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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Westlink M7 Cities Marathon - what happened?

Sometimes there are races where I know I am not in shape, and I don't expect a good result. Sometimes I haven't done the work, or I've been sick or I'm still recovering from another race.

It's never nice to go into something I care about knowing I'm not ready, but it is a thousand times worse to go into a race feeling positive only to have it come crashing down around you.

That's what happened on Sunday.

The thing is, I still can't pinpoint what went wrong. I don't know why it didn't come together like I'd hoped, and like I'd really thought was possible.

I went in thinking I could hit 2:55. I finished in 3:00:46. Yes, not even sub-3, and that hurt even more.

The nerves were out in force, as they always are. It begins days before the race and is something I simply can not get a handle on - I feel physically sick and don't want to be there at all. I don't know what causes it but I really wish I knew how to control it.

Talking to Magda and Jenny at the start. 
I was cold at the start - I always am at this race. After the gun had gone off I realised I had forgotten to put my gloves back on after taking them off to put my gels in my tights. Silly girl.

First kilometre was 3:46, which is pretty standard for me. Too fast.

I was looking to go through halfway in 1:26. I'd done this in Melbourne, although Melbourne isn't as tough as the first part of M7.

By 8.5k I had that terrible feeling that I know too well. I had taken specific steps to try and avoid this (read further in the blog) but it was all for nought. I had to go to the toilet. At 9.5k I jumped off the course, down into a ditch (which ended up being much steeper than I thought) and took care of it. This upset me, because I really thought I'd addressed the problem this time (read on for details).

At about 10.5k I got the shock of my life when the three hour pacer turned up on my shoulder. What the hell? I pushed on and got away from him, but the mental damage was done. I was officially running like shit. I wanted the three hour pace bus to run over me if I wasn't going to stay ahead of it.

Still, onwards, onwards, onwards. I knew from last year a negative split was possible for me on this course. Hit halfway in 1:28:20. Too slow, too slow.

From here I can't really tell you what happened. The splits provide some picture:
21.1k - 1:28:20 - pace 4:11 min/k
32.5k - 2:18:57 - pace 4:16 min/k
42.2k - 3:00:46 - pace 4:22 min/k

Something went seriously wrong in that last 10k.

The disappointment cut deep and all I wanted to do was get in the car and go home - get away from all things running related. However I didn't want to be thought of as a bad sport, so I hung around and made small talk with my friends (who are wonderful), drank my protein drink, watched the presentation (I was fifth woman overall and second in 30-39 division) all the while wanting to go and bury myself under my doona and cry.

There are a number of things that really upset me about this race. One important thing I'd done was completely change my nutrition - not only in the days before the race but for four weeks prior to race day. The main purpose of this was to try and avoid the toilet stop that has become a regular part of my racing these days. Someone had told me that their stomach played up when they had eaten too much sugar. Given that I am a sugar addict I thought this might be a factor in my problems, so I made the conscious decision to remove 'superfluous' sugar from my diet. Basically, this meant getting rid of lollies and replacing them with something that actually had nutritional value. 

This complete change deserves its own entry on this blog, because it turned out to be a huge change that required an enormous effort on my part. I actually went through physical detox symptoms and I realised how much grabbing a handful of the sweet stuff had become a habit that I didn't even think about. I'll do a post on it in the next couple of days - it'll make you look at excess sugar differently, I tell you. 

Anyway, the banning of lollies meant that my traditional snacking (read: overloading) on them the day before a race needed to be replaced. First thing on Saturday morning I made containers of porridge, rice, nuts, dried fruit and a couple of bananas and had them available for me to snack on all day. I was once advised that eating lots of small meals leading up to a race is far better than eating bigger main meals because your body was able to better store the energy - I don't know if that's true or not, but that's what I did. I ate dinner as usual and went to bed feeling I had fueled my body well and I had avoided excess 'junk' sugar so my stomach would behave itself during the race. 

Nope. 

After this latest effort to overcome the problem, I now really do think it comes down to my excessive nerves. I never have these issues in day-to-day life, only when racing. And I'm sorry if this is too much information for anyone reading this, but surely I'm not the only one it happens to. Wait until we get to Ironman time, and I start asking questions about how to go to the bathroom then!

I am baffled that I went into this in better shape than I was before Canberra, yet I ran worse. I don't know what I did wrong. Having said that, I also don't know what I did right in Melbourne last October to run 2:54. 

So, with my emotions still raw and needing to take some sort of action to avoid falling into a pit of depression, I sat at my computer that Sunday afternoon and sent an email that has now started something that will hopefully help me achieve what I'm capable of. I just hope it's something good. 

One lesson I have learned in all my years of running is that it is better to use a negative experience to create a positive one. It is one way of keeping control and telling yourself just because things didn't go to plan you are still able to take charge and navigate your path.

Onwards, onwards. 


Thursday, July 12, 2012

I am in

Another thing I have neglected to mention on this blog.

I have entered Ironman Australia in Port Macquarie in May 2013.

My first Ironman! Yeehaa!

Monday, July 9, 2012

Woodford to Glenbrook - Four years in a row!

Another catch up to bring my blog up to date...

Woodford to Glenbrook is my annual trail race. It's a 25k race for runners and mountain bikers on the Oaks Fire Trail (and a bit of Bennets Ridge) that runs from (surprise, surprise) Woodford to Glenbrook. This year it was held on Sunday 24 June.

