Sun Run 10K, February 2018

I really don't like shorter races. I have no idea why I signed up for this one, really, other than that I've been spending quite a bit of time in Manly (where it finishes) lately, and have gotten to know the area a bit from running to and taking part in Curl Curl Parkfun a fair few times. And I guess I sort of thought it might be fun. But while I've never run this particular race before, I knew in advance that it would be hilly and definitely not a fast course. And it made no sense in terms of my preparation for Tokyo marathon - I really don't know why I signed up.

But anyway, sign up I did, with no real idea of actually racing the course, and only vague expectations of a time possibly close to 40 minutes. All the ingredients for an interesting experience, at any rate.


Manly, race morning

The forecast rain hasn't showed up when I set off from Manly; my plan is to drive to Harbord and leave the car in the carpark adjacent to the finish of Curl Curl Parkrun. It will be about 3km from there to the start in Dee Why, the perfect warm-up distance, and when I'm parking in fact there are already people jogging past wearing bibs. I'm not the only one who had this idea, then.

I know how to get to Dee Why but I end up following a pair of guys anyway, and 15 minutes later we're part of a fairly large crowd that is making its way towards the beach. I peel off and head up a side street just to get out of the congestion, then at the beach I do a few loops around the surf club and along the road where the starting arch is set up. I've made it to 2.5 miles when suddenly the heavens open and BOOM, within seconds it's teeming with rain.

I dive for shelter beneath a shop awning and - with the exception of one very determined bloke who stays in the starting corral - everyone else does something similar. For the next 5 minutes the rain intensifies and the announcer who has been chatting happily over the loudspeaker grows steadily more alarmed. Five minutes to the start; wow, it's still coming down. The gutters are torrents of water and my goodness, it looks like we'll all be doing the aquathon option today!

That is definitely not me.

But, miraculously ,the rain stops abruptly with about 3 minutes left - everyone charges out to line up and I end up about 20 meters back, which is fine - and we're good to go! To my surprise there's a pair of 40 minute pacers in front of me, one of whom is female (this is rare); I can't decide if this is a good or bad thing.

Good, because I might be inspired to stay ahead of them (and sneak under 40:00, which I am totally not expecting), or bad, because I might find myself behind them and use this as an excuse to give up. I'm reminded of one such incident in Melbourne in 2013, where I was going for 2:49 only to have the 2:50 pacers catch me with about 3km to go; I stayed with them for a while but was mentally doomed by this turn of events and allowed myself to fall behind. I ended up missing my goal by only seconds and have had a bit of a fear of pacers ever since, but whatever, I need to stop thinking and start running now.


Miles 1 & 2: 6:35, 6:23 min/mile (4:05, 3:58 min/km)

Bang goes the gun and off we all rush, up the hill that Nigel has already warned me about. It's really not too bad and the pacer pair are not that far ahead of me when I crest the hill and see another, much larger, one ahead. As usual at the start of a shorter race, people are flying past me like there's no tomorrow. There would have to be at least 20 women further up the road than me already; it's all a bit disheartening and a voice inside my head is telling me to give up now and just jog.

But coming down the hill is much more fun - I'm catching back up to people again - and I hear my cousin Ruth yelling "Go Rachel!" as I speed past her house. Whee! The course turns right and we're on familiar ground now, it's part of where Curl Curl Parkrun goes and I have great memories of this area, not to mention the respectable times I've managed to run there. The rain is holding off and so really, why not just enjoy it?

The course narrows as we follow the Curly Parkrun route around the lagoon; I take the opportunity to speed my way past a couple of female runners. Yes!


Miles 3 & 4: 6:29, 6:25 (4:02, 3:59)

The third mile takes me out of the lagoon parklands and back onto the road near Curl Curl beach. The lagoon area is flat but this bit is most definitely NOT; it winds and dips and finally summits a decent-sized hill where there is a photographer taking pictures with the beach as a backdrop. This promises an excellent photo opportunity but unfortunately the heavens choose this moment to open again and suddenly the rain is pouring briefly down. So, no beachside photo for me from this event. Insert grumpy face here.

My 5km split is around 20:25 and I'm sort of amazed at this because the 40 minute pacers are certainly nowhere to be seen up ahead. When the road straightens out far enough for me to see them, they're at least a minute in front and I'm trying to figure out how I could have that split but still be so far back? It's too much for my brain cells to process and the hills are rolling at me thick and fast, so I shut this train of thought down and just focus on not losing too much time.


Miles 5 & 6: 6:41, 6:11 (4:09, 3:50)

OOF! The whole of mile 5 is one big, long uphill slog and there's a lovely little out-and-back along a side street in there as well. I hate U turns: having to slow down, turn (on a slippery wet road, no less) and speed up again is an unpleasant process that costs both time and momentum. This mile takes a bit of a mental toll that is only slightly alleviated by passing several people (one of them a woman) who are clearly having even less fun than me just now.

Mile 5 shaded darker, like my frame of mind at that point

The pacers are gone and after that mile split, I'm thinking anything under 42 minutes will be a miracle. Mental arithmetic isn't my strong suit even when my brain isn't being fried by the experience of running over large hills in the rain (which is trying valiantly to stop but somehow unable), but they're so far ahead of me that I can't see how I won't be running a PW this morning. Grrr.

The final mile starts with a very welcome downhill stretch and I know that beyond this it will be all dead flat from North Steyne to the finish line at the other end of the beach. There's a person with a red shirt and ponytail about 50 metres ahead of me; could it be another chick for me to catch? In this era of hipsters with manbuns it can be hard to tell, and nope, it's a guy. At least the rain has stopped, so I might try to catch him anyway.

No more hills is definitely a reason to smile

To my enormous surprise, almost as soon as I make it to the flat part I can suddenly see one, no, both of the 40 minute pacers. One is actually stopped and is waving another runner ahead of them; could it be possible that they went out too fast?? This would not be the first time such a thing has happened - for me it's a bit of a final boost to morale and enough to get me sprinting towards the finish line with every bit of energy I have left.

Final 0.2: 5:55 (3:40)

The effort I manage to put in for this final stretch is rewarded with a race photo in which I actually look like I'm running! I have almost no back leg kick in most of my photos, but then it's very rare for me to be actually sprinting, which I'm definitely doing now. 

Booking it past the Corso

As I pass the Corso I can hear the announcer yelling at people to get under 40 minutes - I look up to see the clock approaching 40, which is an utter surprise - I'm fairly sure I'm not going to make it but I'm also not going to miss by much. I hear my friend Nigel yelling from the sidelines as I throw myself at the finish (and Red Manbun Hipster Person, who is highly unimpressed somehow) and finally it's over. Did I make it??

