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DCM 2019 - Mentored Novices Thread
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passinginterest wrote: »South Dublin 10k
I’ll start with the prep. Had a very lazy Saturday and wasn’t really hydrating during the day. Left my east run to the evening and started sipping a bottle of water with a zero tab before. Came back and ended up spending a good while in the garden cutting back a tree. Really not focused on getting hydrated again. Drank the bottle but not much more. Started to feel pretty worn out and headachy by 10.
Actually slept ok, but woke about 6.30am with a banging headache. Another hour before the alarm but wasn’t feeling any better when it went off, added to the headache was a bit of nausea and the sweats. Considered not running at all at that stage but decided to get up and about and see how things went.
Tummy not great and still a bit nauseous, took paracetamol and forced down a bagel with honey over the space of about an hour. I’m only about 15mins drive to the race start, so by 9.15 when I was ready to leave the head was feeling ok.
Decided I’d do a warmup mile when I got there and decide then to race or not. Absolutely blessed with the parking, directed to a spot right at the roundabout between the start and finish. Still felt overly sweaty and a bit weak for the warmup but it was ok. Plan then was to still aim for my A goal of 46.30 but to not push too hard if I wasn’t feeling it.
Lined up and I think a placed myself about right in the pen for my A goal. Congested at the start and was around 7.50 a mile pace rather than the 7.30 goal, but knew it would open out quickly. I was moving ok but really having to work to get anywhere close to goal pace. There was a decent downhill towards the end of mile one and into mile two and I was hitting the pace but by the middle of mile two I was staring to struggle. Mile one came in at 7.38, mile two at 7.49.
I was starting to feel a stiffness in my shin and ankle in mile 2, similar to something that happened in a few parkruns a few months ago. Not quite shin splints (I’ve had them before) but really uncomfortable. The slowdown continued in mile 3 and I had accepted it was going to be a tough slog to even get to the end. I really wanted to stop but it was too far to walk back! Mile 3 clocked in at 8.03.
I was dying for the drink station, I knew it was somewhere around 6k in the village. Took a cup and stepped onto the footpath, stopped to take a few proper sips and tried to get a stretch against a lamppost. Got going again but was struggling to even keep at planned marathon pace. Mile 4 came in at 8.52, slowest mile of the day as it included the stop.
Turn onto the canal came just after mile 4. It’s a slightly uphill drag all along and for the first half of it I was still feeling fairly awful. Loads of others taking walk breaks and struggling along here too. It’s a nice spot for a run, but couldn’t say I was enjoying it. Mile 5 in 8.44. Not sure if it was the uphill or maybe I relaxed and changed form a bit, but the stiffness and discomfort in the ankle/shin seems to work itself out along here.
Found myself starting to get into a slightly better rhythm again and I was passing more than getting passed for a change. Coming to the 9k and seeing 46.20 on my watch was a bit of a blow, considering that’s what I’d hoped to finish in more or less. Although it did give me a bit of a push on too. I was feeling relatively ok now, although not exactly flying. Came off the canal, up the steep bit and turned into the finishing area picking up a bit more pace. Mile 6 popped up at 8.21.
Didn’t have a huge amount for the finish and a few came flying past me but I was passing people too. 0.26 of a mile at 7.25 pace to the finish, even managed a tiny spurt at the end to take back a place I’d almost lost. Chip time of 51.22.
If you told me I wouldn’t break 50 before I’d have been really disappointed, but I’m ok about it now. I had a bad day, I could have opted out of running at all, I could have quit and walked it in, but I kept battling and even started to come around a bit before the end. I’ll take the ok finish as a sign that the aerobic fitness is there, even though Other things went wrong today.
Overall it was a really well organised event, a decent course, the t-shirt is ok, the few bits went down well and I think I’ve come out the other side largely unscathed. I’ll be more careful about my prep before the 10mile. If it’s another struggle I might have to reassess my marathon goals, but for now I’m writing today off as a bad day at the office and looking forward to getting straight back into training.
