into our faces. The guy next to me (with headfones on!) was trying to use me as a wind break, and at one point seemed to be trying to get so close i feared we'd be in the darn river!!
I was looking at my watch and it was giving me readings as wild as 5.40 to 6 min miling pace, so I stopped looking at those and just worked hard.
The 4mile mark was ridiculously late, it must have been about 0.2miles out, but i wa prepared, and it didn't panic me, and finally what I was waiting for, into the gate, and the "400 metres to go" sign. The start of this was around the back of the track, but the last 200metres was on the track.
I looked at the watch, and I knew even a 1:30 400 would give me a pb, and that's slightly under HMP, so I knew I was home. Only thing to make sure of was not tripping on the metal rim to the track!
Managed that, and also managed to be shocked by some kid who accelarated past amazingly, to steal one place. I must have been way down the 5s in pace, so he was flying!
And that glorious