Trying to casually slip in under 40; Nigel in yellow behind and Distraught Red Person in front

Finish time: 40:03 (6:26 = 4:00)

Placement: 11th female, 2nd in AG (F40-49)

No. 

No, I did not make it under 40 minutes. But I came a whole lot closer than I thought I would, and on a course like this (with a mindset like mine today) that's something to be pleased about. The placement reflects a fast field - last year only 3 women ran faster than 40:00 - and we all know my feelings about 10 year age groups, so yeah. A solid day's running at any rate.

Nigel joins me for the jog back to the car - we pass and wave wildly at my friend Keith, who is also running Tokyo marathon and has wisely taken on the role of bike marshal today, instead of running like my silly self - and I reward myself once back in Manly with a scrumptious breakfast. Tokyo is only 3 weeks away; I've got some serious tapering to do. Watch this space.

Wagga Lake 10K, September 2016

Clockwise from top left: 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2013

The reborn Lake to Lagoon! One of my favourite races - I've run it every year since 2011 and won it 3 of those times - it's a bit of a nasty course with a rather long hill in the first half, but I love it just the same. Originally when I moved to Wagga it started at Lake Albert and finished in the centre of town by the Lagoon (hence the name, very original) but a couple of years ago it was rerouted and now finishes back by the lake at Apex Park. For me this is extremely convenient - I can jog to the start as part of my warm-up, and then home again afterwards (more of a crawl really) if I have to.


The Training

I will freely admit that the only reason I am including this sub-heading in this particular post is because I have put it in every other post on the blog, not because I did any actual 10K-type training in the lead-up to this race. As I had done the previous week, in the 7 days preceding this race I ran my long run on Friday (this time mercifully without any faceplants into the asphalt) and due to a combination of laziness and an Act of God (see below) I ended up running a paltry 5km on Saturday. Because on Saturday morning when I finally made it out of bed, my plans to hit the treadmill were derailed by the sight of this in our street:

I'd still go for my run but I can't find my snorkel

I was far too busy figuring out what was going to potentially float away (mercifully, nothing much) to worry about running, and in this way the flash flood actually came in sort of handy as a mini-taper. It would have other implications for the race itself, however.


Race Day

The late start (10:30am for the runners) means I'm able to spend a lazy morning getting ready and at 9:30am I set off with Jack - who is participating in the event as a bike rider - to jog to the start line. The sun is out and it's a gorgeous day; you'd never know that just 24 hours ago most of the suburb was underwater. Jack sets off and I go for my warm-up towards the northern end of the lake; before long it's already time to line up.

Remembering previous years and the usual horde of sprinters who will fade within minutes, I make sure to secure myself a spot right in the first row  - and looking around on the starting line there are a few coltish young girls who will surely be in that group; otherwise there doesn't seem to be much in the way of competition around. Yet. Hmmm.

I'm reminding myself not to count my chickens before they're hatched - I see Amanda, who was 2nd behind me in Canberra last weekend, and go over to say hi - and sure enough at the last minute I look to my right and hmm, there's a woman there who looks like she might be a contender. This is about to get interesting! I spent the dorky warm-up routine sneakily trying to size her up and decide that my only hope is that she doesn't have endurance because I'm fairly sure she's going to have speed.

My assumption about her abilities comes mostly from the fact that she has the powerful, strong-looking build of your typical shorter distance (5K, 10K) speedster whereas by contrast (and partly also due to my gait) I am very much built for endurance, not speed. My natural build is somewhere between mesomorph and ectomorph but unless I start lifting weights - which I haven't done for at least 3 years now - I tend to sit more on the endomorph side of the spectrum.

This is great for marathons (and ultras) but also means my 8 year old daughter can already beat me at a 100m sprint, meaning I have zero short-distance speed. So if this chick is as fast as she looks, my only hope is my endurance - and that she can't match it - because there's no other way I'll be winning again today.

Most casual start line ever

Miles 1-3: 6:08, 6:36, 6:14

Zoom! Off we all go in a mad rush and at least 3 of the teenage girls are instantly ahead of me - I can wait for them to tire but what's this to my right? Sure enough the chick in the white singlet (later I will discover that her name is Erin) is already pulling out in front and looks very comfortable when you consider the pace we're running.

Already by the end of the first mile the teens and tweens are all slowing right down but Erin is maintaining a gap of around 10-15 seconds ahead of me; a couple of times I think she's slowing down too but nope, even as we start the long uphill section on Lake Albert Road she just keeps on going.

Part of me is rather annoyed - I really wasn't planning on having to try this hard! But finally during th,e final part of the climb my persistance starts paying off: I realise that I'm slowly reeling her in, and as she reaches the top I'm probably only 10 seconds behind. At the turn of course she sees me and, of course takes off down the hill back towards the lake at top speed.

I'm not done yet, though, and there's a steady stream of runners yelling my name from the other side of the road which is having two effects: it's pumping me up (although I'm a bit too focused to reply much) and I'm fairly sure it's intimidating the heck out of Erin. If this is my home-town advantage than why not use it? Heh heh.

This year's course, pretty much an out-and-back one with the usual unpleasant hill in the middle

Miles 4-6.2: 5:56, 6;14, 6:20, then 6:16 pace to the finish

It's not often that you see a mile as fast as this from me in a race - 5:56 min/mile is 3:41 min/km and a LOT faster than my usual top speed - but it's downhill and I'm trying to win, so there we go. Erin is ahead for the first part of mile 4 but then there's a water station and to my surprise she slows down to grab a drink; I see my opening and jump right through it, into the lead. Wheeee!

The course plummets back down towards the lake and I'm basically giving it all I've got right now; as I approach the roundabout where things level out I'm therefore horrified to hear footsteps pounding up behind me. Crap! If this is Erin coming to get me then I'm toast - there's no way I can speed up beyond what I'm doing right now, or at least not without risking total meltdown sometime in the 2 miles that remain.

But no! It's a guy in a green singlet! I've never been so happy to be overtaken in all my life. I let him drag me along a bit faster as we head now to the path beside the lake - the opposite side to the usual course, which at this point is partially underwater due to the recent floods - and back towards Apex Park. This side of the lake is shorter so there will be a short out-and-back around the southern end; this will let me see exactly how close behind me Erin is, and hopefully that won't freak me out too badly.

There are more people shouting encouragement at me as I speed past the park, and at least they're not saying "Go girls!" which would suggest she's breathing down my neck. The 1km out part seems to take forever but finally I'm on the way back and by my estimate she's at least 40 seconds adrift. Phew! I'd like to relax now but there's no point tempting fate, so I just keep plugging until at last I'm in the finish area and yay! I cross the line for my 4th win in this event. James Davy has won overall and this is the 3rd time he and I have been victorious together: that's him in the top two photos of the collage at the top of this post.

