Keep On Running
I figured since I’m ill and at home I can write up my completion of another half-marathon here in Canberra on the 13th April. It was another lovely day with the sun out and the temperature warm but not enough to make running uncomfortable. True to form and I’d done little prep and had, in fact, played two games of football the day before. In my second game I had pretty bad cramp so I was worrying about how this would affect my run. In any case I lined up in the start chute ready to take on the new route for this years’ half-marathon. Also new for this year was the half-marathon had been separated from the marathon/ultra-marathon so we had pacers which until now we didn’t have (before I’d run along side a marathon pacer that’d roughly get you round in time). So I decided I’d start in front of the 1hr 40 pacer and see how I went.
The gun went off and away we all went and I was actually feeling pretty good. My legs felt fine and my pace was good as I was aiming to keep it to around 7 min – 7:20min miles. One thing struck me early on and that was the route had much more undulation than previous years. It’s still not exactly hilly but as the miles clocked up I could feel the effect the undulation was having on my legs. With every incline I knew my overall pace was slowing and took more effort to get my pace back to where I wanted it. I’d also managed to stay ahead of the pacer but at around 8 miles they passed me and I knew I couldn’t keep up. Still I was still feeling okay and knew I could make it to the end just no PB this year.
Then, as the finish approached I spotted Cat and Chloë waiting to cheer me through the finish and, if I’m honest, this was the moment I’d been waiting for. I doubt Chloë really knew what was going on but it was awesome to see them both and it spurred me to a strong sprint finish. Once over the line I could feel my whole body revolt and realised that perhaps I shouldn’t play too much football the day before. Still I’d completed another half-marathon and feel that it’s a good distance for me. I’m pondering, however, whether I should run the marathon next year and see whether I can improve my PB there. I’ve got time to consider it but in the end I’ll be back here again next year ready to take the challenge on yet again.