Seeing some great results on Strava, well done to everyone getting out there today and getting it done.
Well done! You never gave up
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Set out with the aim of keeping to 8 minute pm pace as I was afraid of my knee, which had surgery in May, not being able to take much faster so set off cautiously. After the first mile or so things felt fine there so sped it up to about 7:45'ish and kept it there for most of the race. The knee was only a bit sore for the last mile but nothing major.
Not my fastest 10k by a long way but great to be out there participating so taking that as a win. Looking forward to the Dun Laoghaire 10k in a couple of weeks with my wife which is my local race, that will be a lot slower but great fun
Hope all the other novices out there enjoyed today as much as I did! Must admit when yer man on the tannoy at the start said that its only 90-something days to the big one my heart fluttered a bit!
The gel belt in the goodie bag was a nice touch, that will come in useful for the LSR's in the coming weeks.Have a weather station?, why not join the Ireland Weather Network - http://irelandweather.eu/
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Laineyfrecks wrote: »Well done! You never gave up
I thought I spotted you at the start. Having seen strava now I know I did! You started just behind me with a couple of others in the same tops. You and the lads passed me around the end of the first mile I think. I knew you’d have a similar enough goal time to me, so if I’d been feeling anyway better I’d have tried to tag onto the three of ye. You were flying, congrats on the pb!0 -
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passinginterest wrote: »I thought I spotted you at the start. Having seen strava now I know I did! You started just behind me with a couple of others in the same tops. You and the lads passed me around the end of the first mile I think. I knew you’d have a similar enough goal time to me, so if I’d been feeling anyway better I’d have tried to tag onto the three of ye. You were flying, congrats on the pb!
Aw really!! Yeah the tops were given to us in work so handy to get 2 free tops:) I lost the lads soon after that haha. I felt i prob could have done better timewise but really happy that it was the most consistent i have ever felt & at no stage did i feel knackered so i am taking a big huge positive from this
Next time say hi 0 -
Race Report
So i had a busy day yesterday which left me not being able to do my 3m run till the evening then i found it hard to sleep last night so woke up not as rested as i'd like.
Traffic wasn't too bad but was sitting for a bit then i had to run from my car to my workmates for a few pics for the work website etc. I basically used this as my warm up.
I got quite close to the front as i remembered it being a nightmare last year trying to get through.Off we went & i felt good, the 1st 3k felt like i was being very consistent with my running which felt great. At this syage i think i was struggling a lot last year after taking off too hard! When i got to the park i felt really good so sped up a little & still felt good. Just after the park i felt the heat really getting to me & was really in need of the water but it was quite hard to drink properly out of the cup so drank what i could then poured the rest over me!
Turning onto the canal i mentally tried to get my thoughts of last year out of my head because i struggled so bad here & lost so much pace,not gonna lie it still felt like it was never gonna end but 100% i felt so much stronger!!! Coming up the bridge i decided to do strides which really helped me & i actually passed a good few people here
I knew the end was in sight & once i got into the business park i decided i still had a good bit in me so i sprinted as much as i could & had a strong finish:D
I finished in a time of 47m 10s knocking 3 secs off my last 10k so a PB for me
So being brutally honest i thought i would have or should have knocked more time off as i felt so good & consistent all the way around but my goal is DCM in Oct & from all the wonderful advice i have been given on here i really feel my running is better & more structured so cheers : D
Lastly big huge well done to all who ran today
As you can all guess from here & Strava i love my emojis haha
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Race report time!
Saturday race prep consisted of a few margaritas and fajitas with friends in town (pro planning right there!) but was home by 8 and to bed early-ish and drank plenty of water so felt hydrated and no worse for wear.
Woke up around 7 full of nervous energy. Had 1/2 bagel with natural peanut butter and a banana some coffee and water. I don’t usually eat anything before running since I usually train early in the morning but since the race was at 1030 felt I should.