Finish time: 38:40 (6:14 min/mile, 3:52 min/km)

Placement: 1st female, 8th overall

My son Jack is there to greet me - I told him I'd most likely finish around 38-39 minutes and so he's pretty impressed that I hit my target exactly - he rushes up to hug me and since he's mostly too cool to give me big hugs these days, I make the most of it and hang onto him long enough that the moment gets captured forever by a nearby photographer. Excellent!

Soon afterwards it's time for a surprisingly unorganised presentation - the medals are missing, there doesn't seem to be any sort of take-home trophy anymore and I have to leave before the AG presentations (at least I'm apparently not missing out on a medal since there are none) - but I do get to hold that mother of a trophy one more time and will have the satisfaction of seeing my name on there for another year. Not bad for a morning's work!

Cutest post-race photo EVER;                            This is one heavy trophy, believe me

All in all, although today's time wasn't my best it certainly was a good effort and I'm proud of myself for persevering and outlasting yet another fit young chick. 10K is not at all my favourite distance so it's gratifying to see that I can still run one a fair bit faster than I could 10 years ago, too. Next up? How about some rest? It's been a long, long couple of months, after all. 

Mini-Mosmarathon 10K, June 2016

Not that I have run every 10K race in Australia, but I'm fairly certain this course  - eclipsed perhaps only by the Run with the Wind 10K that I had the pleasure of experiencing last year - is one of the toughest 10K races on offer in the country. Masquerading as a fundraiser for my alma mater, Mosman Primary School, it is a type of torture that makes a mockery of the typical "fast and flat" 10K that one sees advertised so often.

I've run the Mini Mos twice before, in the two years that have been the best so far of my running career, and recorded times that reflect the difficulty of this particular race and the inexplicably strong field it usually attracts:

2013 - 40:13, 10th female, 3rd AG (F40-49)

2014 - 41:03, 6th female, 3rd AG again (sigh)

The course is - putting it mildly - relentlessly hilly, and the worst part of this is the fact that the second half is most definitely worse than the first. And to top it all off, most of the final 2km is straight uphill. It's really rather horrible, but I have my reasons for enjoying this race, even though it truly sucks in many ways.

That's a LOT of up and down for just 6 miles

Mainly it's because I grew up in Mosman, although I rarely visit there these days. Part of the course in fact covers the street where we lived, so my brother and I do like running this race together, which we previously did in 2014 and thoroughly enjoyed. That year both kids ran the 2K and this time I had Jack entered for the 5K (which thankfully is far less hilly than the 10K) but he was quite sick in the preceding few days and that, plus the unpleasant weather forecast (which called for rain virtually non-stop from 8am onwards) meant that I decided not to let him run. He had absolutely no objections to this change of plan, somewhat to my disappointment.


The Training

It goes without saying that I've never actually trained specifically for a 10K race, and with my trademark marathon shuffle and total lack of top-end speed, it's pretty obvious why not. The marathon is by far my best distance and I'm more or less in a constant state of marathon training these days, so a 10K race is really more of a tempo run in my eyes. And I tend to approach them as such, meaning I don't necessarily taper or do anything specific beforehand.

Being at the peak of my rather-short preparation cycle for Gold Coast marathon, the 3 weeks prior to this race were fairly mileage heavy, as follows:

3 weeks out: 88 mi - including some half mile intervals and a very long LR of 23 miles (oops)

2 weeks out: 90 mi - nothing special, just trying to keep going through a nasty bout of bronchitis

1 week out: 103 mi - 20 mile long run including 10 miles @ MP (average 6:33 min/mile, 4:04 min/km)


The week of the Mini Mos I wasn't intending on tapering too much but a sick child and sleepless Thursday night meant that I simply couldn't be bothered running the 16 miles I had originally planned for Friday morning. I did appease the mileage-obsessed lunatic part of my brain that was pawing forlornly at its abacus and cursing me for skipping my weekly long run by jogging 13 miles on Saturday morning in Sydney, figuring that this wouldn't tired me out too much for Sunday, but otherwise I suppose a taper of sorts happened despite my best intentions.


Race Day

Robbie and I arrive with plenty of time to spare and I'm about to set off for a decent warm-up when I go to pull my bib from my handbag and realise that in a fit of stupidity I took all the papers out (in a fruitless attempt to make it lighter - leaving in however my computer charger, a bottle of water, throat pastilles, a hairbrush, miniature bottles of soy sauce, etc) and put them in my suitcase which is back at the hotel. I'll have to go get a new one, which isn't too difficult but there goes my warm-up. Oh well. At least we have insider knowledge of the school - from our years of attending, although this was 40 years ago now - that means we can find our way onto the grounds and to the hall very quickly, meaning we are able to get the bibs and drop our warm clothes back at the car without running out of time.

We arrive to the starting area to find the organisers having a bit of trouble inflating the arch that last year marked the start; it lies limp on the ground and it's all a bit disorganised, really. There's a woman talking earnestly but inaudibly into a microphone - it's possible she is telling us what to do but everyone is (understandably) ignoring her and just milling around aimlessly. Some blokes drag the sad sagging arch into the gutter and we will have to make do with an imaginary line instead.

We line up near the front (Robert doesn't try to make me move back this time), I spot Julia up ahead and go to chat briefly with her, she points out a few other fast chicks and I retreat to contemplate whether I have a chance of placing today or not. Absent Husband (aka Joel, who is in Michigan preparing to come back with his kids in tow for the full Brady Bunch scenario in July) has made various wild predictions of a top 5 finish (hmm) or even an overall win (dude, seriously?)  but I've been very non-committal all along.

In fact I haven't thought at all closely about what is about to unfold today; in keeping with my recent post about mental trickery and running, I'm pretty much just winging it, pressure-free. I know the course is very tough, I know it's a competitive race, and yet I do know I've been in great form this year - which perhaps explains my calm confidence. I'm just going to do my best today and see what happens, which is without a doubt the best strategy for my particular personality and running abilities.


Miles 1-3: 6:20, 6:23, 6:05 (pace in min/mile)

The lack of arch makes the starting line hard to figure out; there's a countdown and a gun goes BLAM and I reflexively start my watch, but don't actually cross the timing mats til a good few seconds later. Whatever - I have no time to ponder this because I'm boxed in by slower runners and am feeling highly frustrated at having to zig and zag as well as run uphill on legs that haven't quite figured out what's going on yet. I pour on the effort and take off up the hill like my shoes are on fire; Rob I assume is behind me somewhere but I'm too busy sprinting to look.

