Running a half on tired legs (115km since Mon) has worked in the past and it was time to a repeat. SMC monthly races kick off Sep down in the sleepy burbs of Smithfield. Ran this same course 75:12 in June.

Struggled with the 7am start but I promised the wife a breakfast. Good to see two friendlies:
 - Rob Cavrak - suicide mission backing up from Blackmores
- Brendan Wong - safe bet driving 1 hour from North Shore for cheap Asian groceries and Nappies

Small turnaround for a half. The local hero (Tim) is the guy to beat.



With no lead bike, no close competition I knew today would be solo. As always, the plan was run within myself, listen to the legs and avoid being a zombie to the watch. Immediately realised  how tired my quads are from Tuesday!

2x10km plus a 1km out-and back. Today pace settled at 3:30s (ex-hills), which is where I seem to revert no matter the fatigue in the legs. Only notable hills is at 2km and 12km; a 400m climb of 50m. First laps uneventful. Had the #2 trailing me 20m by 5km, but this blew out to 100m by 10km.

10km split 35:45. Me at the turnaround, thanks to Lorie.

The hope legs would loosen in lap #2 never eventuated. Humidity, cross winds and rolling hills translated to a tough day at the office. The only notable effort was 50m from the finish, seeing 74:40s. Surged a little, tucked in with 1-2s to spare. Gap on #2 was maybe 4 min.

All 75 min spent spurring myself to finish ...



74:58 at 3:33 min/km. Splits below (vs June):

- First 10km in 35:45 (vs. 36:05)
- Second 10km in 35:25 (vs. 35:20)
- Last 1.1km in 3:47 (vs 3:48)

Slight negative split. I'm very sore but midly confident I can still double this distance on a flat course with a taper.

Ventured down to Merrylands to refuel at a hole-in-the-wall Middle Eastern feed with Rob (21.1km) and Anita (10km). Chosen joint was Al Shami.

Don't be perturbed by the tumbleweed, graffiti and burning tyres of this humble SW section of Sydney. Even a 40 year-old Asian guy carrying 5 boxes of pizza, drinking beer and spitting on the sidewalk at 9am Sunday did not derail such plans. This suburb is a gold mine for cheap eats.

Baked eggs x2 - not pretty, but highly effective.