Amway One by One 10km run

Today, I ran my first ever 10km run. Uncharted waters for me, but I figured I might as well go out fast and try to win. It turned into one of the hardest races I've done. Great course, great organisation, great runners. I'll definitely be back next year. I'm surprised more runners from Namban Rengo didn't go (there were only 4) because the organisation is the best of any run I've done in Japan.

Right from the gun the start (uphill and on grass and mud) felt weirdly fast, but I put it down to cold legs. My time split for 1km was meant to be 3.30 or lower. We went through 1km in 3.10.

At 3km I was 23 seconds under schedule.

At 5km I was bang on schedule - 17.59 (I had a little smile, 17.59 is the 5th fastest 5km I've ever run, and I had to do another 5km).

At 7km I was 25.30, still in my target zone, but then I lost it mentally, I started to run on autopilot - fast but not attacking. I finished in 36.41. A good time for a first run - something to aim at for the next one.

I think I finished about 20th, I should have run to my own schedule - my legs had blown after the first kilometre and I was never the same after that. I was first foreigner though. There were age group prizes for age 30-39, so I hung around in case I got third - but it turned out the first three in my age group came in at 31mins, 33mins and 33 mins. There are so many fast 'old' guys in this country.

Here's the website for the run: www.1by1.jp/charityrun/info_xmasrun06.html

I Iearned something today - I can run uphill well, but I don't know how to run downhill. I made up a lot of ground running uphill only to lose ground on the other side of the climbs. I need to practice running downhill - although it is very bad for muscles, so maybe i shouldn't.