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Hadn’t even considered that but sounds like something that would drive me insane. Having nice scenery really makes a difference in enjoyability.
Virtual race sounds fun, not so much 12 miles though. Do you do it on Strava?
Well_is_it-
There are flat no-roads places to run, that aren't track. The Hackney Marshes parkrun route is a decent example if you wanted to try and go sub 18 minutes.
Also, are you doing these runs by yourself? I would think a prooer parkrun would knock at least 30 seconds off (if they are ever allowed again).
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Mainly Strava, although any GPS route is accepted. (Pretty informal rules but people are asked not to take the piss by having mainly downhill routes, for example!) We all did a half marathon challenge recently so I'm just gonna use the same route (~3.5 mile loop) and hope to go marginally quicker.
I find the mental challenge of track racing harder, the longer the distance. A bit of scenery definitely compensates for slower road courses. My 10k road PB is marginally quicker than my 10,000m track PB, partly because I've had more cracks at it, but also because 25 laps is soul-destroying. Even over 12.5 laps it's handy having coping strategies, like breaking the race into km chunks, rather than watching the lap counter every lap.
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PhilPub
Nice going! Track's definitely a nice fast surface to run on, although don't underestimate the mental aspect of running round in circles at a hard pace. Seeing the lap counter grind down during a 5k race is like clock-watching on a tube platform.
Ah, track! :-(
We've got another virtual race challenge at the weekend, paying homage to the Comrades Marathon; 55 miles to do between teams of 8. I've volunteered to do 12 miles on Saturday, so I'm in mini-taper mode for a couple of days. Will still keep my exercise-streak going though. 65 days and counting.