This run was supposed to be an "Advent-Run" but due to Covid rules it got postponed to the beginning of April. One of my teammates organized it so when I heard about it I couldn't miss the opportunity of a fun and fast training session.
I woke up in the morning and there was snow and ice on my car, the motivation was low for a moment, but then with the right jackets and tights it was no problem at all. I got to the race venue, picked up my bib number, went on a little warm up jog and was ready to go. Headband and glasses inclusive.
The course was awesome, 50% gravel and 50% tar road. Every lap was 2,4km which was awesome to see who is fast and which athletes are challenging me. I went out in third position but quickly realized that no one wanted to go to the front with a decent 5km pace. So I found myself at the front for the first lap, did my thing and ran my pace. There was quite strong headwind coming back from the loop towards finish line so running in 2nd and third was a good race tactic. One of my teammates was following me, and with him 2 other athletes so we were a group of 4 at the front.
I let him pass after 3km and ran in second position until a guy from behind started to increase the pace, passed both of us and tried to go for a finish sprint. I realized that about 200m to the finish line and went all out. It was enough to take victory and perfect for a fast training session.