No Hat? No Problem!

Today was my first Park Run. For those not in the know, the Park Run is a free weekly 5k timed run (or race, if you will) that has numerous locations all around the world. Yep, if I bring along a printed piece of paper with my bar code, I can run at any park run event in the world! Sweet deal!
I nervously threw my things together this morning. Shoes? Check! Watch? Check! Bar code? Check!
Only when I got to New Farm Park did I realize I had forgotten an important part of my running uniform - my hat! I have run in a hat almost every run for the past two years. It may not seem like a big deal, but when the day is hot and the morning sun is reflecting off the river, it is a bit of a nuisance!
After they ran through a quick race brief (pun intended), I nervously joined in with the crowd at the start line. My B goal was a sub-30min 5k, but could I do it? I remembered that my unofficial 5k pb was 27.40min, so that number kept bouncing around in my head. And then I thought of a sub-25min run and how that was my goal for this year.

Race brief. I'm right at the front and looking decidedly unimpressed next to the enthusiastic lady in orange.

But in the end I settled my mind on a sub-30min run with no other expectations. After all, I was doing this run for a time trial. You see, I'd like to do the Park Run once a month or so to gage my fitness & speed levels and determine where I need to go. This being the first run, I wanted to think of it as my baseline time.

And as I lined up at the start, who should I see but my 500k relay nemesis? Fate! He didn't recognize me without my superhero cape. I thought of saying hello, but resisted. Today was about focussing on my own race!

Somewhere in this picture is me and my old race nemesis.

Okay, seriously. It was a pride thing. Having hardly run since that 500k relay, I was fairly certain I wouldn't beat him and didn't want it to be too obvious during the race how far behind him I was.

Flashback to my more fit days: 500k relay with my fellow competitor on the right of the shot.

Off we went at the start. As usual in a race, the starting pace was slow as people fell into different rhythms. Full of energy at the beginning, I shot around a few people and settled into a steady pace of 5.15min/km. I didn't want to burn out after 3k and so held myself back. This turned out to be a smart move.
The 5.15 pace felt easy for the first 2k. And then I started to feel it. Things became more of a struggle as I endeavoured to hold onto pace.
And that's when the number 27.40 came into play. If I could just keep this up, I would get under my unofficial pb time! Wouldn't that be a cracker start to the year?
I did my best to push it harder, but it was tough! I dug deep, gritted my teeth, and aimed for a final push in the last 400m. I saw the timer on my watch ticking ominously on. Would I make it? Could I make it?

 This is me struggling to make it...then noticing the camera and forcing a smile.

Total distance: 5.00km
Total time: 27.41 sec

Oooh, so close! But no matter - 1 sec off my unofficial pb in my first 5k of the year is still a cracker start! Now that I know where I'm at, it's time to see where I can go.