As usual a massive number of women have zoomed off in front of me and I quickly realise that the next 40 minutes (or possibly slightly less) is going to be a protracted game of Assassin Mode. Oh well, bring it on! I love having a target to chase and there are plenty of them ahead, that's for sure.

my only race photo, sadly

Before the first mile is up I'm amused to hear a voice behind me saying "Meep Meep" and I look around to see my friend Tony easing past. This is the bloke who responded to my "40-41 minutes" predicted finish time with "Oh I won't be running as fast as that"! I'd love to be able to think of something witty to say here but all I can come up with is "Not running fast, eh?!?" and he's already pulling way ahead. Wait, was that rude? My brain doesn't have enough spare oxygen to process any of this really - I'm sure he'll understand.

The second mile starts and the ups and downs start too; I'd forgotten just how sharp some of these little downhills are, actually. They're so steep that I'm actively braking with my quads and I find myself slowing down, which is super annoying. The first out-and-back section provides the perfect opportunity to count the women ahead of me and there are no less than 8 of them - Julia is well ahead in 3rd place, which is great - and also great: at least 3 or maybe 4 of the others are within striking distance. Assassin Mode, activate! And here we go.

Mile 3 turns out to be my fastest, spurred on by the thrill of catching a few female (and plenty of male) runners, and without too much trouble I have soon overtaken no less than 4 chicks. And there's another ahead who is clearly tiring; I actually thought there was another girl to catch but by the end of mile 3 as I am working my way along the second out-and-back of the course, it seems I'm in 4th place. FOURTH? Fourth! That's way ahead of where I expected to be, and it hasn't escaped my attention that so far I'm on pace to break 40 minutes, which I've never done in this race. Can I keep it going?


Miles 4-6: 6:23, 6:20, 6:50

I'm concentrating way too hard to look on the other side of the road for Robert, but as mile 4 progresses it does strike me that I can suddenly see Tony up ahead. I draw gradually closer and by the start of mile 5, to my extreme surprise, I can also see Julia. There's no way at all that I can catch her though - unless she suffers some sort of major engine failure - so I do my best to focus on staying on pace. One thing that strikes me here is that there seems to be a LOT of traffic on the roads, despite the supposed "closures"; every minute there seems to be a luxury car cruising past a barrier or traffic warden. I guess that's what happens in a suburb full of multi-million dollar houses: the residents think they own the place. Because, of course, they do.

your average Federation cottage in Mosman - this one is actually on the race route

The most horrible part of this race is the steep hills that make up miles 5 and 6; a huge downhill to Cowles Rd is followed by a nasty, sharp uphill that goes on and on until there's another, final downhill before the slog to the finish. I plod my way up an inexcusably steep street that is 2 blocks down from Glover St where we grew up - on the way over we discussed this exact street but neither of us can remember what it is called - really I should look at the sign I suppose but all I can think is, bloody hell, I hate this race. (Holt Avenue. It's called Holt Avenue)

Tony has caught a couple of blokes who have been in front of him since I first spied him again, and I'm gaining on the lot of them until we hit the downhills and I'm forced to brake hard and slow down. Gah, this is torture, but the knowledge of what is still to come is worse. A short, flat section gives way to the final uphill that will last until the very end of mile 6 - I've slowed down way more than I'd like but at this point I really don't care. One foot in front of the other, up past the school and the now-inflated start arch....just keep going. Ugh.


Final 0.2: 5:51 pace

Mile 6 beeps to announce its demise and the split time is pretty horrific: 6:50, meaning I've lost almost 30 seconds. If I really want that sub-40 I'm going to need to start caring a LOT, and in fact suddenly I do, so I put my head down and SPRINT! Tony is ahead but I'm gaining on him; I see Julia heading to the finish as I'm still approaching the final short out-and-back; as I turn it's clear that 4th place indeed will be mine. But what of my finish time??

The clock is still too far away to make out clearly - but it looks like 39:xx and it's getting easier to see by the second - boy oh boy, this is going to be close. Summoning up every fast-twitch fibre in my body (there aren't that many) I hurl myself helter-skelter at the finish line and with just meters to go it reads 39:56...57...58...59... oh my god, I'm done.

Garmin time: 39:59.5 (6:21 min/mile, 3:59 min/km)

Official time: 39:54 (thank you, distant starting mats)

Placement: 4th female, 1st in AG (F40-49)

Wow, that was intense! I'm thrilled though - another course PR and I've squeaked out a sub-40 for the first time in this notoriously tough race. Tony has beaten me by 4 seconds (damn it); I sit chatting to him and the other fast chicks (Julia and Reegan) until Rob appears having run 44:10. That's great for someone who runs about 7km perhaps twice a week, but he seems a bit disappointed. As for me, once again it seems I'm just out of the money, as prizes are only on offer for places 1-3, but given my expectations of the day that's no biggie.


The Analysis

Another course PR, making it my 3rd for the year - could it be that I'm improving at the shorter distances now? Wonders will never cease! What this might mean for my next marathon adventure remains to be seen, but it's not that far away now - so stay tuned.

Mother's Day 10K, Canberra 2016

This race has become a tradition for me now and one that I felt bound to uphold, even with legs that were still not too impressed with what happened in Boston and toenails mostly now no longer with us. I have a nice array of trophies from the past 4 years of competition and a race PR from 2014 that I'm probably never going to beat, but that won't stop me from trying. To recap:

2012 - ran the 5K in 19:17 for 3rd female

2013 - ran the 10K in 39:19 for 3rd female

2014 - ran the 10K in 38:36 for 2nd female (course PR)

2015 - ran the 10K in 40:15 for 3rd female (in a hurricane)

In the days leading up to Mother's Day the weather forecast was far from exciting - almost 100% chance of rain and decidedly cool temps - although the lack of wind made a pleasant potential change from previous years. Nevertheless, to Canberra we headed just under 3 weeks after Boston marathon, with Joel and myself signed up for the 10K and everybody (well, not Mum) doing the 5K. Wheee?


The Training

For reasons that are mostly unclear, I came out of the Boston marathon this year with feet and legs more trashed than I remember them being after any marathon I've ever run. This may be in part due to my notoriously spotty memory around this sort of thing - although it's pretty much photographic for most other things, to the extent that my husband calls me "Rain Man" when I am able to recite things like obscure passwords and usernames after seeing them only once - but from the lost toenail count alone, Boston was an outlier in terms of the physical damage it did to me this year.

So I pretty much begged Benita to give me at least a couple of weeks to recover, and only started back into any sort of training other than random jogging the same week as this race. I did some short intervals on Wednesday and was a bit surprised at the paces I managed to hit (they were faster than usual); B had suggested a tempo for Saturday and I had every intention of emailing her to discuss this but somehow never got around to it. I did figure that a 10K race would be the equivalent of a tempo run (or something) and thankfully she pretty much lets me do what I want these days, so there we go.


