Cycling warm up/down 45:00 [2]
Ride out to the race today from Bernau. It's a fun ride - from the village centre it's on a bike path through the forest to the Liepnitzsee lake - not too taxing until the end when there's a couple of hills. Good for a race warm-up.
Run race 1:07:48 [5] 14.65 km (4:38 / km)
Ran the 15 km Liepnitzseelauf race today. It's my favourite race here - I did it last year and had a brilliant run (last year I did 69:33) and this year I wanted to do a PB, which I did, so I'm very happy.
The race itself goes through the forest around two lakes (one being the Liepnitzsee) on the outskirts of far north east Berlin. It's a beautiful area of open forest and many tracks/bike paths, very popular with runners and cyclists. The course followed forest trails and bike paths, through forest the whole way. The last 4 km is tough because it goes on single track right beside the lake, over undulations and many tree roots and sand so you have to watch your step. Plus the last 3 km start to get hilly, with several short sharp hills, including one leading right up to the finish. The race has a fantastic atmosphere - music, an announcer at the finish, a kids race, plus hot food, cakes and beer at the end. Today the field was smaller than last year, I think because it was so damn cold.
I really wanted to have a good race, so I got there early enough for a big warm up (in thermals because it was only about 4 degrees). I got a few strange looks for wearing a T-shirt and shorts for the race (but I got warm enough in the warm-up so wasn't cold). I was determined not to start too slowly, so set off at a good pace. Luckily there are km markers the whole way so I could pace myself really well. I caught two girls early on, and at the first drinks (around 5 k) I was surprised to hear them call out that I was the first female (which I didn't believe but in fact it was true). I really enjoyed the next bit of the race, and tried my best to maintain the pace I set. There were a few men running at a consistent pace about 50 m ahead of me so I tried to keep them in sight and not drop back. Towards the end I really felt the last 4 km but was spurred on by some cheering spectators, and tried to tackle the hills as best I could. I caught one of the men ahead on the very last hill and I was gasping and groaning, but managed a final sprint for the line. It was exciting to hear the announcer call my name as the first female and also to stand up on the podium at the ceremony. This is the race that has motivated me the whole year (apart from Oringen in summer) and it was so great to have a good one.
My splits indicate the race is not quite 15 km so I have logged it as 14.65, as a guess based on splits up to 14 km which average 04:37/km.
1+2 = 09:09 mins
3 = 04:35
4 = 04:44
5 = 04:46
6 = 04:36
7 = 04:39
8 = 04:21
9 = 04:31
10 = 04:37
11 = 04:39
12 = 04:44
13 = 04:52
14 = 04:35
15 = 02:52
Cycling warm up/down 50:00 [2]
Warm down ride back through the forest to the train station in Bernau. It was a little bit sunny and very pretty.... I had heaps of time to appreciate the scenery because my legs were totally stuffed.