Was all fired up this morning for a good run. Went to bed early, ate well, hydrated well.
Woke up in the morning tired (Hubby was sick during the night) but still felt good. I left everyone at home to recuperate and sleep in and headed off to BRRC.
Arrived early and then remembered it was a handicap so I had more than an hour before the start. It was good to have a chat to everyone and see what their plans were for this morning.
There was a group of guys from Pat's that were pacing Gerard to run sub 40min/10km. He was very very nervous so I tried to make him laugh and loosen up a bit before he started.
Shane was also going for the magical sub 40. Owen was aiming for the 40min goal as well but I knew it would be hard for both of them as they would have no competition going off 30+mins for their handicapp. Not quite the same as a race start where everyone bolts out and chases each other.
Gerard & Pat's fellows were not in the Handicap race so had special dispensation to start at 0:00. It was great to see them do the first 5km right on target before I headed out for my warm up.
Christian (who runs sub 33min 10km) saw me and joined me for the warm up. I didn't have the heart to tell him that after the first 200m we were running at my race pace and he was just blabbing away talking whilst I was breathing hard!
A quick toilet break and chat with Parmy and I was ready to go. Did some run throughs (boy did everyone laugh at me for that!!) and was all fired up on the start line. BANG I was off. flying start....the heart was pumping, the legs were turning - it was all good. Close to the 1km I thought oh no I have gone out too fast and will regret it. At 1km I looked at my watch - it said 4:24 *groan* I wasn't even doing race pace. I knew then that today was really going to hurt. And that it was unlikely I was going to get close to my race goal dream of 42:30.
As it turned out I have no idea what went wrong. I felt strong and good, no issues with the stomach or fluids. I had great music on and just kept in ryhthym. The clock shows some drastic tales though with the following splits: 4:24, 4:20, 4:14, 4:46 and so it went - up and down.
Thanks to Matty Phillips and Langy who joined me as they were doing a warm down. It made me stop thinking and just run. Matty stuck with me to the very end and I was happy to finish strong. The last few km was decreasing and the last km was a 4:00min/km so I was wrapped with that. Yes I was very heady afterwards and needed fluid - which Cass kindly provided me with. Really angry with myself though because within an hour I felt I could run another 30km - obviously I didn't work hard enough.
Overall a crap race with a crap result. 45:00 (officially). I had 44:59 on my watch but whos' going to argue over a second? I am very very sad about this. No actually I am furious with myself. I felt great the whole way and despite knowing I wasn't running fast have absolutely no excuse. I think I will stick to longer runs from now on. Whilst I don't expect a PB everytime I honestly believed I would be better than that. I mean I run faster in a half marathon for crying out loud! Anyhow, the run is done and the experience is in the bag. Now onto the heavy training for Kurrawa!!!! Have finally decided to stick with the 25km but would like to aim for 1:55 this year. Thats a big ask for the second leg as it will be a zillion degrees then.
Well done to Owen for his great run at 40mins (yah a PB) and for Shane's extraordinary effort for sub 40.
Gerard didn't quite make his goal but he'll be back and more determined than ever. It was a big reminder to me about relaxing before a race. I saw firsthand what I must be like when I am stressed about a run. I will try to remember that....
The BRRC course was officially announced as being 100m short (50m per lap) at the committee meeting after the race (this didn't affect me whatsoever but I thought of those trying to go for sub 40 and just missing out by a few seconds - it would have made a difference to them!).
The course is going to be remeasured and re-routed to be an accurate certified course on the 8th October. We have a 20km run on the same day in which I will try to run consecutively faster loops. (4 x 5km).
8 comments:
Never mind Clairie. It just wasn't your day. Perhaps weather had a bigger influence than you are considering?
RITH's comment about the km marks being out should at least restore your confidence that your pace was probably not as variable as you thought. But it doesn't help to have that happen, because you think you are running slow and speed up, go badly lactic, then it is all over. Better to concentrate on running to how you feel I think. Click the watch, but don't think about the splits too much.
I wonder how much last Thursday took out of your legs? Or maybe it was just one of those days... AND 45mins aint too damn shabby for a 10k in any event ;-)
hey - these days happen sweet-heart. Don't let it get you down. It just wasn't your day for a good race. We all know you're capable of a better time - and your records will always be there to reinforce to you that today it just wasn't happening.
Remember those really bad training days when you say to yourself "God, I hope it's not like this on a race day!" Perhaps that's all it was today, despite you feeling on top of things.
Good 10k races come with practise Clairie. Keep doing them. Besides, they'll help your other distances.
I thought you did really well, Clairie...wish I was somewhere near those times!
Thursday was a huge training session for you. Wednesday and Friday were not exactly easy recovery sessions either. It is hard to race at your very best when training so hard and being a little sleep deprived would not help as well.
Maybe an easy week before a PB attempt will get you there next time. Still it is a solid run.
This will make it even better when you do achieve your goal ...... and you will.
Hello Clairie, after reading about what happened I think you may be able to put it down to the the exercise routine you've emarked on of late. I also started a strength program 3 times a week and I was told to stop it at least 2 to 3 weeks before racing otherwise I wouldn't be able to race worth ..... Still it shoudn't be long before you are starting to realise the benefits of your work outside of running. All the best.
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