Weekend in Canberra

Pre-race Mexican food seemed to work well for me back in December, so we head back to Guzman and Gomez when we arrive in Canberra and scoff burritos and nachos like there's no tomorrow.

Ginger beer faces

Both the kids seem enthused to run; after the whinge-fest we endured in April, there's no way I'm going to force Amelia to run and even less so if it's raining. I've warned them about the weather already but they insist they're up for it, so everyone retires early to rest up for the race.

At about 5am our day begins - inexplicably, because both children (in particular Amelia) are great at sleeping until at least 8am on  a school day - and around an hour later I've given up on the idea of anybody going back to sleep so I get up and make raisin toast for all. It's drizzling rain already at 7am when Joel and I head outside to jog to the start line; this is going to be wet and potentially quite miserable.

I've at least got a hat on, though, and I don't actually mind rain too much as long as it's not getting in my eyes. It's not as cold as I was expecting and there's barely a breath of wind, so perhaps this might be perfect running weather after all? Last night Joel and I were debating whether or not this course is a PR course, with my opinion firmly against (those bridges! two laps! the wind around the lake!), but I might need to reconsider this now.

We finish our 3 mile warm-up, spend an alarming amount of time lining up to drop off our stuff, and make it to the start line with just seconds to spare. The rain has picked up a bit and I'm deliberately not even thinking about whether or not I feel like running fast today; but then the gun goes off and I suppose I should give it a try.

Sort of looks like a Space Invader maybe

Lap 1: miles 1-3.1: 6:11, 6:17, 6:18 (pace in min/mile)

It always happens but every time I'm still surprised at how so many people charge off at top speed; there are instantly at least 10 females ahead of me. Perhaps this is a super-fast field? But nobody looked particularly threatening before the start......I guess I'll find out soon enough. A couple of them are already behind me by the time we head up towards the Kings Ave bridge - right around the 1K mark (only 9 to go! run faster!) - and then the short uphill does most of the work for me: suddenly a group of no less than FIVE female runners is right ahead. I zig, I zag, and then I saunter right past the lot of them without breaking stride. Yes!

And as I head across the bridge, not even a mile into the race, the last two women ahead of me are also within reach. The dismount from the bridge used to be a debacle involving fences, 90 degree turns and a road crossing but now (after probably 2 years of construction work) it's a lovely smooth curving path that leads straight onto the lakeside path again, and by the time I'm zooming along it I'm in the lead. Quite randomly there's a person playing bagpipes in the shelter of one of the 2 bridges, and despite the ongoing dampness I'm now having quite a lot of fun! The lack of wind makes the trip along the lake much more bearable than last year and in no time I'm already tearing along towards the finish area to start my second lap.

5K split: 18:50 (probably a PR)


Lap 2: miles 4-6.2: 6:22, 6:14, 6:14 and 6:04 pace to finish

There are only 4 blokes ahead of me and I could probably start jogging now I guess and possibly still win - but that's not my style and besides, I have no clue how far back those last 2 chicks are. And I'm having quite a lot of mental success with the strategy Benita has unwittingly planted in my mind, which is that this is just a 6 mile tempo run, so I really should keep going, and I do.

Not having anybody to chase is usually a predictor of slower race times, but it probably helps that I'm now lapping people and getting a lot of positive feedback as I pass. Also - I could have mentioned this a while ago I suppose - since the end of the first mile I've had my own bike spotter, and when I slow down during mile 4 she pulls a bit ahead, which makes me realise I'm slacking off and need to pay attention.

Catching up and then staying with the bike spotter provides the push I need to keep on going, plus she is actually doing a fair bit of work on this more-congested second lap, constantly ringing her bell and moving people to the side so as to vastly reduce the number of times I have to yell in order to get past. When we finally reach the narrow path that leads up to the finish precinct she nimbly clears the path forwards for me and then peels off to the side; I look up to see a tape stretched across the finish line and it's an extreme pleasure to run through it with arms aloft - well how about that, my first Canberra win!


Finish time: 38:21 (6:10 min/mile, 3:50 min/km)

Placement: 5th OA, 1st female and 1st AG


The kids subsequently run the 5K and both set fantastic new PRs (27:33 for Jack and 31:44 for Amelia) despite the ongoing light rain - I'm so proud of them both and everyone is impressed with themselves really now. The weather hasn't been an issue at all, although it does mean there is literally NO crowd at all (other than the small one I've brought with myself) when I get my trophy for finishing in first place. Maybe we are all tougher than we realise?

Delighted to have another one to add to the collection

The Analysis

Good grief, that's one of my fastest 10K efforts ever and in fact a course PR! I'm surprised and pleased all at once - it's great to be able to take advantage of recent marathon training - and it's also a good sign that perhaps I'm not so far over the hill as I thought. What's even better is that I never felt too stretched during the run, although perhaps I could have focused a little better and not lost as much time on the second lap. But overall it was a satisfying run and a pleasant wind-free race experience! And a good mental boost for the busy racing season that lies ahead.

Run With The Wind 5K/10K, October 2015

I saw an ad for this run once last year, I'm not sure if it was on Facebook or in a magazine or where, but I remember thinking how very cool it would be to run around in a wind farm - the enormous turbines whizzing around overhead - so when it popped up again a month or so ago I was quick to pounce. So what if it was just 7 days before Melbourne? What could possibly go wrong?

Since Joel has been in Australia it has also been a priority to travel for races, and since Jack ran his first 5K in Yass I had been on the lookout for another race for him to do. Run with The Wind fulfilled all of those requirements so I signed us up without a second thought. Plus, there would be some major prize money at stake for the 10K - and so it happened that I entered everyone (including Amelia) for the 5K and just myself for the 10, figuring that I *might* have a chance at some cash. If nobody younger or faster bothered to come, of course! Which is quite a big if, but still worth a shot.


The Training
I decided to run my final long run for Melbourne on Friday in order to give myself time to recover, and took things very easy on the Saturday beforehand as well. My plan going into the race was always to run a strong but not necessarily fast race; looking at the wind turbines that are visible from the highway between Wagga and Yass, Joel and I had already concluded that it was likely to be a hilly course. And the winning times from previous years backed this up: there was pretty much no way this was going to be a flat, fast course.


The Preparation
We head over to stay the night in Yass on Saturday; it's a pretty easy drive and everyone is having fun so far. Until we arrive at the hotel and I realise that the bag I very cleverly packed for the kids a whole day in advance has NOT made it into the car. Bugger!

I have pretty much decided to drive all the way home again and back (a task that will have me on the road until 11pm or so) until Joel talks me out of it; thankfully, his habit of packing way too much stuff has rubbed off on me somewhat and it turns out I have enough spare gear for both the kids. Jack has worn joggers and shorts that will go nicely with my Boston t-shirt, but Amelia is decked out in a flowing gown and platform sandals; this is quite a problem.