Personally, I find this race hard. The first 15k (approx) is very up and down, with some big climbs and some downhills that I find myself taking slowly so I don't have a massive stack. (I have no idea how the cyclists do it!). The last 10 is a gentle downhill, but if you've smashed yourself in the first section your quads sure aint gonna like this bit.

I swear my body feels more battered in the days after W2G than after a marathon. Maybe I just need to toughen up!

I won this race in 2009, 2010 and 2011 and I was hoping for another win to make it four in a row. I was feeling a bit funny in my stomach and kept going to the toilet to see if it would make me feel better but to no avail. I put it down to the usual nerves.

We were held up on the start line for 20 minutes because a cyclist had been injured and they were waiting for him to be transported out. Waiting is never good - when I'm at the start I just want to hurry up and get moving. During the delay I ran off and went to the toilet yet again.

I'd decided I was going to run the race my way rather than watching and chasing other people from the start. As I said earlier, I think the race is tough and it'd only be tougher if I was running someone else's race at the beginning and not my own.

Having said that, let's not pretend I wasn't acutely aware of where the other women runners were. I wanted to win this race so I had to keep track of them and be ready to change plans if I had to.

By about the six kilometre mark (I think) I had taken the lead, and that was where I wanted to stay. My stomach was still feeling a bit yuck but I found the sports drink actually helped settle it (unusual, because usually it makes people feel sick). I decided to try walking the drink stations to make sure I got some sports drink down, rather than all over me. A bit risky, seeing as though I didn't know how close the next woman was, but I felt it would put me in better shape for the end section of the race.

Nearly had a big stack when I rolled my ankle (characteristically uncoordinated). There was some swearing (from me) and a concerned "Are you OK?" (from a fellow runner). Didn't let myself think about it and kept moving and it didn't give me any grief. My knee started to play up in the latter stages (it's been a bit uncooperative lately) so I tried to alter my form a bit to cater for it.

Was very relieved to enter Euroka as the first woman and to head down the grassy hill to the finish line.

Finished in 1:40 and seconds (I can't find the exact time at the moment). It was slower than last year by under a minute (last year I went 1:39), but that's easily explained by slowing down at the drink stations.

I want give both credit and thanks to the wonderful volunteers who made this event possible. The RFS, in particular, are major supporters of the race - the volunteer fireys not only help us out in bushfires and other natural disasters, they also generously give up their weekend so we can race through the bush doing what we love. St John's people were also on hand to patch up injuries and the crew from Careflight were simply fantastic.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

A marathon, a half, a 10k and another half (catch up)

Yes, I've been away from the blog for a while. I'm sure you've been on the edge of your seat awaiting a new entry. Pfft.

For the sake of brevity, I won't bore you with all the details of the races in the title. Here's a quick run down...

With Magda Karimali-Poulos (winner) at the start.
Canberra Marathon - 15 April 2012
Yes, I ended up running. Yes, this may have had a lot to do with the fact that my bib had a name and not a number! Oh the little things that excite me.

Went out way too fast - first kilometre was under 3:40. Decided I'd run to how I felt, seeing as though my preparation had been far from ideal. Went through 10k in 39:10 - surprised, as this was about 40 seconds quicker than Melbourne.

The now-becoming-usual toilet break hit again - this time at 30k, and I was definitely starting to struggle by then. I was a bit worried that if I stopped my legs wouldn't get going again, so I made a deal with my body: "OK body, I'll let you stop and go to the loo as long as you are aware you still have 12km to run."

Got passed by two women whilst stopped, which gave me something to focus on and chase. Caught them.

The three hour bus then decided to make an appearance - these days it's a bit deflating to get caught by the bus, but given my preparation (or lack thereof) I made the best of it and jumped on board. Better to get on the bus than be run over by it.

Played a bit of catch-up-drop-back for the rest of the race - highlighting my characteristic very uneven pacing. Managed to pull it together at the end and scrape in under three hours - 2:59:25 and fifth woman home. Not bad for only three long runs since Australia Day and a bout of Glandular Fever.

SMC - 21.1k - 22 April 2012
Normally I would never run a half marathon the week after a full marathon, but I had to do this race in order to make up the required six races needed to qualify for the SMC awards at the end of the series. I figured a time of 90 minutes wouldn't damage the body whilst it was still trying to recover so that's what I did: 1:29:52. Lucky to get first female and the race (at that pace) didn't seem to hinder recovery.

Sydney 10 - 6 May 2012
Freaking out. This was to be the second 10k I've ever done (not including a 10k in the Nepean Tri) and this was a proper, accredited course without the horrid hills of the Balmain 10k last December, Still, keeping with my commitment of doing things that scare me, I headed down to Homebush ready to compete as a Hills athlete for the first time (swapped from Blue Mountains to Hills because Hills has more female distance runners so we could enter teams events).

Went out too hard. Surprise, surprise - I usually do.  By 5k I was ready to pack it in - it felt like a piano had dropped on my back. Finished in 37:44. Disappointed (and a little surprised) by this because it's only two seconds quicker than the 10k time from Nepean Tri. Maybe I only have one speed, or maybe I was still recovering from Canberra.

Happy to score bronze in the teams with my new Hills teammates! Yeah!

Before the SMH Half.
SMH Half Marathon - 20 May 2012
1:23:11 - three seconds slower than last year.

Third in F30-39 division and 12th woman overall. My splits were quicker than last year's until right near the end (although the course has changed again so that may not mean much).

Not disappointed with the time but not jumping for joy either. A solid enough run. And I had my name on my bib again (pic left), which made it all worthwhile!