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Race Report – Clare Half Marathon

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Before I go any further, this is a significant milestone for me – my 50th blog post! Who would have guessed when I first published my race report from the Barossa Marathon last year, that I would still be going 50 posts later? What started as a way to disseminate my marathon report to the wider community after having received a number of positive comments from its initial airing via Facebook, has become somewhat of a hobby for me – at times it has been challenging to find a topic to write about, and other times one race has provided 3 weeks worth of material! Thanks to you for reading it and keeping me inspired to keep writing it!

A few weeks ago I found my pace band from last year’s Clare Half, lovingly constructed in an Auburn motel room while inhaling a vego pizza, sipping on an ice cold cider and watching a forgettable football game on the comically small TV. (I say forgettable because I now can’t recall even who was playing.)

For the uninitiated, the pace band was a piece of paper with the numbers 1-21 written down the side, and next to each number, the overall time I would need to be at (or under) to achieve my PB goal. I cut it into a narrow strip, laminated it and made it into a bracelet. Fat lot of good it did me that day.

Clare being an out and back, uphill on the way out and theoretically downhill on the way back, it was the ideal course to try to run a negative split (faster in the second half). Indeed, that strategy had worked perfectly for me in my first Clare.

Unfortunately, in my quest for a PB, I neglected to consider the fact that this course was significantly more difficult than the Greenbelt course on which I had run my best HM to that point. Greenbelt is undulating but essentially downhill and is considered a relatively fast course.

So, I had set myself 5 minute kms for the first 11, with the idea being to increase the pace after that. Unfortunately after running 11km uphill at 5 minute pace, I had nothing left, no chance of increasing the pace and I ended up walk/running the last 10km (this remains the only road race I’ve ever done where I’ve had to walk part of it – marathons included), cursing all the way and actually considering quitting!

Needless to say, the PB eluded me that day. I finished in what most would call a respectable time and made my way back home to a gathering at regular running buddy David’s place, as he and amigos Sally and Fiona were about to head off to Vancouver for the marathon.

It was great catching up with running friends outside of running events (the ‘running’ joke was, “I didn’t recognise you with clothes on!”) and a perfect way to distract myself from what I perceived as a disaster.

That day I met Australian distance running royalty in Jess Trengove, a great friend of David’s. David introduced me to her and told her I had had a ‘shit run’ that morning. I can’t remember exactly what her words of wisdom were but I think the essence of it was, everyone has a shit run at some stage.

Interestingly enough it seemed to do the trick. I went on to 2 marathon PBs in the ensuing 3 months and eventually cracked the HM PB later that year. You could say it was something of a turning point.

Skip forward 12 months and it was Clare time again. This time I had got myself organised a bit earlier than last year but even 2 months out, it seemed all of Clare was already booked out! (I later found out there were 3 weddings in town that weekend – that’ll do it!) With probable chronic hamstring or glute med tendinosis in my left hip, driving the 2+ hours to Clare on race day was out of the question – long periods of sitting are not my friend and do not make for a good race! Hence I needed to find accommodation or I wouldn’t do the race. Fortunately I managed to find an AirBNB within walking distance of the start – perfect!

An engagement party the night before meant a late arrival into Clare but it was still preferable to a race day drive.

Given that I was running better than at the corresponding time last year, I thought, why not give the old pace band another crack? I wasn’t expecting a PB (given that the new mark I set last year was 5 minutes faster than the PB I had hoped, and failed, to break at last year’s Clare) but it would be nice to do another sub 1:40. Or beat my previous PB of 1:42:43. Or at least beat my previous Clare PB of around 1:46.

It was a good, solid pre-race week. I was away for Easter the previous weekend, and had an essentially run-free weekend (excluding parkrun of course). Tuesday morning’s run effectively dispersed the cobwebs accumulated during Monday’s day of driving, and on Thursday I managed to push out a 12k at just under 5 min/km.

Thursday night I (probably not very cleverly, in hindsight) went for a short reccy run up a fairly steep hill, which will make for good Ultra-Trail 100 training. “Possibly not the best preparation a few days before a race” – said my quads on Friday. I skipped Friday’s hill run, opting for a relatively easy walk instead, and decided to change my Saturday plans to include a leisurely parkrun (I had planned to skip parkrun altogether, knowing my history of being unable to ‘take it easy’, however decided that the stiffness in my legs on Friday would be best resolved by a gentle 5k ‘jogette’.)

I tried rolling on Friday night, with my new BFF ‘The Stick’ (like a more convenient but brutal version of a foam roller) but my quads were too tender for me to roll properly! Yep I definitely need more hills training, but, again, maybe not mere days from a big race!

Saturday’s parkrun was a good leg loosener, pacing my mum to yet another PB, with the quads still complaining bitterly especially, interestingly enough, on the downhill section! My Saturday was busy and involved a lot of driving, firstly down to McLaren Vale and back for lunch (an hour each way) and then that night up to Clare which was a touch under 2 hours. And wow, were my legs stiff when I got out of the car on each of those occasions!

I was in a bit of a rush to get everything done before heading out to Clare (via an engagement party) so didn’t spend much time planning my race day outfit. I ended up going with the same as Bay-City – I seem to favour the same style skirt for all my long races, and I went with the SARRC top as I plan to wear that for the Gold Coast Marathon so it made sense to test it in a half. (It is also the top I did my HM PB in last year so I thought that might be a good omen!)

I got into Clare at about 9.45pm, having eaten my traditional pre-race pizza on the way there (homemade this time!) and tried a bit more rolling before I hit the hay (the quads were still sore, not as bad as the day before but still difficult to roll!) I was very thankful for the extra hour’s sleep I was to get due to the end of Daylight Savings (thanks SARRC for that genius bit of scheduling!). I was staying with a lady called Helen who has accommodated people involved with the half marathon in previous years – not surprising given her perfect location in relation to the race start! She herself had also been involved in the organising of the event in the past.

Race day morning dawned cool and crisp. I was a tad unprepared, having packed purely for the race itself, not having considered the possibility of needing layers for the chilly Clare morning! Note to self for next time – bring a tracksuit!

Helen and I walked over to the race start, getting there super early at around 6.45 for the 8am start – I wanted to allow time to collect my race bib, but that took mere seconds! The only semi ‘warm’ gear I had was my arm socks which I recalled not needing at previous Clare events but which were definitely required this time!

Getting there so early gave me the opportunity to catch up with a whole lot of people and suss out who would be good to run with. In the end Beck, who had bravely driven up on race day (and as a result was MUCH better equipped for the cold start than I was), said she was hoping for a sub 1:45, and I thought that sounded pretty good, so we started together. Jim, the 1:45 pacer started well behind us and we hoped it would stay that way!

The gun went off and we were away. In the end, I didn’t go in with a specific pacing strategy, but Beck’s plan to sit on just over 5 min kms for the first half sounded pretty good. I’d done 5 min kms for the first half of the race last year, and came undone in the second half.

The first km was a little fast (as always – no matter how much you tell yourself you won’t, it’s really hard not to get carried away at the start!) – let’s just call it a warmup! From km no. 2 onwards we started to sit on 5:05 pace and were able to sustain that pretty well. Jim passed us pretty early on and quickly moved away from us. It was a little off-putting but we knew what we were doing and were confident we could get him before the end!

At around 9km I decided to make a move and my next 2 km were back down in the high 4’s. Just before the turnaround point I saw Jim and his 3:45 posse coming back the other way. I made note of the time and when I passed the same point it was around 70 seconds later. 70 seconds? Pfft! Piece of cake!

For the first 11km my average pace was 5:02 per km. Last year I did the corresponding section at 4:59 pace.