Through sheer luck I have left a spare running outfit - including shoes - in the back of our car and I have enough safety pins in my bag to pin a singlet and shorts so they will fit her. As for shoes, well, with 2 pairs of socks and the laces done up tight we discover that she can in fact safely wear my racing flats. I will have to wear my crappy old pink Mizunos, but so what, it's a miracle! Joel sends Amelia out to jog up and down the carpark just to check she's not going to trip and fall on her face, then we declare the problem solved and go out for dinner.

Early Sunday morning we are back on the road heading to the wind farm, which we soon realise is nowhere near the wind turbines we've seen so many times from the highway. The road meanders around in the middle of absolutely nowhere until finally we spot the turn-off to the farm - it is so hilly that the 88m tall turbines are almost all hidden from view until we get very close. Awesome! Time for a quick family pic before going off to investigate what lies in wait for us:

Small, tiny hillocks in the background. Really, they are tiny.

The 5K
There's a race briefing that mentions hills just in passing - but Joel arrives back from his warm-up looking aghast and tells a story of endless mountain ranges that essentially make up the whole of the course. We line up together and brace ourselves for it: the start is almost vertical and in fact makes Yass look practically flat. How is that even possible??

Everyone charges off up the hill when the starter fires his gun, but within about 100m many are walking. The kids make it to the top without stopping - although Amelia is quite a way behind - so I pause there and wait for her to catch up. There's a lovely downhill but it is very clear that no part of this run is actually going to be flat. As far as the eye can see, the hills just keep going - with enormous white turbines perched along the ridge where we are to run.

Both barrelling along despite the terrain

The second mile starts and I'm having quite a hard time keeping Amelia moving - Jack has disappeared in front, which is fine - when suddenly I see the leader heading back towards me. And who is this in second place? It's Joel! I'm so excited I don't know whether to scream or take a picture, because I know I probably can't do both at once - screams are momentary but a picture lasts forever - so I grab my phone and snap a shot before it's too late.

In 2nd place! Wheeee!!

There's not much to say about the rest of what for me is a stop-start warmup run; the relentless hills are too much for both kids who are stopping to walk on most of the uphills. I catch Jack once and then again on the final hill: "Don't let me beat you!!" I yell at him and he takes off like a rabbit. Amelia is struggling with her shorts so we stop to re-pin them and she then jogs the whole rest of the course, finishing her first (but hopefully also hilliest) 5K ever!

Joel has finished 3rd - overtaken on the final hill by some young thing - every exciting but there's no time to talk because the briefing for the 10K is already underway. I don't bother to listen, really; it's just going to be a whole lot of talk about hills, isn't it? Instead I attempt a few strides and size up the competition: there are 4 young (in comparison to me, at least), fast-looking females lined up right at the front. Well, 5th place won't be a bad outcome then. Sigh.

The 10K

Miles 1-3: 6:38, 7:59, 6:54 (pace in min/mile)
We set off downhill away from the start area and everyone is just FLOORING it: I glance at my Garmin after about half a mile and laugh when I see 6:09 pace. That's 3:49 min/km and pretty much normal 10K pace for me, but I know it won't last. We approach a turnaround and I count the women ahead of me - I'm in 9th position when the course turns and the inevitable long uphill begins. Let's see who went out too fast, shall we then?

Leading the charge up the steepest hill on the wind farm, if not the whole planet

By the time mile 2 has finished I have overtaken so many runners, quite a few of them women, that I don't know exactly where I am in the field now. At least one of the fasties who was raring to go at the start line is in fact WALKING when I approach her not long after we pass through the start/finish area and encounter that ridiculously steep section once again. Walking at mile 2 of a 10K - something I've never seen before, well except last week in Yass. Cough, cough.

I'm trying to count girls ahead of me and I think there are 3? So 4th, well that's not too bad! I spin my legs to make the most of the downhill that takes me out on the 5K loop again, and brace myself for the next up.


Miles 4-6.2: 7:11, 7:12, 7:07, 6:19 pace to the finish
There's another hairpin turn during mile 4 and I take the opportunity - whilst struggling up the hill to the turning point - to again count the females ahead of me. But one is missing! I could swear there were 3 but it seems there are only 2: a figure in a blue singlet that I thought was a chick is actually a teenage boy. Ooh! Could there be another unexpected podium appearance in my near future? The thought is enough to keep me feeling relatively cheerful despite the ongoing hideousness of the hills - a runner coming the other way tells me "You're 3rd lady!" and confirms what I thought - prize money could be mine! And all these hills might just be almost worth it.

Miles 5 takes me back towards the finish but there's one more out-and-back loop to conquer: the one that takes us up Giants' Hill. Aptly named, it's a bloody giant of a thing and I catch a few more people on its rugged slopes. The top takes forever to reach but finally I'm there and turn to find a long gap until the next runner behind me - I should be able to hold onto 3rd place, which is great!

Giants' Hill behind me, I'm glaring down at the finish yet to come

I bomb back down the hill and make the turn onto the main road to find Joel and kids there screaming encouragement - I'm so focused on not falling off this ridiculously steep slope that it's all I can do to smile (briefly) and wave as I whizz past towards the line - and there you have it, a 10K race the weekend before a marathon.

Finish time: 45:03 (7:08 pace)

Placement: 3rd female, 1st in AG (F40-49)

What a successful day! Joel and I have placed exactly the same, again, and we both get cool medals and a bag of various stuff for our efforts. I am presented with a giant paper cheque and get to feel like an obese, elderly midget when I have to stand next to the winner, a very tall and thin young lady who is in fact 27 years my junior. No doubt she has an illustrious running career ahead of her, but I'm satisfied with how our day has unfolded: the kids have both run wonderfully well (Jack has in fact run 9 seconds faster than in Yass, and Amelia despite all the walking has placed 12th in her AG) and both Joel and I have something to show for our efforts.

Winners are grinners! And I'm somehow suddenly short and stumpy.

The Analysis

I don't actually feel like I ever really ran at 10K pace or effort during this race - perhaps right at the start, but not for a sustained period of time at any stage. That's a good thing with regard to Melbourne, and perhaps today was a strength workout in disguise. Whatever it was, I just have to hope that it won't hurt my race in 7 days' time - and if it does, then at least it was worth it for the fun and unique experience we have all just had amongst the wind turbines.

To top it all off, we make it into the Canberra Times the very next day - hooray!

Wagga Lake Run and Ride 10K, September 2015

The former Lake to Lagoon 9.6km run has now officially become the Wagga Lake Run and Ride 10K. Which is great, really - the old point-to-point course was a real pain in some ways, although finishing right in the middle of town by the lagoon was always a lot of fun.


