Marathon afterthoughts, three months later...

I logged on to write a new post, and found this one already written that just needed a spot of proofreading - so here go my marathon afterthoughts - three months later!

• Being someone who tends to give up a little too easily when it comes to running hard, I'm kind of surprised but proud of my stickability towards the end of this race.  I have never run this far before so this was an unknown, especially on my own once I left the 5 hour pacers.  I dug in, actually recalled some mantras for once, and concentrated on a steady pace.  (I did stop for a few steps but my toe sent a shooting pain into my foot as punishment and that made me leap in the air and start running again!) I ran the final 5k a full minute faster per kilometre than the rest of the race.

• I need to prevent the issue with my toe happening again.  I think my sock or shoe was tight, even though I have already gone up half a size in those already.  Options are - a wider shoe allowing my toes to splay out more, or altering my orthotics which do fill up the toe space a bit, or chopping off said toe once and for all.

• I don't know who engineered the road around Lake Rotorua, but my guess is they were a closet marathoner because it measures almost exactly 42km. How could they not host a marathon in this city?

• I love the YMCA Marathon Club!  They had a recovery room at the finish in the Events Centre with food, drink, massages and other members to celebrate with.  I always classed myself as a solo runner and in many ways I still am, but being part of a club meant being exposed to such wonderful team support, and it has really enriched my running life. Go the Y!

• I felt tired but good afterwards. I spent the afternoon lying on the bed watching TV in compression socks, then went out for dinner and a couple of glasses of celebratory bubbly. By Monday my quads had slight DOMS, but by Wednesday I was probably ready to run again.  I didn't though, leaving it for 10 days until an easy 5k round the block.  Next time I might ease back into things a bit earlier.

• And yes there will be a next time - I can't wait to do another marathon!  Auckland 2015 here I come!

• I want to run the Auckland Marathon faster.  This first marathon I aimed to finish, the second I will aim to beat that time. I'm not sure what is realistic - 10 mins faster maybe? 

• Some runners are really irritating!  I started off running next to a girl wearing a drawstring bag over her shoulders like a backpack (???) and it jiggled around making this annoying rustling noise.  To make it worse, after a few km she started run/walking like a yo-yo but chose me as her pacesetter and I could not shake her until the 10km hill. What a relief.

• And then there was the runner who scuffed his shoes with every step... although perhaps I should thank him because it helped me run a bit faster at the end... to get away from him!

• When you run a marathon, there are a lot of people that help you get there, and these people deserve a special mention:
• My family, who put up with a messy house, takeaway dinners and a wife/mother who wants to sleep all the time.
• The team at Bodyneed in Ponsonby - it is here I went for Physiotherapy on my ITB and hamstring and Wendy did an awesome job, and I am positive my regular Pilates there keeps me functioning symmetrically (or should I say less assymetrically!)
• Sportslab Podiatry - I saw Aaron earlier in the year and he fixed my foot!
• The YMCA Marathon Club - the cameraderie, support, and team spirit is so motivating.  They make long runs seem easy.
• My blogger/insta friends!  Reading your stories and seeing your photos is always inspiring, motivating, and keeps the flame alive when it starts to flicker. Keep it up!

• I've been a bit slack on my own blog lately.  I hope to make more time to keep it up around here as well!

My first marathon

I ran my first marathon in the weekend! Sometimes I need to pinch myself because it feels like a dream, but then it has been a dream for some time - and I've finally accomplished it!

Here are the important details:

51st Lion Foundation Rotorua Marathon

Mat time - 4:54:58

30/60 in 40-49 age group

244/461 females

761/1172 overall

Here's the gossip:

The night before
We travelled down to Rotorua after work on Friday evening, arriving a bit later than expected after getting stuck in a traffic jam out of Auckland, but just in time to pick up my number from registration. I had hoped to arrive early enough for a quick course recce but it was dark and we were all tired. We stayed at the Millenium Hotel near the start, and I'd do so again as it was so convenient and had the most comfortable bed ever.  I literally fell asleep as my head hit the pillow and had my best night's sleep in a long time, the night before the race when you usually don't!