I was on my own for a little while and took the opportunity to settle into a rhythm. My DOMS-afflicted quads didn’t give me any trouble – turns out I don’t really need them for a flattish run! I distributed the requisite high-fives to a number of the kids lining the sides of the route, and eventually caught up to Peter, a regular at running events (and always just that little bit ahead of me) and also a keen parkrunner. We had a good conversation about the Pichi Richi Marathon (an event I am keen to do one day) and also the New York Half Marathon, where he related the story of the two top women who ran together for the whole race before one of them stuck her arm out to hold the other back right at the finish line! The distraction was welcome during the difficult 3rd quarter of the race!

I finally passed Pacer Jim at 15km. It was a little demoralising to have taken that long to get past, but he was running even splits and I was aiming for a negative split. So theoretically, once I passed him, he should not get past me again!

There was a little glitch with the signage too which caused me some initial confusion. I was sure we were at 17km but the sign said 18km. That could have been an issue if we’d really thought we were at 18, but Peter and I compared Garmin distances and decided that yes, we were definitely at 17km. Still, less than a parkrun to go!

From the start, the kilometre markers were showing how far we had to go, not how far we had come. That’s awesome in the final kilometres but seeing a sign that says ’20km to go’ in a 21.1km race – not so much! Things were back on track at 18ish km – the sign said 3km to go.

My pace for the last 10km was 4:38 per km. Last year was 5:09 – not disgraceful by any means but definitely a fail as a negative split! I was super happy with my pacing this time especially considering I didn’t go in with a real pacing strategy or even a goal time.

In the last km I tried to pick up the pace – I managed a 4:28. My goal was to finish strong but with nothing left in the tank. Towards the finish line I was behind Peter and I didn’t especially want to pass him but I wanted to let him know I was there, so he could either pick up the pace (which he did) or, if he didn’t, I was going to pass him (and no guy likes to be ‘chicked’!) In the end he finished probably about a second ahead of me (no need for him to stick an arm out to hold me off!), and I managed to sprint past quite a few others in the last few hundred metres.

My time was 1:42:27. That was my second best ever HM time, a good 4 minutes faster than my best Clare time, and interestingly faster than the PB I had been aiming for this time last year! A slightly slower first half resulted in my taking almost 5 minutes off last year’s time. That is a huge advertisement for the importance of good pacing!

I ran through the finish line, around the corner to collapse behind the timing tent for a moment. Peter came over for a chat and he had his medal. I’d forgotten to get a medal! Me, Ms AllAboutTheBling, forgot to get a medal! Peter kindly gave me his and went and got himself another one!

I quickly went to catch up with Beck, who had finished not long after me, and importantly also ahead of Jim, and was happy with her result too. I beat a hasty retreat back to Helen’s place for a shower and change of clothes, making it back in time for the presentation. It was well worth it too because I won a bottle of wine in the lucky prize draw!

I’d say redemption is well and truly mine after last year’s ‘disastrous’ outing. It was a fantastic day, a great first half for the year, and in perfect conditions! Thanks as always to the wonderful people of SARRC, the fantastic volunteers and the community of Clare for once again putting on a wonderful event. I will definitely be back!

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It’s all in my hands (feet?)

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As I write this, I’m thinking of my next race, the Clare Half Marathon. It will be my 3rd straight Clare, the first one being my first ever half, and a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The second, not so much. Probably my worst race ever. I’ve talked about it here before and I won’t go into it now, but I’m sure it will get a mention in next week’s Race Report!

I’ve had an easy week this week. Last week I did 65km, this week just 24. I had a weekend of R&R and made the conscious decision to forego a run on Sunday for a few extra hours sleep. There are still 14 weeks until the marathon. Plenty of time. There was some talk this past week about ‘junk miles’. Running for the sake of running. That’s what yesterday would have been. No, the extra sleep was way more beneficial. And I’m sure all the Easter chocolate will benefit me in the long run too (pun intended!)

I’ve been reading the excellent running book, ‘Run Like Crazy’ by Tristan Miller, who ran 52 marathons in 42 countries (including several ultras) in 1 year.

Almost 2 weeks into my 16 week training programme for the Gold Coast Marathon, with a view to qualifying for Boston 2017, I was a bit over the whole marathon caper and thinking of ‘retiring’ from marathons after Boston. However, the book has sort of got me excited by marathons again! And has even given me some ideas of other international marathons I might want to run!

A thought occurred to me. Yes, another one!

I have played team sports before. Most recently, I played soccer (or as some of you probably know it, football) for 5 years before taking an extended break at the start of last year. In my last season, 2014, after a few early games (often coming off the back of a 30km marathon training run) I decided the risk of injury was too great and stopped playing until after my marathon.

But it wasn’t overtraining that I was worried about, as you might think. It was the unknown and unpredictable. The dodgy tackle leading to a broken leg. The quick sprint to the ball leading to a snapped hamstring. Both unlikely but not out of the realms of possibility.

Which leads me, in a convoluted sort of way, to my thought.

Running is far more predictable than any team sport. Essentially, what happens out on the track/trail/road on race day is 100% up to me!

My marathon PB is 3:38 something. I need to do that again at Gold Coast to ensure that I get in to Boston next year. And really, there is no reason why I shouldn’t be able to do that!

There are various race predictors you can use, to predict your time in a race based on your time over any distance. I’m not sure how accurate they are, but one I looked at recently, based on my latest 10km time, predicted pretty close to my current PB for the half marathon. And 3:30 for the marathon. 3:30? You must be joking, I thought. But, then I thought, why not? If I do the training, and I know I can sustain the necessary pace for an extended period (just a touch under 5 minutes per km) then why the hell CAN’T I do a 3:30? Who is going to tackle me in a marathon and stop me? (Well I probably shouldn’t say that – I HAVE been pushed over at the start of a big race, after all!) Unlike team sports, I don’t need to worry about the unpredictable. If I do the necessary training – I WILL get the desired results!

I guess only time will tell!

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Race report – Bay-City Fun Run

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Yesterday was the second Bay-City 12k Fun Run. I decided to do it again, after having run the inaugural event last year. I had to choose between that and the inaugural 65km Coastal Challenge, along the Adelaide beaches from Aldinga in the south to North Haven. It was sort of a difficult choice. On one hand I have a 100km ultra in just under 2 months (insert mild panic here!) and 65km would be good ‘time on feet’ training. On the other hand I have a Boston Qualifying marathon to run in 15 weeks and was due to do my first long run (21km), so a fast road run would be the logical choice! Plus, I hate sand! Well, running on it. In the end, the road run won out over the ultra.

I always like to have a goal time in mind when doing a race. It helps me work out my pacing and to know how much to push myself. Last year I did 58:28 so, as always, I wanted to run a PB. I didn’t really have a time in mind other than that. I set my pace alerts on my watch for 4:20 – 4:40 (minutes per km).

Pre-race preparation was not ideal. I had had a pretty big week mileage-wise (I’d already run 40km before Sunday) including 2 solid track races at the SA Masters championships (1500m and 3000m). I gave myself Saturday off to ensure fresh legs on Sunday (plus, I was rostered on as Run Director at parkrun so couldn’t do parkrun anyway). That was all fine, but it was work friend Maggie’s (very fun) 50th birthday party on Saturday night that meant I was a little on the tired side when my alarm went off on Sunday at 5:45am!