And it helps that the area where the race both starts and finishes is within easy jogging distance of my house! So this year it was a no-brainer to sign not only myself for the run and Jack for the ride, but I also included Joel for the 10K. So what if he was only due to arrive back from the USA a smidgen over 48 hours prior to the race starting time? Jet lag shmet lag, in my opinion at least.

I've run the new 10K course twice for one second place (2013 - 38:48) and one win (2014 - 39:06), and all that can be said is that it's not an especially easy course. The first mile is flat, the second uphill, the third down...but after that it undulates quite significantly as it winds its way along the shores of Lake Albert. I run in this area every single day and know it like the back of my hand - it's far from the ideal "fast and flat" 10K course that we all long for - but hopefully this counts for something on race day.

A surprisingly tame-looking elevation profile

The Training

Nothing much to say here, just the usual mileage-fest with a small dash of half-hearted speedwork thrown in.....oh, and that race last weekend. Almost forgot about that. I've been thinking for some time that my time has come to slow down, but last weekend demonstrated that I may have been premature in this belief. Tomorrow is going to be an interesting fitness test, if nothing else.


Race Day

One of my favourite things about this event is the start time of 10:30am. Not only does this virtually guarantee a stinking-hot weather situation (good for weeding out the unfit and the unacclimatised), it also means I can sleep in, or at least spend the early morning hours lying lazily in bed devising excuses for why I'm not going to run the sort of 10K time that a person capable of a 2:47:57 marathon really should be able to run. What's not to love about that?

Jet lag is still making its presence felt in the household so I'm awake well before 6am, enough time to devise many useful excuses before rising to prepare and eat my usual toast-and-coffee breakfast, the one that so far has proven safe and effective for races of all distances.

With an hour to go we all head to the start, jogging comfortably along until the neighbourhood dogs inspire us to break into a few strides, with assistance from the local magpie in the form of dive-bombing swoops. It's all good fun, though, and a beautiful day - although this undoubtedly means things will be uncomfortably hot later on.

After Jack sets off on his bike we are milling about near the start line when I see young Hannah - the girl who came 2nd behind me last year - and a few other familiar faces, including Rob who is this year dressed as Flash Gordon. Gotta love small local races!

Muscling our way to the front line, fake muscles optional

I'm not really nervous this year because I know that it's all about who shows up on the day: I'm no spring chicken these days and it will only take one speedy twenty-something runner chick to leave me in the dust. Whatever happens I'm enjoying myself today because it's Joel's first race in Wagga, so we line up together right at the front, ignore the usual dorky warm-up routine, and get ready to have some fun.

Awwww.

Miles 1&2: 5:56, 6:20 (pace in min/mile)

ZOOM! Off we all go at breakneck speed - it's impossible not to join the mayhem and run way, way too fast over the first, flat mile. Hannah is ahead of me until about the 1km mark, and just as I ease past her, a girl in a blue singlet eases past ME on my left. Wait, what? She looks to be running strongly but who knows what will happen during the second, uphill mile - so I hold my ground and stay with her as we head towards the hill.

As usual, the incline starts and people are rapidly fading all around me. My marathon endurance is my strong suit here: I know I can keep going and hopefully even ramp things up again once the hill is over. But the girl in blue - whose name will turn out to be Emma - is showing no signs of slowing down at all. Hmm, this is quite interesting. Should I give up now, or keep trying?


Miles 3&4: 6:16, 6:01

If you answered "give up now", thanks for playing but clearly you've not been paying attention to this blog at all. I have no idea what this girl is capable of, but I'm not letting her get away with anything less than her best. Up to the turn and back down Lake Albert Road towards the lake again, I keep up the effort levels to stay maybe 5-10 seconds behind.

Plenty of people are calling my name and shouting words of encouragement from the other side of the road but I am way too focused to acknowledge many of them - my boss Charles will later tell me I looked very determined, as well as bright red in the face and very hot, when he saw me thundering along down the road. As I speed through the roundabout and back towards the lake I'm already thinking "god I hate short races", but at least there's not too far to go.


Miles 5&6: 6:15, 6:15

Just keep going, just keep going. There are quite a few innocent pedestrians out for a morning stroll around the lake, and dodging them keeps it interesting. Emma is not that far ahead now and she almost collides with a couple of women who are clearly quite oblivious to the torrent of runners that is about to envelop them. Well, now they know. I side-step them neatly and note with glee that Emma finally appears to be tiring - my chance may yet come!

But there's a huffing and a puffing behind me that I can no longer ignore: I'm wondering if it might be Joel but no, it's Marcus, my occasional physiotherapist who has rescued me from injury on a good few occasions now. As he moves to pass me I suddenly realise we are hot on Emma's heels, and the short, nasty uphill by the Boat Club is just around the corner. Ooh! Opportunity knocks - we catch her in the carpark after the sharp incline - and I open the door wide by powering past her without a second thought.

Good grief, I'm in the lead! There is less than a mile to go and I hate short races, I really do now, but it's not time to dwell on that. I have to try to build and hold some sort of lead....and in trying I also pass Marcus back. Perhaps 400m go by before I realise there's someone over my right shoulder - is it him? - oh god no, it's her. Youth trumps ambition as Emma surges past me again and I have nothing with which to respond. Oh well, I did give it my best, and so I focus on not falling too far behind as we approach the finish line and the 6th mile beeps on my Garmin.


Final 0.2: 5:55 pace

I glimpse Mum and Jack on the sidelines and hear him yelling "GO MUM!!" as I charge into the finish chute and finally, thankfully get to stop running at last.

<pained grimace>

Finish time: 38:20 (6:10 pace, 3:50 min/km)

Placement: 8th OA, 2nd female, 1st in AG (F40-49)


Well, that was fun! I didn't win, but I did manage to run a course PR by 28 whole seconds; it's amazing what a difference it makes when you have someone to chase. Joel arrives around 60 seconds behind me - jet lag has done a number on him for sure - and together we rehydrate and mingle until it's time for awards. I'd love to be holding that bloody big trophy again but I'm still very satisfied and happy with the effort I put in today. And I'm still Wagga's fastest old chick!

Looking rather too pleased with myself, really

Racing every weekend is sort of fun, and it so happens that Joel has convinced me to change from the half marathon in Sydney next week to the full marathon. I've never run a marathon as a training run, but there's a first time for everything, or so they say. Let's see what happens, I guess!

