Monday 2 April 2012

Whole Foods Market Breakfast Run




Been looking forward to this for some time, love Kingston by the river and hoping to push my limits beyond Ballbuster.


A more organized morning this race, a couple friends and I arrived 30mins early, queued to check our bags and off to the start.  A wave start (sub 2hr women first, then sub-2 men, then everyone else) I took off at the front of the first group of men, and wow, what a pace.  A couple hundred meters in, my lungs were gasping, but people were blowing by, so the natural instinct was to keep up.  1km in and beeps from everywhere, a chorus of Garmins indicating 1k done.  I looked down to see the first km was sub 4min, well ahead of my 4.06/km target, ‘ok, slow it down, maintain your pace.’

2 to 10kms – Settling into my pace, most of the others did the same.  Heading west along the Thames Path, I was taking in the sun and focusing on technique.  Around km 6, a woman came past slightly faster, so in the spirit of chasing pain, I pushed a little more to stay with her.  Trailing her for 3km, I figured it was my turn to do some of the work, so I built to almost full-out sprint and coasted past before settling back down.  500m down the road, I came to regret that.  ‘Side stich, ahhh!  You idiot, this could all go downhill!  Stay positive, ease up slightly, yes, let her by, recover and back at it.’


11 to 15 – The last 2k of the first lap (1st of 2) were spent at a slower pace, breathing deep and holding my side praying I could overcome the stitch.  Hit the half way mark, ‘ok, walk the aid station, take one drink now, one to go, 20sec walk and build back.’  Following the plan, I was into lap 2 building back up and not far from the target pace.   Crossing the bridge and heading west again, I caught a few guys that passed while I was struggling and stuck with them.

16 to 21 – A solid 5km from the pain in my side, it was time to step it up.  I was no longer following a pace, simply running down those ahead of me one at a time, whatever pace that needs, I’ll run it.

22 to 26 – In a back and forth with a couple guys and admittedly struggling to keep the pace, it was time to dedicate each of the last 5kms to others.  First my friends who came to the race with me (without whom I may not have been there), then my brother (still teaching me life lessons), one for Chrissie Wellington (someone who goes beyond her limits and provides motivation), one to my parents (who have provided me more than I could ever ask) and finally for my partner (supports me every day, every decision, every mood-swing and all with a smile).

Crossing the line, 1.45.18.  ‘Wow, I actually did it, amazing.’  A few seconds passed, ‘probably could have pushed harder, didn’t track down true pain yet.  Well, enjoy this today, work on improvements tomorrow.’

Takeaways –
Positive
- ran through a side-stitch, recovered and still hit the target at 1.45
- mentally remained confident throughout

Improvements
- more interval training, can’t afford a side-stitch every time I surge in a race

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