I had everything ready to go before I went out on Saturday night, so I could go straight to bed when I got home around 12:30. Gear-wise I went for the tried and tested – my old favourite lululemon skirt over Skins and Compressport calf compression sleeves on the bottom half, and on the top I went with my SARRC top which I had run a half marathon in (and probably will wear for the Gold Coast Marathon). I also had my small Ultimate Direction race vest – normally I would not use a vest in a race except an ultra, but to make up the 21km I needed for my long run, I planned to run back from the city to the Bay, so wanted to have plenty of hydration on board. I carried 1 litre of water and 500mL of sports drink. In hindsight I probably could have done without the water but no doubt if I hadn’t brought it I would have needed it!

After 5 hours or so of sleep I got up and had my usual brekky smoothie before getting dressed and sunscreened ready for a morning in the sun! It was a bit cool when I left home so I put my rainbow arm warmers on.

I drove to Plympton, almost exactly 4km from the start line. I parked in the same spot I did last year, next to the Mike Turtur Bikeway, a shared pedestrian/cycle path that follows the tramline. From there I ran along the path to the start line in Glenelg, the same spot where the iconic City-Bay Fun Run finishes. By the time I got there I had warmed up enough to shed my arm warmers. As with so many races I’ve done, there were plenty of familiar faces to greet before the race started at 8am. Unlike City-Bay, where there is an ‘Elite’ group, then the ‘sub-60s’, then the rest of the runners, then the walkers, in Bay-City, the smaller field means everyone starts together. The fast people still start at the front – I positioned myself behind them for 2 reasons. First, because I know they’re faster than me and will only overtake me within seconds anyway. Second, because trying to stick with them in the early stages would almost certainly derail the rest of my race!

8am came and we were away! Up Jetty Road and eventually onto Anzac Highway which seems to go on forever! I remember running through the busy Anzac Highway/South Road intersection and looking for traffic as I ran across. Somewhat unnecessary given that the road was closed – force of habit!

The first few kilometres felt a bit ‘ploddy’ but actually I ran 4:37, 4:33, 4:37 – all within my goal pace range. I actually got slower after that, my watch seemingly constantly going off, telling me I was going too slow. At the halfway mark (and no, there was no impromptu Bon Jovi singalong!) I was sitting on 28 minutes. Double that and I was on 56 minute pace. By this time I had forgotten what my time last year was, but knew 56 minutes would be a PB. I did want to negative split though, so I decided at 6km it was time to take it up a notch. I managed to get in a few high fives to the kids on the sidelines (When I do a road race, I don’t feel like I can claim a race medal unless I’ve high fived at least one kid!)

After a 4:45 6th km, I managed a 4:37 in the 7th and then a further second quicker in the 8th. When I saw the sign that said ‘4km to go’ I thought to myself, “I got this!” (In City-Bay and Bay-City, rather than having kilometre markers to show how far you’ve gone, the signs tell you how far you have to go. Sometimes that’s nice, although not so much after 1km – “11km to go!” – not very reassuring! )

Although I slowed down slightly in the 9th (according to Strava it was ever so slightly uphill, in fact the ‘steepest’ km at 13m elevation) it was around this point that we hit the edge of the city and I knew the end was in sight.

I was starting to pass more people at this point – some who were doing the 4.5km race, and some 12km runners who were struggling. (It wasn’t exactly hot, but running on bitumen with little shade, it can get pretty warm!)

I was checking my watch periodically and I was still on track. My 10th kilometre was 4:41 but other than this I had managed to keep between 4:35 and 4:40 from the halfway point onwards – I was happy to be able to maintain a relatively consistent pace.

With 2km to go, I picked up the pace again. I managed to speed up to 4:30 for the 11th, and then when I passed the glorious ‘1km to go’ sign, I forgot all about the impending run back to the car, and went for it. The last kilometre was 4:02, albeit slightly downhill. As we ran through Light Square, the Nova radio crew were there with loud uplifting music (from memory, ‘Uptown Funk’) which helped get me psyched for the finish!

I saw the clock as I approached the finishing arch, and pretty much sprinted, thinking I might be able to sneak under 55 minutes. I didn’t quite get there – according to Strava it was 55:07 – but still, a PB by more than 3 minutes – gotta be happy with that!

I didn’t hang around long – just enough time to congratulate a few fellow runners and collect my medal, before the 9km run back to the car, this time along the tramline. It was a bit frustrating, after a non-stop 12km run, to have to stop seemingly every block for traffic lights! Once I got out of the city though, it was plain sailing and I even ran into regular running buddies Beck, Kay and Alison, running back from their long run. (Kay and Alison ran the corresponding ‘City to Bay’ run with me last year – this time it was just a quick ‘Hi’ as we ran in opposite directions!)

Once I got back to the car I headed to West Beach to see some of the Coastal Challenge runners at Checkpoint 5, 46km into the 65km run. I hung around there for a while, and by the time I left there in search of lunch at 1pm, I knew I’d made the right decision. A solid, fast road run was definitely what I needed and I just couldn’t have imagined running 65km along the coast – well done to everyone that did though, makes my 12k (and a little bit more) look like a walk in the park!

I feel like it was a good first week for my 16 week marathon training programme – lots of fast running, some track runs and a nice hill thrown in too, with a total of 65km. That’s probably a bit much for such an early stage and I doubt I’ll be doing that much mileage for the whole 16 weeks, but I’d say it was a good start!

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Regrets, I’ve had a few

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With apologies to Frank Sinatra, I thought I might do a slightly thinky blog today. (‘Thinky’ is not a word. I am well aware of this. I think the ‘proper’ word is ‘thoughtful’. But that doesn’t really capture the essence of what I’m trying to say. Plus I like making up words. Been doing it since I was a kid!)

There have been many things said about regrets. Many very profound quotes by very important people.

Listening to the lyrics of ‘My Way’, I can relate to a LOT of it. Including that immortal line, ‘Regrets, I’ve had a few, but then again, too few to mention’.

What is regret? I could Google ‘regret definition’ and rehash it here, but where would the fun be in that? No, to me, regret is wishing you hadn’t done something you did, or wishing you HAD done something you didn’t.

I had a thought. (Yes, it does happen from time to time.) And like many thoughts that pop into my head, this one was about running.

I have now been running for nearly 3 1/2 years. I started at 35, quite late by many people’s standards. The thought that occurred to me was, what if I had started athletics as a kid? (‘What if’ is possibly a synonym for regret)

I now find myself in a position where I am improving, but I never seem to get any better from a results point of view. By that I mean my times may be getting overall faster, but my placings aren’t – there is always someone (and in most cases many someones) who is faster.

I am a so-called ‘veteran athlete’ – a term which I find quite funny – I don’t really consider myself an ‘athlete’ and I am certainly no veteran – in fact I was listed as a ‘Veteran Woman’ in my very first race, one week after I started running. I could hardly have been further from a veteran! But it was purely based on age – apparently from the age of 35 we are considered veterans.

Loving running and all the places it’s taken me, and most of the people it has brought into my life, made me kind of wish I’d ‘discovered’ it sooner.

But then again, I see the people who have been running all their lives. Many of them are plagued by injuries now. Whereas I am still relatively ‘fresh’ – I have been lucky enough (touch wood) not to have been affected by any significant injuries. It’s possible that my laziness in my earlier life has paid off!

Do you know what else I have regretted in the past? Not taking full advantage of the wonderful time of year that is Fringe in Adelaide (aka Mad March, although it is half in February). I’ve talked about it before in a recent blog post – https://randomthoughtsandracereports.wordpress.com/2016/03/04/liberated/

Well I’m pleased to say this year I won’t be having that particular regret! I saw 28 shows this Fringe. At the time of writing I’m still considering squeezing in one more. I am seriously wondering what I will do with myself once it’s over!

You can regret time you’ve wasted on things/people that just weren’t worth it – but it wasn’t totally wasted if you managed to learn something from the experience.

