Sub 50 minute 10k

Hi SK

My first 10K was a very similar time, also a local race on a course with a few little hills!

I've not done the BUPA 10,000 but it should be pretty flat?  Do you have a coloured number that ensures you go into the right pen?  I wouldn't worry too much about the start, most of the bigger 10Ks I've done have a sub-40 pen, 40-45mins, then 45-55 mins. So you'd be in the right pen regardless of 50 or 55 minutes.  The best races I've done pace-wise are the ones where I've set off slightly slower than my planned pace as it means you spend the later stages of the race feeling good and overtaking others who've gone off too fast!

It took me a few attempts to get under 50 minutes, I think my first 10K I was so scared of coming last that I ran as hard as I could for the whole race!  My training then was also three times a week but unlike you, I would just run everywhere at the same pace and wonder why I wasn't getting any faster!  I was also clueless about pacing, I would just run without working out what pace per mile or km I should be going at.

Your training sounds much more structured.  It's only 2 weeks away but if you have a garmin or similar you could maybe try doing one of your speed sessions before the race with maybe 3 or 4 x 1000m @ 7:55 pace (goal 10K pace) and see how it feels? 

Good luck with it, it's brilliant when you do crack that 50 minute barrier

I've run the Bupa 10,000 3 times, and the course is nice and flat (there might be one uphill by Blackfriars brige overpass if I remember correctly). It goes a bit narrow and wiggly through the City, and the cobblestones under Leadenhall Market can be a KILLER if it's wet (in 2008, absolutely everyone had to slow down to walking pace to not twist an ankle on them).

I can't remember the exact pen cutoffs, but my estimated time was 50min, so I'll tell you my colour when it arrives. In the past, they've been pretty good at keeping slower people to the back, but the first km or so you'll always have some dodging to do, but once you get onto the Embankment, you get more room to stretch your legs.

Good luck! I'm really hoping to break 50min at this race, too!

My number is in Blue A, so you're only the pen next to mine. Leadenhall Market is only a couple hundred metres, so it's not too long to endure the cobbles. It's a shame because it's so pretty to look at while you run through - I just wish they'd put down a temporary surface or something so it's less hazardous to run on.

By my watch I finished in 49:45 but when the official times came through, I finished in 50:27! I have no idea how mine could be 45 seconds off, as I tapped in and out exactly on the mats.

So it's a little disappointing that I didn't get the sub-50 I thought I had, but it's still a big PB for me, and in those conditions, too!

Go girls!!  It was really hot on Sunday, I did a local 10K and got a nice tan!

Dodgy chip timing Sqirrellypoo, sounds like it's recorded your gun time! Watch time PBs definitely count.

Intervals really do work SK, I've grown to like them as they bring results. You need to change your name to just 'Koala' now