The Pembroke 10k is an old favourite of mine. It's a tough and hilly route. Part of it runs through my home town in Malta, which is Swieqi, and most of the rest is familiar territory. This is my local race, so I always make it a point to watch out for it when planning my spring/Easter sojourn in Malta.
I just managed to make it to this year's edition. We arrived in Malta late Saturday evening, and a few hours later on Sunday morning I was at the starting line next to the Athleta Pembroke club house. It was a lovely spring morning, with a few tiny clouds blowing around in the deep blue Mediterranean sky. The temperature was so perfect that you didn't even notice it at all. There was a lively atmosphere, including eager children who would take part in shorter runs, their chattering parents, busy members of the organising team running around looking after the final details, and us seasoned old timers doing our warming up. It was fantastic. Whoever says Malta is undergoing some sort of crisis is talking through the back of his head.
I didn't have any special ambitions for today's race. My good friend Stephen Spiteri, who hails from Swieqi, was going to beat me for the first male from Swieqi trophy anyway. My recent lack of sufficient training, together with shortage of sleep due to the previous evening's late arrival, meant I couldn't aim for any spectacular performance, so I just aimed for a decent time by running at a moderate pace throughout. This got me through the toughest hills, and I was also able to maintain my position, including resisting a sustained chase from a rival coming in from behind all the way from the 7th km to the finish. 0h44:59 - one minute more than my usual times at this distance, but quite acceptable when all is considered.
Right after the finish, I was caught on video for a full two minutes trying to recover my breath while resting my head on my arms on top of a barrier... It was only at the end of the two minutes that I saw the camera - it surely wasn't a display of great athletic prowess... :-)
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