I’ll tell you one thing I’ve never regretted – going for a run! There have been times when I’ve been out on a Saturday night and not got to bed until late, and maybe only had 4-5 hours sleep before having to get up for my Sunday run. I have considered sleeping in, and either not running at all (yeah, right!) or running on my own later in the day. Most, if not all of the time, though, I make myself get up and go. And you know what? I have never regretted it. Sure, they haven’t always been the greatest runs, but I’ve always been glad to have sacrificed that extra few hours sleep. And the post-run coffee has always been appreciated! (In the words of Bon Jovi, I’ll sleep when I’m dead!)

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Race Report – Yumigo! Summer Trail Series Race 4 – Newland Head

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The Yumigo! Summer Trail Series is a fantastic series of trail races in beautiful surrounds, mainly in the Adelaide metropolitan area. Each of the 4 events, taking place in December, January, February and March, has a short and a long option – the distances getting longer each time! There are cumulative points that go towards trophies at the end of the series – overall winners as well as age group winners.

If you have been reading my blog for a while you might have seen my previous post about the only other race in the series that I ran – December’s opening race at Anstey Hill. If not, you can find it at this link:

https://randomthoughtsandracereports.wordpress.com/2015/12/13/race-report-yumigo-summer-trail-series-race-1-ansteys-hill/

The final event of the series was at Newland Head, near the popular seaside destination of Victor Harbor. This was a bit more of a hike for the city dwellers, although a sleep-in for the locals and the southerners! It was quite close to the starting point for the Heysen 105 which I did for the first (and probably not the last) time last year.

I had entered at the last minute. I had always intended to run, but I couldn’t decide whether to do the short (11km) or long (19.5km) course. I had run the long course at Anstey Hill, however I was not in contention for any of the overall series prizes, so it didn’t really matter which course I went with. Eventually I decided to do the long, because I didn’t want to spend less time running than it took to drive there!

It’s been a pretty hectic week, with all the Fringe events I’ve been going to. A planned early night on Friday night fell by the wayside when I decided to go to a late show and got home at 2am. 5 hours later I was up for parkrun. I managed a sub-22 minute 5km for the second consecutive week – I wasn’t sure how that would affect my legs for Sunday’s race.

I had a reasonably early night on Saturday night – not before catching another Fringe show – I think that’s 19 shows so far for this Fringe! I had all my gear ready to go before I went out, except I hadn’t decided what top to wear. I had gone with my old faithfuls – my newish trail shoes, calf compression sleeves, black running socks, and my Skins and black lululemon skirt which I have worn for most of my trail events. I had my small race vest – I was expecting to be out there for a few hours, and I’m not sure what the forecast was for Victor but in Adelaide it was going to be in the high 30s, so I needed some hydration on board. I put 1 litre in the bladder and 500mL of sports drink in the bottles – I didn’t want to fill the bladder any more as that would weigh me down and be uncomfortable, and I don’t tend to drink a great deal during races.

On race day I woke up at 5am and did all the last minute preparation, including choosing a top. I ended up going with the Mekong Athletic singlet which I’d purchased from a pop-up store at the previous Summer Trail Series event, at which I’d volunteered. I had run in it once, on an 18km road run a few weeks ago, and found it very comfortable. The mesh in the back in particular was very cooling, and despite the fact I would be wearing a backpack, I thought it would help keep me cool. Plus, (and this is not a minor consideration by any means) I loved the colour!

I had studied the directions of how to get there, and having been in a similar area for a social trail run a few weeks ago, I was pretty confident I could find my way. As it turned out I got there in plenty of time to collect my bib and timing chip, and join the seemingly endless queue for the portaloos! As always there were a lot of familiar faces there, many of whom I see regularly but others who I tend to see only at the trail races.

Despite the fact that it rained while I was driving and for much of the lead-up to the start, I sunscreened up, put on my hat and had my sunnies with me. By the time the race started at 8am, it had stopped raining, and while the sun hadn’t exactly come out, conditions were ideal for running.

So, at 8:00 both the short and long course runners started together. Straight up a hill! The first km was pretty much all uphill, and immediately the thought sprang into my head,”WHY did I not do the short course???” To make matters worse, there was also soft sand! I knew about the sand – I’d seen it recently at the social trail run and also last year at the Heysen 105. I don’t like running in sand. I like walking in it, and lying in it, but NOT running! It became a challenge to try to find the easiest path, avoiding the soft sand at all costs. Mostly I would be running on the very edge of the bush. The thought of snakes did pop into my head, but at that point I would have preferred a possibly snake sighting to definite sand running! Plus, my legs were a bit tired (and stiff from the drive down) and there was a LOOOOOONG way to go!

I ran with Kate for the first few km, I hadn’t run with her in a while so it was nice to catch up. We had done a lot of our marathon training together in the last 2 years and regularly ran together on a Thursday. She was hoping for an age group win in the series (spoiler alert – she got it!) and I said I wasn’t going to race it, I was just out for a bit of fun. Plus I had no chance of winning anything – the only other race I’d done in the series, I’d finished 5th female overall. And 4th in my age group! Talk about being born at the wrong time!

The first 3km or so were uphill, then we hit a few nice downhill kms. All of a sudden I was enjoying myself, pulling out a couple of sub-5 minute kms and letting my legs have a break, just coasting down the hills with minimal effort.

The course, which I thankfully hadn’t studied prior to the race, was very well marked so there was no danger of getting lost. I say “thankfully hadn’t studied” because there were (I think) 3 out-and-back sections which did mess with my head a bit. I think they would have messed with my head more if I’d known about them in advance!

In one way it was nice to see all the fast people coming back while we were still going out. On the other hand I could see just how many people were in front of me! One of those fast people was Leon, who is doing the Big Red Run in June, 6 days in the Simpson Desert. (I MIGHT do that one day. It’s not on my immediate radar but having been to an info night last year, it does look mighty tempting!) He, unlike most of us, was seeking out the soft sand – it was ideal training for his big event! He had a clear path too, since most of us were avoiding it!

After about 7km I think, we came to a fork in the road. Otherwise known as a drink station. This was the point where the short course and the long course runners separated. This brought with it more thoughts of “WHY did I not do the short course?”. I had hoped that the females I could see in front of me leading up to the drink station were doing the short course but nope – they were going left with me!

Did I say I wasn’t racing today and I was just doing it for fun? I lied. I didn’t realise it at the time, but I should have known. If it’s a race, I get the white line fever. Even in parkrun which is not technically a race. If there is a run that has timing and placings, I seem to be incapable of just doing it for fun! Hence the reason why I rarely do a parkrun the day before a bit event! I was racing. I may not have been competitive but I was most definitely racing!

10km came and went and I thought to myself, “we got this.” More than halfway there! (And no, I didn’t break into the chorus of ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’ as is traditional! In fact there was no singing in this race!)

A few fairly flat kms later, I hit the next big hurdle which was a hill pretty much equal to the one at the start. Except, by now my legs were pretty damn tired! At no point though did I think of walking. Well, I thought of it but I was determined to keep running. Not necessarily because it would be faster than walking (as many runners would know, sometimes walking up a hill can be faster than running) but because once I started walking it would be hard to get going again. For this reason I didn’t stop at any of the drink stations even though they had Coke! I had enough fuel on board to keep me going, and I could keep myself motivated with thoughts of Coke at the finish line!

Someone said to me at the last turnaround, with approximately 3.5km to go, that there was “less than a parkrun to go!”. It wasn’t exactly comforting to me, because I like to race parkrun, so thinking of 3.5km of parkrun I was thinking of running to my absolute limit, rather than having ‘only’ 3.5km left to run!