Picked up my running pal and set out for Clondalkin. We sat in some traffic entering the race parking area but once in had no issues and made it to the start area with plenty of time. We started in the last wave which was crowded but everyone in good spirits. My friend is a good bit faster than me but was nice to cross the start line together before she went ahead.
The first kilometer was quite congested which suited me as I really didn’t want to go out too fast. My plan was to start around 1030 for the first mile and then pick up the pace.
As soon as we hit the park section (around 3k or so?) I felt really good and ready to speed up. The next few kilometers flew by and then got to the water station. It was really busy here with a lot of cups on the ground so made the decision to walk through this section and I also ate a wine gum simply because I had one and am thinking of using them in longer runs instead of Clif bloks.
After the water station it was onto the canal. This section went quickly although it was very congested again and hard to get around some of the multiple groups running 2-3 aside. It probably helped me not to go top speed here because when I got to 9k there was more space and I was able to finish strong.
I had no idea what I was able for today, but I was really hoping to come in under 1:02. My chip time was 1:01:07 and I couldn’t be happier. It’s the quickest 10k I’ve done since having my three kids and I know I am slow compared to most of you flyers here but for me, it was a huge confidence boost.
I thoroughly enjoyed the (super flat!) course and am grateful to all the organizers and volunteers for putting together such a great race.
Congrats to everyone here who took part today. Some super results on Strava... you guys are fast!!
Also I am a total convert to running without earphones now (at least for races!) I really think it helped me to stay present in the race and I enjoyed listening to the banter of the runners around me... and it was also my first time recording my run on Strava instead of just manually inputting it from my beloved Runkeeper so I hope I did it right!
Edited to add Splits:
Mile 1 10:26
Mile 2 9:58
Mile 3 9:29
Mile 4. 9:35
Mile 5. 9:43
Mile 6. 9:23
Mile .3 8:08
Margs sound like a perfect pre-race hydration strategy to me
Just a couple of wee notes: you should start incorporating breakfast before training runs, even if it's just before long runs. It's not really recommended to try anything new on race day.
Can I ask why wine gums over Clif Bloks or gels? If you want to go this route, you'll just need to make sure you're getting enough calories on board on race day.
Lovely splits. Congratulations on a well-managed race.0 -
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Margs sound like a perfect pre-race hydration strategy to me
Just a couple of wee notes: you should start incorporating breakfast before training runs, even if it's just before long runs. It's not really recommended to try anything new on race day.
Can I ask why wine gums over Clif Bloks or gels? If you want to go this route, you'll just need to make sure you're getting enough calories on board on race day.
Lovely splits. Congratulations on a well-managed race.
Thanks! I definitely think eating before running this morning was beneficial. I felt really strong the whole race and very well afterwards which I attribute to being properly fueled and hydrated. I’ll work on continuing that especially as the long runs get longer! And the wine gum thing was just a little experiment (I usually would only take water on for a 10k). I might carry a few during long runs (in addition to gels... I got some High 5 aqua gels which I might try during this week’s LSR.)0 -
Well done to all who raced this weekend, was great to see all those race times come in on my Strava feed.
This is probably going to look like a race report but it's not. I didn't race this weekend but did get out for my LSR. Ran about 17Km (few Km longer than planned) and it was my first chance to test out my water/food strategy. I've prior experience of fuelling on the go having done many cycles (upwards of 50) where it's been required due to distance or duration in the saddle. I'd picked up a Camelbak hydration pack in the past few weeks so this was my first chance to try it out. The model I picked up has storage in the shoulder straps so I can store fuel in there for the runs which is easy to access. I also opted for a bright coloured pack as I intend on using it in the winter time when it's going to easier to see then a dark black bag. Happy with how easy it is to use from a hydration pov. Took a bit of fidgeting with to get it filled but was fine after doing it a few times. I mixed a 2 litre bottle of water with a couple of electrolyte tablets the night before as I wanted to have it mixed prior to filling the pack up instead of adding the tablets in to the pack and potentially having some of the tablet sit at the bottom. Couple of pockets in the pack that can store keys/phone and emergency carbs just in case. Need to remember to remove anr within the water lung/pouch to avoid the sloshing sound but wasn't too bad.
