Trophée du Talent 2011

With the Nice-Cannes Marathon just around the corner, I asked C. how I should run last Saturday's 12K (as a sub 3-hour marathoner, he's an authority on the subject). He said not to overdo it, but to give 80%. I think I was secretly happy to have an excuse not to go all out on this challenging course. I stood farther back than usual at the starting line to avoid taking off too fast. D., my closest competitor, passed me on the first uphill stretch, then I closed the gap as we headed downhill through the woods. I held on all the way back uphill along the stream and tried to catch up on the home stretch. But D. heard me coming, put the pedal down, and pulled away. C. was happy to hear that I ran 2 minutes slower than last year and fell 3 spots in the rankings (he likes it when I take his advice), even though I probably gave closer to 90% than 80%.

Gotta run...