The 17th km was probably the worst. Uphill. More sand. I was behind Matt and Robbie, 2 regular trail runners. I may have sworn a few times. I may have said “This SUCKS. I HATE THIS!” more than once!

The last 2.5km though were pretty much all downhill, on firm ground, and quite enjoyable! I didn’t let myself look at my watch at all except when it vibrated to indicate that I had completed another km. I find that especially towards the end of a race I find myself looking at my watch increasingly frequently. And more often than not only covering about 100m between looks at my watch! So I just concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, and not falling over. There were a few tricky sections of trail, some quite rocky and very conducive to rolled ankles. I nearly went over several times!

Finally my watch alerted me that I’d completed 19km and therefore there was around 500m to go. Piece of cake! I did the last 500m (actually according to my watch it was 600m) at 4:09 min/km pace, by far the fastest of my race so far. Not surprising really – I do like a strong finish and I probably tend to hold myself back in the preceding km or so to allow myself to finish with a burst of speed! There was a guy in front of me – I didn’t really want to pass him but he was running at that awkward pace, just a little slower than I was trying to run. So I called out “GO GO GO” to him so he knew I was there and could pick up the pace to avoid being “chicked”! (Mind you, had it been another girl in front of me, I would probably have just gone for it – did I mention I tend to get a bit competitive?)

My official time was 1:46:29. Having not had a time in mind for this race, I was very happy with that. I was 38th overall out of 106 starters and 8th out of 44 females, and once again 4th out of 21 in my age group, behind the same 3 girls who beat me at Anstey Hill (albeit in a different order), Bronwyn, Sarah and Kazu! Did I mention before that 30-39 Females is a very competitive age group? 21 out of the 44 females in the race were in my age group, and 3 of the top 4!

After the presentations, in which many of my friends won age group and overall prizes, regular running buddy Karen and her husband Daryl and I went for a lovely cruisy bike ride along the coast. The weather was perfect and it was a great way to give the legs some recovery and make the most of the trip Down South. (I had intended to go for a swim too but after the bike ride it was getting late and the fatigue was starting to set in – not the best for a longish drive home – so I decided to forgo the swim). We were really lucky with the weather too because thunderstorms hit during the drive home!

So what’s next? Well trail-wise the next big event is the Cleland Trail Championships next month – which will probably be my last big trail hit-out before the Ultra-Trail Australia 100km race in May! I’m really looking forward to Cleland because after choosing not to run it for the last 2 years because of clashes with other events, I’m finally doing my first one this year!

Thanks again to Ben and all the fantastic volunteers for a wonderful trail series! Hopefully I’ll be able to run all 4 events next summer!

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Liberated!

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I consider myself a very social, sociable person. I love being around people. I get bored when I’m at home by myself. I don’t like sitting down watching TV, I like to be out DOING stuff.

I am a single lady of several years (3 and a bit, to be precise-ish). I was part of a couple for a very, very long time. Although I did still have my own identity, and we did often do things separately, we did do a good many things together – holidays, dinner, concerts, to name just a few.

I have friends of course, many of whom are also single ladies. It is a little different though. When you are in a couple, it’s kind of implied that you will do things together. Whereas with friends, you have to make plans.

I find I don’t always like to make plans. Sometimes I like to just get up and do something on the spur of the moment. Without a live-in adventure buddy, that will often mean doing stuff by myself. And recently I’ve discovered just how awesome that is!

My first big experience of this was when I went on my first solo overseas adventure. London, Liverpool (including the small matter of my first marathon) and then 2 weeks in Ireland. Having never travelled solo before I was a little apprehensive, but I can honestly say that was the BEST holiday I’ve ever had! (No disrespect to anyone I’ve previously travelled with!)

What’s not to like? I got to choose where I wanted to go and how long to spend in each place. I got to pick what type of accommodation I stayed in (I opted for hostels – as I didn’t intend to spend much time there so I preferred to save my money for more important things!). From one day to the next it was up to me, and me only, what I would do for the day. I could spend a whole day just lounging around the hostel if I wanted to. (OK, so I didn’t do that. But I could have if I’d wanted to, and not had to worry about messing up anyone else’s plans)

I ran my first marathon on my own. That was a kind of surreal experience. It didn’t feel like I was on my own though. I was among several thousand friends – and there was no pressure, not that there has ever been any pressure in any other events, but it was nice to get the first marathon done away from anyone I knew. (It was also fantastic to know that so many of my friends back home were following my progress online, being Sunday night in Australia!)

What to do to celebrate after a first marathon? My friends, with whom I was staying, were working, so I was home alone. On a walk around the neighbourhood to buy some milk, I discovered that there was a cinema around the corner, so I decided to go see a movie – on my own! I had only been to the movies solo once before, to see the movie Rock Star, because none of my friends were interested in seeing it. Why not go to the movies alone though? You can see whatever movie you like, and you don’t have to share your popcorn! Once the movie starts, you’re not exactly going to be talking anyway, so what’s the difference? (For the record, I saw ‘Bad Neighbors’ and thoroughly enjoyed it!)

Going back a bit, I went to various running groups on my own. I didn’t know anyone the first time I went to parkrun. And later, when I went to join the SARRC (South Australian Road Runners Club) group runs, I didn’t know anyone there either. Of course, it wasn’t long before I had a bunch of new friends at each of those groups, and couldn’t really imagine those mornings without running (and the all-important post-run coffee!). It’s a shame that not knowing anyone does stop some people from coming out to the group runs – I’m sure if they did come, they’d quickly realise we’re a friendly bunch and very supportive and encouraging.

Moving away from running now, I’ve been going to see live bands on my own for a long time – again often because I didn’t know anyone who was interested. As one who likes to get up close and personal, I like to stand, and as close to the stage as possible. I’ve been to concerts with friends before where I have become separated from my friends anyway, so I’ve spent most of the concert on my own (or rather, with several hundred of my closest, sweatiest, friends) so really, going on my own is not so different! Even at music festivals I’m more than happy to do my own thing – even when I’ve gone with other people we usually end up splitting up at some point so we can all see who we want to see, not have to compromise. See, it’s not so hard!

This time of year in Adelaide is known as Mad March, because it is when everything happens. One of the biggest events is the Fringe festival, which goes for 4 weeks. In January I get all enthused when the Fringe Guide comes out, go through it with a fine tooth comb and highlight the shows I want to see. Then I work out which division Lotto prize I’d have to win to pay for it! Most years I just go to a few shows with friends and end up wishing I’d made the most of it and seen more shows.

Well this year is different! Sure, I have been to quite a few shows with various different friends, but I’ve also been to quite a few shows on my own! At first it felt a bit weird especially when the venue was half empty so it was pretty obvious I was flying solo. But, I soon realised, NO-ONE CARES! We’re all like-minded people who just want to enjoy some quality entertainment. It’s hard to find someone who’s up for an 11pm show on a Wednesday night, and rather than missing out and regretting it, I just thought bugger it, I’ll just go!

I think by the end of this Fringe I will have seen 24 shows – at least half of those on my own. Never in a million years would I have done that in the past! I kind of wish I could take the whole month off work and really do it justice!

One of the most awesome things about doing things solo is you are much more likely to meet people. Travelling with other people you can tend to stick with your own group and not mix so much with others. Whereas when going solo, you can either stand in the corner looking awkward and intently looking at your phone, or you can chat to randoms! On my aforementioned holiday I met so many new people, many of them fellow solo travellers from all over the world – and of course now, when I can afford to go overseas again, (will take a while for my credit card to recover from this Fringe!) I have a whole lot of new people to visit!

