Running after dark

Week one of more than I care to count of the build to Ironman number four has now come and gone and it's time for another update.
Due to another tattoo I'm not allowed to swim just yet and I'm not allowed to sweat too heavily whilst it heals so I'm just easing back into training.
I guess the week started with me first night-time running event that did not involve several dance stops (Supersprint's Neon Run was a blast though!) and it was a novel race as well. Starting at the same moment globally the Wings For Life race has an unattainable finish line residing 100km away from the start line and a chase car that clocks competitors out as it relentlessly pursues the runners until all are caught.

Dave, Ellie and I sporting high vis and headlamps waiting to start

I posted last week that I had estimated a pace I thought I could maintain for the duration of my race, based upon limited training and recovery month relaxation and that their calculator had used this number to predict I would get caught at the 23km marker. On the night however, things did not go exactly as planned as I found myself in the start chute at the pointy end with a lot of open tarmac in front of me. That clear space seemed as a red flag to a bull and I found I was cruising well quicker than the 5:18/km pace I had plugged into the calculator. What's more, I felt fairly comfortable to hold it together and just focused on keeping my technique solid. Hands lose swinging my arms from the shoulder in straight arcs in the direction I was traveling (no rotation across the body) and light foot strike. This got me through the half marathon distance in what might have been a personal best (1:42 and change) and surpassing my 23km target still safely ahead of the chase car. The first turn around point for this race fell at around 27km on the course maps so this was where I set my sights. This was also where we would lose our closed roads and have to transition to the sidewalk and was also the location of the second of two railway crossings. The roads may have been closed but the train lines were definitely not and we were under strict instructions to stop if the level crossings were closed. I had been lucky with the first one as the train had rolled through about two minutes before I had arrived there but, as I was approaching the second the bikes indicating the chase car was imminent arrived and the bells were sounding. Chase car 200 metres behind and a closed boom gate just ahead it looked like I was going to have this small victory snatched away by unlucky circumstance. As I hit the intersection and crossed the road to the pedestrian gates the lights and bells ceased and the marshal cleared the path for us and we shot across the tracks, making the turn towards where we had started. The chase car also made the crossing unhindered and therefore remained right there. As it's headlight lit my high vis vest I sprinted for the 28km marker passing it seconds before the chase car's arrival ended my race and the beginning of my walk to the nearest event bus stop to ferry us back to the start and our gear bags.
My official race finish has me at 27.98km with my Garmin awarded a further 100 meters and an average pace of 4:58/km for that distance.

All in all, it was a cool event to be involved in and I only have two recommendations for next year. Firstly, the space blankets they handed out for warmth were greatly appreciated but would have served better if made available on the bus rather than back at the event village. I was OK when I finished, sitting on the bus for 10 - 15 minutes I was getting a little cold but the 25 - 30 minute ride back I was frozen and shaking pretty badly. Second initiative, again for the bus, I'm pretty sure the guy I was sitting next to would have appreciated a vomit bag. I leave it at that.