This was a useful pre-race shakeout because it did exactly what it needed to do: wake the legs up, add a little sharpness, and leave you feeling better at the end than at the start. The heavy waking feeling faded, the body opened up, and the strides gave you the quick, light sensation you wanted to feel the day before the 21K.
The most important signal here is not the average pace or the watch data. GPS was messy, there were stops at lights, and the session was short by design. What matters is that you finished feeling lively, the strides felt strong, and the overall sensation was positive rather than flat or forced.
The caution now is simply not to overthink the numbers. Heart rate spikes, VO2 max estimates, and erratic GPS matter much less today than how the body actually feels. The taper did its job if you are arriving at race day feeling loose, sharp, and mentally ready rather than tired and over-analytical.
Takeaway. Good pre-race signal. The legs woke up well, the strides were enough, and the right move now is to trust the work, ignore noisy metrics, and keep the focus on execution tomorrow.
Next step. Time Trial. Treat tomorrow as the real test of the block. Start controlled, let the first few kilometres come to you, settle into an honest rhythm.