So, to sum it all up, this last few years has been a hugely liberating experience for me! I hope I can encourage people to just get out there and do something YOU want to do, even if you don’t have someone to do it with!

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Burning rubber!

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I live in Adelaide. For most of my life we have had an annual car race here which takes over the centre of the city with road closures starting seemingly MONTHS out from the event, and generally causing annoyance to locals.

First it was the Formula 1 Grand Prix from 1985 to 1995, which was kind of exciting. I went to a few, most notably the final event in 1995, admittedly pretty much ONLY for the post-race Bon Jovi concert. I recall having a uni exam the next day but no way was I missing the very last F1 race in Adelaide after Victoria stole it from us (yep, still bitter!)

Then a few years later we got the V8s. The V8s brought a different sort of crowd. I went to the first 2 Clipsal 500s (it was called something different then) – Clipsal is the sponsor’s name but I think most people would recognise the name more for the car race than for the products they actually sell! Much like The North Face 100, now called Ultra-Trail Australia, it would be hard to imagine it being called anything other than ‘Clipsal’. I had no interest whatsoever in the V8s. I just went for the socialising. I didn’t even make it to any of the concerts (until Cold Chisel last year – I wasn’t going to miss that. Still didn’t see the race at all though!) and soon decided it was a big waste of money.

But not to worry, the whole of Adelaide gets to experience the joy of Clipsal without forking out for a ticket. Conveniently situated during the period known as ‘Mad March’, perhaps unkindly described as the only time ANYTHING happens in Adelaide (and by ANYTHING I mean EVERYTHING), it’s truly a crazy time of year.

The week before Clipsal, when most of the road closures are in place, traditionally my Tuesday running group runs a section of the track during our regular morning run. Since I’ve been a runner, I’ve said every year that there should be a fun run around the Clipsal track – how good would that be? (Evidently it used to happen during the F1 years)

And finally it has happened! A 3km hot lap around the Clipsal track! Of course I signed up for it! And for the optional extra of getting photos taken on the legit actual Clipsal podium – the very podium where the top 3 drivers would be spraying (I say ‘wasting’) expensive champagne at the conclusion of the race the following weekend. It was a no-brainer!

Given that I would be getting photos taken atop the podium, I thought this called for a dress-up. As people who know me or are regular readers of my blog would be well aware, I don’t mind a dress-up. So I was straight onto eBay looking for a replica race suit. I couldn’t find any of those (well, not for a reasonable price anyway!) but found a ‘grid girl’ dress that fit the bill. I went with a neutral yellow one (didn’t want to support either Holden or Ford, so red and blue were out!) and broke the cardinal rule, don’t ever try something for the first time on race day! I wasn’t even sure if I’d be running in it, but after I saw the names on the start list, I thought I had nothing to lose – it would be just a fun run, not a race! No way was I any chance of winning – might as well have fun with it!

Did I mention ‘Mad March’? It’s not even March yet but the madness has well and truly set in. The Adelaide Fringe festival is only halfway through and 2 weeks in, prior to Sunday’s event I’d already seen 11 shows. Consequently I was a little tired and had an early night on Saturday night – being ‘only’ a 3k race I was not too concerned with preparation but I’m sure the early night helped!

On race day I put my costume on, threw some ‘proper’ running gear in my bag and headed down to the Clipsal circuit, already set up and pretty much ready to go for next weekend. It was kind of surreal getting there, with pretty much only security staff, the sun just barely up, and a sense of peace and quiet that most DEFINITELY will not be there next weekend!

I saw a few familiar faces there – most of my running friends were either hitting the trails or running what by all accounts was a very successful fundraising marathon organised by Chris, a running friend mentioned in my very first blog post. But for me, there was never any doubt. Sure it was ‘only’ 3km and I see myself as more of a long distance specialist, but I couldn’t pass up such a unique opportunity! Plus, it was the inaugural event and I won’t ever be able to do the inaugural Hot Lap Fun Run again!

The photos were taken just before the start and we were to go from there straight to the start. So I had to decide whether to run in my costume or in my running gear. I opted for the costume – why not?

We lined up to take our pics up in the 1st place position on the podium, complete with wreath around the neck (which some people hilariously compared to a Borat-style mankini – it really did look a bit like that!) and bottle of bubbly (which remained firmly closed!) After the podium photos I changed into my regular running hat (the chequered hat that came with the dress didn’t fit so well and would just annoy me) and off we went to the start line!

**SPOILER ALERT** Little did I know it wouldn’t be my only time up on the podium for the day!

I did a little warmup – about 800m. In a 3km event you kind of need to hit the ground running. I placed myself near the front, behind the ‘serious’ runners. We were led out by a classic Torana which was a nice touch. Not that I needed a car to follow –  I had all the runners in front of me for that! It was probably nice for the front runners though. It wasn’t long before the car was well out of my sight!

I went out way too fast. As I tend to do! I was only a few metres behind Lisa (my age group ‘rival’ from the Masters Games – I say ‘rival’ because we are in the same age group, but she will smash me every time, so I use the term ‘rival’ very loosely!) for a short while, which was how I knew I was going too fast. Also, my pace alerts on my Garmin were set for 4:00 – 4:15 minutes per km and I was sitting under 4 minutes for a good part of the first km. It was not sustainable!

I was conservatively aiming for sub 13 minutes. That was 4:20 per km and I expected I could go quicker than that. I knew 12 minutes was ambitious, but 13 was safe.

My first km was 4:05. I was sitting in 3rd place, behind Lisa and another girl who I didn’t know. I was waiting for the inevitable moment when someone would fly past me and take my 3rd position, as my over-ambitious start caught up with me. There were certainly no thoughts of moving into a higher position!

I got to the halfway point still in 3rd place. And it wasn’t a dead flat track as I’d expected – sure, the elevation gain according to Strava was only 18 metres, so it wasn’t exactly Mt Lofty, but I felt every one of those metres! (I should have known. Adelaide CBD is not hilly like Sydney, but one thing it is not, is dead flat. I HAVE run the Adelaide half marathon, after all!)

Passing me around this time was a guy called Dan, who I hadn’t met before but who was part of the Indigenous Marathon Project, a fantastic programme which trains indigenous athletes to run the New York Marathon. I had heard him speak at a function prior to last year’s City-Bay Fun Run, so after the race I had a chat with him about how NY went. He said it was great and he wanted to do it again! NY is definitely one on my bucket list… looks like I’m going to be running marathons for at least the next 20 years to fit them all in!

Anyway it was good to have him that little way in front of me for the rest of the race – always in sight, so I just tried to keep pace with him. My second km was 4:16, more like the pace I would have expected to run, but a little slower than I’d hoped. There was only 1km to go – easy!

I did look over my shoulder a few times during that last km. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t been overtaken by another female yet!

I managed a 3:54 last km. I have a dream of running a sub-20 minute 5k – all I have to do is 4 more of those and I’m there! (Easier said than done, of course! I guess first of all I need to crack a sub-6 minute 1500, then a sub-12 minute 3000!)

One last look over my shoulder as I entered the final straight and it appeared I was safe! A final burst of speed and I was home in 12:32 (according to Strava – my official time might vary by a few seconds) and 3rd female! And to top it all off, the trophy presentations were taking place back up on the actual legit podium!

I did feel a bit like a fraud up there – the other 2 girls and the 3 guys were dressed like runners and were actual legit athletes, and there was me in my cross-between-a-grid-girl-and-driving-suit-outfit! Still – the results don’t lie! This time I was in position 3 and I didn’t get to ‘fake spray’ the bottle of champagne but I didn’t care – I had an actual legit trophy to show for it!