Hopefully the following will help people out if they're new to fuelling on the move or in need of some alternative suggestions. If you've any questions or corrections please shout.
What to eat:
I've tried a wide variety of foods on the move including gels, cereal bars (nutrigrain, nature valley), bananas and much more. I'll still bring bananas out on a cycle but they're a bit bulky for running with and probably get a few odd looks if they're in your shorts pocket :P. The bars I've settled on in the last year or two are Nakd bars and this is what I'll be mainly using during my LSR and races. They're full of natural ingredients which you can actually pronounce unlike some of those that are in other bars for fuelling. Very easy on the stomach, never had an issue with them and they're quite a compact bar too. They're vegan friendly too if that's your thing. Great flavours to try are blueberry muffin, cocao orange and cocao delight as they're quite moist so don't require chugging water to wash down. Someone mentioned wine gums today, I've used them in the past and they're fine. More so for the little positive mental perk of having some sweets whilst exercising. I've often kept them hidden away on a cycle till I'm in the midst or at the end of a tough section when morale can be a tad low and they perk you right back up. I would not however use them to fuel myself the whole way around on any event.
How to eat:
Prep your fuel the night before. Lay it out and ensure you've enough for the type of run you're going to undertake the next day. Your LSR of 10 miles requires a substantially different amount of fuel compared to a 10 mile race. It's going to take a bit of guess work if you're not racing that often as to how different it is for you personally but aim to have more so you're not relying on the water/fuel stands at the race. As you're packing your fuel for the day, prep the fuel so it can be consumed easily. I will open any bars I'm going to consume out on a ride/run so that I'm not struggling to open on the move. You'll also open them cleaner then when you're on the move when it's possible for a small bit of the wrapper to fly off and accidentally litter. This may or may not be possible with gels and will depend on how you're carrying them. Digesting food can take longer when exercising (citation needed, will follow up with link) so I've been opting for single bites/nibbles every alert and it's served me well in terms of energy levels and avoiding stomach issues.
When to eat:
Avoid (if possible) fuelling on the way up a hill. Your legs, heart and lungs will be working that bit harder than on the flats so if you start eating your oxygen intake will be lower as you focus on chewing instead of breathing and you'll see an increase in your HR which may cause some panic if you're running to HR. My Garmin has built in alerts so I can set it to alert me after a set number of kilometres or minutes. It's useful to have this as a reminder to eat as it's very easy to get caught up in the atmosphere of an event or being too focused on the road. In addition to the reminders, it's a good idea to plan extra fuelling points within your race. If you know that at a set point in the race there's going to be a touch section (ie. Heartbreak hill) then you should start fuelling for that about 30 minutes or 5Km (or whatever you think, just give yourself plenty of time to digest that fuel) in advance of reaching that point.
Fluids:
Similar to my approach with food consumption, I tend to sip on water little and often as opposed to big gulps which I find works for me. I'm a firm believer in using electrolyte based fluids during and after a long cycle/run, doubly so in hot weather. I've also used carb based powders mixed in to my water bottles when cycling and I plan on trying this out for the runs too. I've used the Science in Sport "Go" product for cycling but I'm going to look for a combo of electrolytes and carbs for the running I think. With the DCM I was originally planning on asking the OH + kids to be on standby midway around with an extra electrolyte and carb bottle but instead I opted for the hydration pack as you just never know what sort of wildcard kids can throw at a parent on the day which could leave me high and dry midway through.