Mother's Day Classic 10K, Canberra 2015

In the true spirit of May madness, I've decided to follow up the Boston/Big Sur double with another race just 2 weeks later. What could possibly go wrong? And it presents the perfect opportunity to show Joel our national capital - so it's off to Canberra we go, for a relaxing weekend away and my fourth time at this event. A quick review of previous results just makes me nervous - I've managed to win trophies at every attempt but I'm quite sure my legs are not going to be able to pull anything similar off tomorrow - my usual trick of putting my head in the sand and pretending I'm just off for a nice morning jog with a thousand or so of my running buddies will come in very nicely, thanks.


Previous Mother's Day races in Canberra:

2012: I ran the 5K - 19:17 for 3rd OA female.

10K 2013: I ran the 10K - 39:19 for 3rd OA female.

10K 2014: I ran the 10K - 38:36 for 2nd OA female.

There's no getting around it - this course is a tough one. In the presence of a headwind it's MUCH tougher, and in any case there are two bridges that each need to be crossed twice. My times here have always been slower than in other 10K races and it seems that 2015 may be the slowest yet.

Up, over, down, around, up over, down, around. Repeat.

And did someone mention a headwind? Because the Weather Curse is apparently still in effect: a glance at the forecast has both Joel and myself rolling our eyes and preparing for the worst. The wind is going to be blowing at gale force straight out of the north-west, which will mean a handy tailwind for one side of the lake and a gargantuan headwind for the other. Similar, in fact, to 2012 - only worse. Sigh.


Race Day
We wake easily and have established (by means of an easy afternoon jog the day before) that it's only a mile to the start line from our hotel. Neither of us has any throw-away clothes and we're a bit in denial about how cold it might be, so we put on our race gear with only very light extra layers and head off for an easy warm-up jog. Sure enough the wind is howling across the lake - we run a mile with it behind us and everything seems fine, then we turn back to find ourselves being blown practically to a standstill. Yuk! Our 4th race in a row with a stinking headwind - the only advantage is that perhaps we're a bit immune to the mental side-effects of headwinds, having run over 78 miles in them now, ho hum.

I'm so bored of running in headwinds that I'm actually asleep

We bump into Ewen near the start area; he's running the 5K and we commiserate briefly about the wind, not to mention the temperature which is a chilly 8C/46F. Then we jog up to drop off our thin overshirts at the baggage area, and wander down to the starting line. Might as well get this over with! 

There are a few familiar faces amongst the 4 or 5 women lined up around me, two of whom I know are faster than me, so this is going to be interesting for sure. Rob de Castella shows up and gives a nice speech about the Indigenous Marathon Project, for which he is now almost as well-known as for his 2:07 marathon PR, then hefts the starting gun and prepares to fire.

First lap: miles 1-3: 6:24, 6:32, 6:29  (pace in min/mile)

Whoosh! Off we all go with a gale-force tailwind at our backs. At least 6 women shoot out ahead of me, possibly more - as predicted, today is not likely to bring a podium finish. Oh well, I'm just going to do the best I can in the situation, I guess. Joel is behind me for now; we speed towards the Kings Avenue bridge and by the time I'm on the bridge I've already caught two female runners. 5th place sounds good enough to me at this point.

But oh my god, the wind is insane - I'm being blown sideways towards the guard rail and a few times I'm having trouble staying on my feet. Then as I finally hit the first mile point, another Garmin beeps just behind me. What? Someone else here works in miles?? Ohhh - come to think of it there's a familiar shadow beside me - and then sure enough, my husband appears to my left, grinning and surging ahead.

I guess he's going to make me work today after all; I sigh and step things up a touch to stay close. As the course turns into the wind we both pass a man pushing - of all things - a very large stroller. He remarks as I pass "It's like hitting a brick wall, isn't it??" and yes, the headwind is truly impressive today. At least the equal of New York and probably a fair bit stronger actually. I'm surprised that my pace doesn't take a massive hit;  then again, I'm probably putting in enough effort for 6:10 min/mile but am barely making marathon pace.

The second mile is interesting; I'm distracted somewhat from the wind by the sight of Joel, slowly but surely catching the two women that are now in sight ahead. As he goes to pass the first he glances back and gives me a look that says "If I can catch them, YOU can too!"; come to think of it, he's probably right. Heading up onto the Commonwealth Avenue bridge they are both noticeably closer. And I'm fairly certain they are currently in 4th and 3rd places - if I catch them both, I'll be on the podium after all!

As usual he's looking chipper, I'm looking half-dead.

The wind is still relatively awful on the 2nd bridge, but finally I'm down the other side and can take advantage of the tailwind for as long as it lasts. I make use of the situation to chase down 4th place woman and we go through for the second lap neck-in-neck.


Second lap: miles 4-6.2: 6:16, 6:32, 6:34 then 5:47 pace to finish
Almost as soon as we head back down to the lakeside path, the girl in front slows for a drink and I shoot straight past her. Her breathing indicates that she won't be passing me back - I quickly refocus on my next quarry, who is wearing a pink singlet and black shorts (in fact she's next to me in the photo of Joel and myself above).

She's slowing down or perhaps I'm speeding up, but whatever it is, I catch her on the uphill that leads back onto the Kings Avenue bridge again. Joel is maybe 30 seconds ahead now; all I really need to do is hold of Pink Girl and I'll finish in 3rd, which would be way more than I was expecting today!

The only problem really is this ridiculous wind, which somehow seems to have increased in intensity since the last lap. Running along Queen Elizabeth Terrace is an utter joke - it's so exposed that at one point I feel like I'm not actually moving anymore. The wind has me running on the spot! It's all I can do to hold onto a pace that is WAY slower than even marathon pace, and hope like mad that Pink Girl is suffering the same fate.

Up and over the final bridge, it's tailwind time again and I'm too much of a coward to look behind me. Mile 6 beeps and I throw myself into the final stretch with total abandon - there are slower runners and walkers all over the path around me but I'm coming through like a bat out of a windy version of hell, and there's nothing that can stop me. A bloke is running up the finish chute as I approach and from the side I hear "Don't let her catch you!" - oh god, are they talking to HIM or to ME??

I redouble my efforts and sprint for the line like a madwoman. There are 2 volunteers there, struggling to hold up a tape but the wind has other ideas and it smacks me in the head as I dash across to finish- as 3rd place woman, quite clearly the fastest old chick in the place too - and I've managed to hold off Pink Girl by just 15 seconds. Phew!!

Finish time: 40:15 (6:28 min/mile)

Placement: 12th OA, 3rd female and 1st in AG (F40-49)


Joel stands by the line grinning - he has beaten me by almost a minute and has also won his AG! We shiver in the cold until the presentation finally starts, collect my trophy and then run straight back to our hotel to get warm. Another successful Mother's Day Classic, another race that despite the headwind was quite a lot of fun, and Joel's first race on Australian soil. What an excellent way to spend a weekend!

Sweeeeeet!

Photo credits (all but the last one) to Ewen Thompson, with thanks.