I enjoyed the run! Unlike last weekend’s 10k, which was a wonderful event but I didn’t exactly enjoy my run, I actually did like this one. Maybe it was the novelty of running on an iconic Adelaide race track, maybe it was the fact it was a route I hadn’t run before. Maybe it was just a sign that I should focus on the shorter distances! Whatever it was, I would definitely do this event again, and I would recommend it to anyone – it’s a short race with a generous time allowed to complete it, so it is very doable for the average weekend warrior!

Let’s hope the Hot Lap Fun Run becomes an annual event! You probably won’t get me out on the Clipsal course any other way!

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10km – should be 1/10 as hard as 100km, right?

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Yesterday was my 4th Dolphin Run, traditionally the first SARRC (South Australian Road Runners Club) event each year, in beachside Semaphore. In 2013 it was my first 10km race, just under 3 months after I started running. It remains the only 10km race I’ve ever run!

10km is not my favourite distance, possibly because I rarely race it! It’s funny because 3 of my regular weekly runs are usually around that distance, so I should be pretty used to it by now! But I guess those runs are usually at a more ‘leisurely’ pace, and of course also involve stopping, either for a drink or for traffic lights. I run 5km almost every week at parkrun, so I am very comfortable with that distance. I like the half marathon distance. More recently I have decided I like 1500m! And of course I am a recent convert to ultramarathon distances. But 10km? Meh!

Prior to yesterday’s event, my fastest 10k was 42:27. That was during last year’s City-Bay 12k. Probably all downhill. That is a good indicator of what I can do on a good day but I wasn’t counting that as a 10k PB. As far as I was concerned, my 10k PB was my fastest 10k race, which was the corresponding race last year – 47:19. This year, I was aiming for sub-45 minutes. I thought that was achievable. After all, my last proper parkrun hit-out, a week after the 100km, was 22 minutes flat. Plus the Dolphin Run course is very flat and Torrens parkrun is undulating.

My first Dolphin Run was 48:10. I was very happy with that – my aim had been to break 50 minutes. The following year I naturally wanted to go faster, however running the last 3km into a strong headwind put paid to that!

Last year I managed that elusive PB, but I knew I could take a fair chunk off that time this year.

I hadn’t run much during the week. Wednesday night’s annual 20km Pub Run had aggravated my left hip that had given me some trouble during the 100km. I blame the hills, not the refreshing cider I had at the halfway point of the aptly-named Pub Run!

I had skipped my Thursday run (also because I wanted a sleep-in after a late night, having hit a Fringe comedy show after the run) and opted for an easy walk on Friday morning. Knowing that I can’t do an ‘easy’ parkrun unless I am pacing one of my parents, and neither of them were coming, I gave Saturday’s parkrun a miss too.

I didn’t get to Semaphore quite as early as I would have liked, so had to park about 600m away from the start. That was not such a bad thing, as it meant I could do an easy warmup ‘jog’ from the car to the start! Immediately my hip started complaining, and I thought “Hmmm, this PB might not be happening today!” However, by the time I finished my warmup it had settled down a bit and I was good to go!

People I’d spoken to during the week, when they found out I was running the 10k, said “Oh, that should be a walk in the park for you!” – meaning that anything should be easy after a 100k! Well, I wasn’t so sure about that, and it turned out I was right. This 10k felt SO much harder than the 100!

I had my pace alerts on my Garmin set for 4:15-4:30, so if I fell outside that range my watch would let me know.

My first km was 4:15. That was a little too fast.

At the halfway point I was on 22:08. In previous races, I would try to come home faster than I went out (ie ‘negative split’), but by 5km I knew I just had to hold on. I had enough ‘time in the bank’ that I could afford to slow down a bit and still come in under 45 minutes, but it was going to be a near thing. I must admit I thought to myself pretty constantly during the few kms after the turnaround, “Should have done the 5k! Should have done the 5k!” (As it turned out, that 5k time would have seen me as second placed female – but it was the Dolphin Run. I ALWAYS run the 10k at the Dolphin Run!)

Thankfully there was no breeze to speak of! That meant that the tougher ‘back half’ was not made tougher by a headwind. It still felt uphill though! Thankfully, my hip held out OK but the rest of me struggled!

Once I got to the Palais Hotel I started to pick up the pace a little. That was only a few hundred metres from the finish line. I didn’t look at my watch except when it vibrated at me. Thankfully at this point it was telling me I was going FASTER than the pace range I’d set, not slower as it had been doing for much of the second half!

I crossed the line officially in 44:52 – I was super happy with that! I chatted to Paul for a bit – we hadn’t actually met before but we have followed each other on Strava and Instagram for a while and we were already Facebook friends. He had been aiming for sub 44 and I had kept him in my sights after he passed me in the first half. I knew he was less than a minute ahead of me so that gave me confidence I could reach my goal. As it turned out, he didn’t quite reach his goal but he wasn’t far off! I also chatted with Rachael, another Instagram friend who I hadn’t really ever spoken to before, although I had scanned her barcode at parkrun a few times!

It seems weird that I would say a 100km is easier than a 10, but it’s true! Sure, I don’t expect to lose any toenails as a result of this race, and I am able to walk normally today, but I think it’s the significantly faster pace that makes the difference. At the pace I ran the 100k, it felt (relatively) comfortable. There was nothing comfortable about yesterday’s race! I reckon if I’d slowed down more in the 100k I might have felt like I could go on even longer! Also, in the 100k there were frequent stops and walk breaks. I never ran 10k non-stop during the 100. I didn’t stop in yesterday’s run – didn’t even grab a cup of water from the drink station.

So I guess that’s it for 10k races until this time next year!

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Back on track!

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2 weeks ago I competed in a somewhat mentally and physically challenging 100km track race, which involved running 250 laps of a 400m track. I was pretty sure I’d be happy not to see that track again for a Very. Long. Time.

But things don’t always go the way we expect. Last Wednesday night I was back at the stadium again, this time for the SA Masters Athletics competition.

SA Masters runs weekly competitions for athletes 30 and over (and yes, I do qualify. Only just!). In summer they run track and field comps on a Wednesday night at the stadium. I know a lot of people who go each week, and I have been intending to go for a few years, but hadn’t got around to it.

I had promised myself I’d go after the 100km was over – I was worried that I might go out a bit too hard in the shorter distance events and do myself a mischief. I gave myself a week’s ‘break’ and earmarked February 10 for my Masters debut.

Looking at the events on offer, they were all new to me. On the track we had 100m, 400m, 1500m and 3000m, as well as 1000m and 2000m walks. (The programme varies from week to week. There were field events too but I decided not to push my luck! Although I do like to throw my weight around from time to time…)

As a 5000m specialist, I thought I’d give the 1500 and the 3000 a go. The 1500 was scheduled for 6:15 and the 3000 for 6:45. That meant I wouldn’t get much of a break in between – something I hadn’t really experienced before!

One reason I had been keen to get out to the track was because I was interested in competing in the Australian Masters Athletics championships later this year, being held in Adelaide. I thought I’d try a few events to see if I liked it! I definitely don’t expect to be competitive at that level – I’m sure a lot of serious Masters athletes will be competing, and I think my age group is one of the toughest, with 35-39 year old females regularly featuring in the placings at open age events!

Anyway, back to Wednesday night. I arrived at the stadium, and got my temporary bib. I entered the 1500 and the 3000, and was asked my times, as it was a handicap event. Having never run either distance before, I didn’t really have much idea! I had run 6:19 in a 1600m road run, so the lady quite generously gave me 6:20 as my 1500 time, then doubled that for 3000m.