One last thing. If you bring fuel which has a wrapper out with you, please bring it back with you or dispose of it in the bins on the route. Sure it's probably messy and has food residue on it but putting it back in your shorts/shirt/belt/bag is better than throwing it on the ground. Your shorts/shirt/belt/bag are probably going to get a wash after the run/race anyway.0 -
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Week 5
Less than 100 days to go :eek: - the weeks are really flying by now. This week saw us pass the first major landmark on the plans - the South Dublin 10k. Some great performances out there this morning, and some quality reports too! (Not forgetting Edenderry or Killarney either!) Keep the reports coming. If things didn't go as you'd hoped, don't worry about it. This was not the target race, we're mid-plan, we weren't peaking for this race and we haven't been doing 10k-specific training.
There was a noticeable improvement from many of you in running at appropriately easy paces in week 3. Well done on that - you will reap the benefits down the road. Some of you still need to slow it down, but don't worry - we'll stay on your case
We won't forget those of you who didn't race this weekend - your time in the limelight will come :cool:. There was lots of strong weeks put down by all of you - well done!
The weekly reviews seem to be proving popular, and they are very useful for us mentors in identifying potential areas for improvement in your training.
- Did you get in all the runs on your plan - if not, then why not?
- Did you run the runs at an appropriate pace?
- Are your friends/family fed up of listening to you talk about running and the marathon yet? :pac:
As always, the thread is open to new recruits. I notice a number of people in the queue to join the strava group - drop myself (or ReeReeG/Huzzah!) a PM with your strava name and we'll accept you. The group is here.
There's no time to rest on your laurels as we press on with week 5:
Plan|Monday|Tuesday|Wednesday|Thursday|Friday|Saturday|Sunday
HHN1|rest|3m easy|5m easy|3m easy|rest|10m lsr|cross
Boards|rest,cross or 3m rec|4m easy|6m easy with 5 x 100m strides|4m easy|rest,cross or 3m rec|15m lsr|3m rec
As you'll notice, there are sizable increases in mileage for both plans this week, with the Hal Higdon long run hitting double figures for the first time. This will be unchartered territory for many of you - keep the paces easy as advised and you'll have no problems. Any queries or otherwise - just ask! Once again the boards crew have strides this week - the majority of the run should be at easy pace with the strides ideally towards the end. Keep the strides controlled - they should not be a flat out sprint. Focus on form, relaxing the shoulders, and importantly allowing full recovery between strides.
Just to refresh you on strides:Strides are a running drill which will get you used to picking up the pace on tired legs without leaving your legs wrecked! In this case the strides prescribed should be 100m or 20-30 seconds long. We recommend you do the strides towards the end of your run preferably on a flat stretch of even road. These are not intended to induce fatigue, so allow for full recovery after each before attempting the next one. Jogging back to the start after each stride should allow sufficient recovery, but take longer if required. You can include these in the prescribed mileage or you can add them on as a little bit extra - either option is ok.
Each stride consists of 3 equal parts:
- controlled acceleration
- sustained speed of up to 90% of your max speed
- controlled deceleration
The important thing is to focus on form throughout; stay relaxed & run tall, watch that the shoulders aren’t being hunched/tensed up! Remember these are not a sprint, you should feel in control!
Best of luck with the week ahead, and congratulations again to those who raced over the weekend.0 -
Well done to everyone on a busy day today! Great to see how everyone did on Strava Fantastic to see some PBs too
I did the Edenderry AC 10 mile race today. It's 2 weeks since I did my first HM, and that was a slow, steady affair as I decided to run it at a compromise pace that would keep my heart rate low (though not as low as training runs), but also let me pick the pace up a bit... a long, slow-ish run! Lots of Speedy Gonzales' in this Boards Novices group... I'm not one of them :P
For this 10 miler, I had sort of planned much the same again. Then Mr. Guappa said to go for it... race it! Wah! I have never pushed myself for further than a 10k race before, and wasn't sure I could maintain any sort of speed over the greater distance. I've also never run with pacers before... the slowest pacer group in that HM a couple of weeks ago was too fast for me. For context, my average pace in the recent HM was 11:33 mins/mile. I did the Women's Mini Marathon on June 2nd at 10:05 mins/mile.
