Oda Field 10kTime Trial

The Namban Rengo running club likes to run time trials. The last Wednesday of each month the club members powers through a punishing 5,000 or 10,000 meters round and round the track.

Personally I just like having the energy of other people to run with and perhaps pull me along.

This factor was especially compelling last night. I had ridden my bicycle 100-kilometers along the Arakawa from 1:00 to 5:15 pm (24k average per hour into the wind, 29k per hour with tailwind). I had a 90-minute transition break during which I ate bananas, nuts, and gel before I started my run at around 6:30pm. I had run about 9 kilometers when the 10,000 meter time trial started at 7:20 pm. I hoped to run 4-minute per kilometer pace even though this pace puts me light years ahead of my ironman pace. The first kilometer was 4:05. I felt suprisingly strong and started passing people, my next kilometer was 3:55 and the next 3:50. I went through the 5-kilometer mark in 19:32 and wondered if I could hang on at this pace after all the cycling. Somehow I managed to actually run a few 3:40 kilometers and completed the 10,000 meters in 38:30.

I am pretty pleased with this time, though I am not sure if it really demonstrates anything I could do in an event that is twice as long in the mid-day sun with no 90 minute break between the bike and run. Actually my immediate thought is to wonder what kindof HALF ironman time I might do.

Unfortunately matters spun out of control at the festive post-run dinner. I sat with Gareth, Yumiko, Taeko, Yasuko and Yuka at Zest, a psuedo Mexican restaurant near the track. Fajita after fajita was washed down by pitcher after pitcher of beer and I just barely caught the last subway line before the trains shut down.