Pardo Unlocked / The Chase
The Chase
Sub-20, live. Am I getting closer, or is this an elaborate waste of time? Updated every Split.
4:37 still to find.
Season reset. The Gilbo head-to-head dissolved before it happened (death by diary), and the autumn now points at one day: the North West Triathlon at Nantwich, 20 September, all three of us on the same start line. Sub-20 isn't abandoned, it's parked. First, a solo time trial at Delamere on the 22nd to find out what the real number is.
Some perspective, because a number means nothing in a vacuum. For a man of 43, benchmark data puts 24:36 at bang-on intermediate. Sub-20 lands the far side of advanced, a whisker short of what they politely call elite. A normal bloke chasing a nearly-elite number, on purpose. That is the whole point.
| 5k standard | Time at 43 |
|---|---|
| Beginner | ~33:55 |
| Novice | ~28:21 |
| Intermediate | ~24:16 24:36, right here |
| Advanced | ~21:15 |
| Elite | ~19:02 19:59 lands just shy |
5k standards for age 43, interpolated from the 40 and 45 age bands. Source: Running Level.
The rival is gone and the reason isn't. Nantwich is the season now, and the 22nd tells us where we start from. One benchmark, honestly run, then we build. Gilbo is racing seven hours that morning. You need twenty minutes. Do not confuse whose race is whose. Ted
I lost a head-to-head without anyone running a step, got out-entered by a man doing seven hours for fun, and somehow came out with a better season than the one I'd planned. A brine pool in September, and a score to settle on a grass 5K. But first the 22nd. Me, Delamere, and an honest number.
Solo time trial, Delamere, 22 August: the honest benchmark. Then the North West Triathlon, Nantwich, 20 September. All three of us. Flannel packed.
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