The final pacer group today was for 1 hr 50 mins. 11 mins per mile. My training runs have all started coming in at under 12 min/mile lately, so I felt this would be a safe pace to start, knowing the first 6.5 miles of the course was mostly a long, long gradual uphill drag. I felt I could finish in 1:50, hoped I could finish around 1:45.
I took off deliberately steady at the front of the 1:50 pacer group, and almost immediately realised two things. First, I was feeling really comfortable, and second, I left those pacers behind
Around the first corner, and the big, steep hill climbing out of Edenderry loomed ahead. I've run this hill a few times now in Darkness Into Light... I was up near the top and at the mile marker in 9:55! That caused a double take I tells ya, I felt really comfortable and barely noticed the hill.
Imagine my surprise when I was enjoying one of very few downhill bits shortly after the 1 mile mark, when I spotted the 1hr 40 pacers only a few hundred meters ahead! Really? This doesn't happen to me these days! I don't catch up with people! Feeling strong, I decided I'd take my time and hopefully eventually catch them.
Mile 2: 9:35 mins
Mile 3: 9:56 mins
And just after the Mile 3 marker, I caught them! Yay! This made the following miles much easier, as I knew I didn't have to worry about checking my pace any more. I also knew the next few miles were going to be tough... a long, long drag with a coupe of humpy canal bridges to sap you. We lost a few from the group along the way.
Mile 4: 10:00 mins
Mile 5: 10:06 mins
Mile 6: 10:02 mins. I hadn't planned on taking a gel at all, but around now, I thought feckit, you have one with you, take it. You might need it. Glad I did!
Mile 7: 10:19 mins... perhaps the most punishing climb because the wind really whipped up here, right into our faces. Legs were starting to feel tired now. But, alleluia, for the first time in 5 miles, a turn back towards Edenderry bringing us downhill back down to the canal and the wind at our backs. Much needed reprieve.
Mile 8: 10:20 Feeling tired but okay.
Mile 9: 10:22 Oh jesus... a sharp turn back up a steep, all-too-long hill. I know these roads like the back of my hand, I drive them every day... but I hadn't bargained for the slopes when you're out there on foot! I thought I was banjaxed here. Myself and another girl from the 1:40 pacer group started to fall back from them a little bit, such a struggle. This was where I knew I had to really dig deep because I knew there was a long, lovely downhill final mile. Encouraging the girl on, as much for myself as for her, we got back up to the pacers, just as we got to the top of that bloody hill.. Now, the pacers shouted at us, go go go! Don't wait for us! Go!
The only thing carrying me forward now was gravity :pac: I could hear the pacers' voices getting fainter, encouraging the other girl to keep going, occasionally shouting at the rest of us to run, run, run.
A finisher at the bottom of the hill shouted "400m to go"... I'm so tired, but 400 meters? I can do that, can't I? Around the corner, there's my husband who's stewarding 150m from the finish. He almost missed me, not expecting me to be with the 1:40 pacers... Another finisher's voice shouts "30 more seconds to make 1:40, go, go, go! And I sprinted. Where the hell did that energy come out of?!
Mile 10: 9:07 mins
Chip time: 1:39:30.
Average pace: 9:58 mins/mile
For the record, average heart rate was 166bpm, with very little variation throughout really.