I watched the 100m. I thought NO WAY would I even contemplate running a 100m. 100km maybe (well, I DID do that!) but 100m, that would be a recipe for disaster! It seems VERY weird that I wouldn’t think twice about entering a 100km race but a 100m was just terrifying. A stack, getting tangled in the starting blocks, or worse, a torn muscle! No thanks!

I started the 1500m at 58 seconds (the idea being that the slower runners started earlier, so everyone should finish pretty close together). It was a mere 3.75 laps of the track. Easy!

I went out at quite a fast pace for me. It felt reasonably comfortable but I was pushing it. Come the last lap, I was aiming for sub 6 minutes. 4 minute kms, that would stand me in good stead for eventually breaking the 20 minute barrier for 5km.

The clock showing at the finish line showed the time for the runners who started off scratch, but wasn’t super helpful to the rest of us, unless we happened to be good at doing mental arithmetic while running. Luckily for me, as I approached the finish line, the clock was showing 6 minutes something. With a 58 second handicap, I knew I just had to get under 6:58 on the clock. I picked up the pace down the final straight but didn’t quite make it – my official time was 6:01. Still, plenty of room for improvement! I think 5:30 is a realistic goal to aim for. And I really enjoyed that distance – it seemed to be over before it began, but it wasn’t too short. (I didn’t run the 400 because that seemed too short. I will, however, give 800m a crack when it is on offer!)

There wasn’t much time to recover before lining up again for the 3000m. My goal for 3000m is 12 minutes (again, in line with my sub-20 5k ambition) but realistically that probably will never happen immediately after a hard 1500!

I knew early on that 12 minutes was definitely not happening on this particular occasion. My first km was 4:23, as was my second. The fatigue from the 1500 was noticeable! I did manage to pick up the pace slightly in the last km, to 4:16, with an overall time of 12:55. My handicap was around 5 minutes something, meaning that some of the slower runners had completed 2 laps before I even started. I wasn’t too worried about my place in the ‘race’ itself though, I was more concerned with learning how to pace myself over shorter distances, and hopefully improving my times from week to week! It’s a good place to practice pacing, being a completely flat track.

I will definitely make Masters a regular thing. It’s a very friendly environment, and a great opportunity to test myself over distances I don’t normally run. If I can get a good 1500 it will help me with that last burst of speed in events like the 5k and 10k. Great speed training!

To any Adelaide athletes 30+, I highly recommend giving it a go! You don’t have to sign up for the SA Masters club right away, you can compete as a guest to see if you like it – you just have to pay stadium entry which is currently $8. And of course you WILL like it, so what are you waiting for?

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How was your Saturday night?

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It’s safe to say that things have changed for me over the past few years.

Even 5 years ago I would regularly go out and have a big one on Saturday night. Often followed by a game of soccer the next morning. Sometimes it was OK, sometimes not so much!

That was before I found running.

Now, Saturday nights are, more often than not, quiet nights, with either a long run, a trail run or a race of some kind to prepare for the next day.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still go out, but I will just have a few drinks, and not stay out till all hours of the morning. The time I get up on a Sunday now is the time I used to go to bed quite often after a big Saturday night.

It doesn’t work all the time. Last Valentine’s Day I went out and had quite a few ciders (it was a hot hot night) and had a horrible run the next day. (I wrote a blog post about it – https://randomthoughtsandracereports.wordpress.com/2015/07/19/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-run-yeah-right/ )

After the Masters half marathon I may or may not have had a few too many red wines and then had to back up to pace the McLaren Vale Half the next day. That worked out OK but probably is not something I should repeat!

Last Saturday night I did pull an all-nighter but there was no alcohol consumed – I did drink my body weight in Coke and sports drink though. Somehow I have reached a point in my life where running around a 400m track ALL NIGHT is my idea of a good way to spend Saturday night!

This weekend just gone I was at another race, but not running this time. The day after the 100km race I texted Ben, the organiser of both the 100km race and the Yumigo Summer Trail Series. I hadn’t yet entered the Saturday night trail race, deciding to wait to see how I pulled up after the 100km. On Monday I was struggling with the expected muscle soreness and also a number of blisters that made it difficult to wear shoes. So I made the logical decision and told Ben I was available to volunteer at Saturday night’s event. Not only was it a sensible idea to give myself a rest, but it was time to give back.

I went for a slow 4km walk on Tuesday morning – that was the first time I’d put shoes on since the end of the 100km! I walked again on Wednesday night, this time a slightly faster 6km. By Thursday morning I was back running – a slower than normal 10km but still, running! I thought to myself, “I COULD have run this Saturday” but was happy with my decision to volunteer. I did a Mt Lofty hike on Friday and a leisurely run back down – this time wearing my trail shoes which are slightly bigger so therefore didn’t put as much pressure on my toes. That was relatively comfortable.

On Saturday morning I did my first Torrens parkrun for the year and managed a very respectable 22 minutes flat.

Saturday night I was volunteering at a drink station with Michelle, who had placed in the 50km run the previous week, and Tina, who I didn’t know. Michelle was originally meant to be running but hadn’t recovered as well as she’d hoped so had joined Tina and me on the aid station. It was Michelle’s idea to dress up – I told her what costumes I had and we decided to go with beer wenches. Given that we were going to be serving drinks, it seemed appropriate, and hopefully it would give the runners a bit of a laugh!

To get with the ‘beer wench’ theme I brought a couple of steins and some beer and cider. Michelle had some moscato and glasses for all three of us. We were all set!

The three of us were dropped at our aid station, seemingly in the middle of nowhere but accessible by 4WD. Everything was set up, all we had to do was pour cups of water and Coke, and get out the food (bananas, chips and lollies). Luckily it wasn’t too windy, as it had been when I’d volunteered at Yurrebilla – that day we couldn’t even have all the cups of drink ready to go, as they’d blow away!

It was a warm evening, so we were expecting to be busy. I’d brought my iPod and speaker, mostly to keep us entertained but also for the runners as they went past.

It was just over half an hour before the runners started coming through. They seemed amused at our appearance but not enjoying the heat so much. Apparently there were a few nasty little hills in the course too. The early runners didn’t stop – they were the fast guys! Some had their own hydration vests/belts to save them from having to stop.

After a while we decided to start handing out cups of water as people ran past. We got it down to a fine art – I didn’t see any cups dropped! Some people wanted cups of water poured over them and we happily obliged. I was actually surprised that more people didn’t go for the Coke on offer – although towards the end it seemed to be more in demand.

Over the course of the run we saw the short course runners twice and the long course four times. As the race went on people started to look more fatigued, although once the sun went down the temperature dropped, making conditions much more pleasant for the runners. (And the volunteers too – Michelle and I were both wearing wigs which were very hot and scratchy!)

There was some singing, of course. I do seem to recall singing ‘I Will Always Love You’ as one quite bewildered looking guy ran past! Like at the 100km race, I hope the singing provided some amusement and didn’t put people off! At least it might have made people run faster, to get away from us!

It was quite a surreal experience, being in the middle of nowhere, cranking out some tunes, having a sneaky moscato in between the rushes of runners, and enjoying some lovely scenery (the sunset was spectacular, and I won’t lie, there was some nice eye candy on view in the race too!). Probably not many people’s idea of a fun Saturday night, but I couldn’t imagine a place I’d rather be!

Although in the beginning I did have a little ‘run envy’ (runvy?), I think I had a much better time volunteering than I would have had I run. And I’m sure my legs and feet will thank me for it!

I will be out there running the next, and last, event of the Summer Trail Series, at Newland Head in March. I can’t promise there won’t be singing. You have been warned!