De-feckin-lighted!:D:D 0 -
Well done to everyone on a busy day today! Great to see how everyone did on Strava Fantastic to see some PBs too
I did the Edenderry AC 10 mile race today. It's 2 weeks since I did my first HM, and that was a slow, steady affair as I decided to run it at a compromise pace that would keep my heart rate low (though not as low as training runs), but also let me pick the pace up a bit... a long, slow-ish run! Lots of Speedy Gonzales' in this Boards Novices group... I'm not one of them :P
For this 10 miler, I had sort of planned much the same again. Then Mr. Guappa said to go for it... race it! Wah! I have never pushed myself for further than a 10k race before, and wasn't sure I could maintain any sort of speed over the greater distance. I've also never run with pacers before... the slowest pacer group in that HM a couple of weeks ago was too fast for me. For context, my average pace in the recent HM was 11:33 mins/mile. I did the Women's Mini Marathon on June 2nd at 10:05 mins/mile.
The final pacer group today was for 1 hr 50 mins. 11 mins per mile. My training runs have all started coming in at under 12 min/mile lately, so I felt this would be a safe pace to start, knowing the first 6.5 miles of the course was mostly a long, long gradual uphill drag. I felt I could finish in 1:50, hoped I could finish around 1:45.
I took off deliberately steady at the front of the 1:50 pacer group, and almost immediately realised two things. First, I was feeling really comfortable, and second, I left those pacers behind
Around the first corner, and the big, steep hill climbing out of Edenderry loomed ahead. I've run this hill a few times now in Darkness Into Light... I was up near the top and at the mile marker in 9:55! That caused a double take I tells ya, I felt really comfortable and barely noticed the hill.
Imagine my surprise when I was enjoying one of very few downhill bits shortly after the 1 mile mark, when I spotted the 1hr 40 pacers only a few hundred meters ahead! Really? This doesn't happen to me these days! I don't catch up with people! Feeling strong, I decided I'd take my time and hopefully eventually catch them.
Mile 2: 9:35 mins
Mile 3: 9:56 mins
And just after the Mile 3 marker, I caught them! Yay! This made the following miles much easier, as I knew I didn't have to worry about checking my pace any more. I also knew the next few miles were going to be tough... a long, long drag with a coupe of humpy canal bridges to sap you. We lost a few from the group along the way.
Mile 4: 10:00 mins
Mile 5: 10:06 mins
Mile 6: 10:02 mins. I hadn't planned on taking a gel at all, but around now, I thought feckit, you have one with you, take it. You might need it. Glad I did!
Mile 7: 10:19 mins... perhaps the most punishing climb because the wind really whipped up here, right into our faces. Legs were starting to feel tired now. But, alleluia, for the first time in 5 miles, a turn back towards Edenderry bringing us downhill back down to the canal and the wind at our backs. Much needed reprieve.
Mile 8: 10:20 Feeling tired but okay.
Mile 9: 10:22 Oh jesus... a sharp turn back up a steep, all-too-long hill. I know these roads like the back of my hand, I drive them every day... but I hadn't bargained for the slopes when you're out there on foot! I thought I was banjaxed here. Myself and another girl from the 1:40 pacer group started to fall back from them a little bit, such a struggle. This was where I knew I had to really dig deep because I knew there was a long, lovely downhill final mile. Encouraging the girl on, as much for myself as for her, we got back up to the pacers, just as we got to the top of that bloody hill.. Now, the pacers shouted at us, go go go! Don't wait for us! Go!
The only thing carrying me forward now was gravity :pac: I could hear the pacers' voices getting fainter, encouraging the other girl to keep going, occasionally shouting at the rest of us to run, run, run.
A finisher at the bottom of the hill shouted "400m to go"... I'm so tired, but 400 meters? I can do that, can't I? Around the corner, there's my husband who's stewarding 150m from the finish. He almost missed me, not expecting me to be with the 1:40 pacers... Another finisher's voice shouts "30 more seconds to make 1:40, go, go, go! And I sprinted. Where the hell did that energy come out of?!
Mile 10: 9:07 mins
Chip time: 1:39:30.
Average pace: 9:58 mins/mile
For the record, average heart rate was 166bpm, with very little variation throughout really.
De-feckin-lighted!:D:D
Great race report - I was so excited for you reading it!! That's great racing - congrats!0 -
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