Pre race
I got up at 6am and went straight down to the hotel breakfast, where I had two slices of white toast with honey, and 1/2 a weetbix with 2 canned apricots and milk.  Yes, I tried something new on race day!  I was a little bit nervous about this, but it was what appealed to my stomach at the time, and I am lucky enough that my digestion has never given me problems when running... yet.  I also had my usual coffee with rice milk that I bought from home. I then had a relaxing hot bath.  I like this to warm up my muscles and joints, and also to have some alone time to relax and focus on the race and my race plan. Once in my race gear it was all of a sudden time to head downstairs and to the start!

Gear:
Nike cap
Under Armour 'Armour' Bra
YMCA singlet
Kori Kita ArohaNui running skirt
The North Face arm sleeves
Nike SportWatch
Adidas sweatband/nosewipe lol!
Nike hand-held drink bottle
Spibelt stuffed with phone/nutrition
Thorlo Experia socks
Mizuno Wave Rider 18's

One of the benefits of being a member of the YMCA marathon club is having access to their member's lounge before and after the race.  I met up with some training buddies and the 5hr pacers and headed down to the start line 10 mins before the start. It wasn't as cold as I expected and I debated whether to wear my arm sleeves or not, and whipped them off about a minute before - something I never regretted.

And then we were off! My aim was to follow the 5hr pacers until 32km, then up my tempo if I was feeling good. They started a bit fast, as I looked down at my watch to see 6:15 pace!  I didn't want to start too fast, so I eased off to what I felt was right for me and let them run ahead. They soon settled down to a similar pace as they were consistently around 200m ahead of me for those first few k's.

The course runs clockwise around Lake Rotorua, and the first few kilometres exit Rotorua city towards the Auckland turnoff, then into Ngongotaha village.  I saw Paul Charteris the race director of the Tarawera Ultra cheering runners on here, among many others. The crowd support around the course was great and locals really come out in droves! Soon after this you head into countryside as you approach the northern end of the lake.

The first hill I noticed was around 10km, and wasn't really much.  Someone was playing bagpipes at the top which was awesome, but it made this Southern girl a wee bit teary eyed.  I remember a nice little downhill, and the white balloons getting closer as we arrived at the flatter north end of the lake.  This portion is beautiful and scenic - views across the lake and back to Rotorua.  You can see how far you've come - and how far you have to go!  The distance never looked too far to me though, and I was feeling comfortable.

I caught up with the 5hr pacers around 16km at a drink station.  At drink stations I usually grabbed a water, walked 30 secs or so until I had quenched my thirst, then ran on.  At this one I operated super fast so I could stay with the group.  And I stayed with them until about 6km before the finish.

I have to give a shout-out to the pacers Simon and Patricia - they were awesome.  So encouraging and supportive. They checked on everyone, told stories, and clocked off every kilometre with a cheer.  I was glad to be with the group for the hills at Hamurana (20km) and Mourea (26km) as they kept a consistent pace.  The hills weren't too bad in my opinion, but I had run plenty of hills in training.

Around 25km I refilled my hand-held water bottle and my stomach was starting to rumble so I ate a couple of fruit finger biscuits.  I had taken gels at every 2nd drink station, but when I get hungry I need solids!

I don't remember much of the next few kilometres.  My L middle toe started to twinge inside my shoe like it was cramped, which irritated me a bit.  After all my ITB/knee issues and niggly hamstring it turns out to be a stupid toe on the day!  By now a few people were starting to walk and Simon mentioned that this is where you start passing the people feeling worse than you!

Well I was feeling good except for my toe which started giving me sharp pangs.  I stopped and loosened my shoelaces hoping it would help, (not much), and started to alter the placement of my foot to avoid the stabbing pain.  Every now and then I would limp and lag behind the group, but catch up again.  Eventually I took some Panadol.  (I had tucked a couple in my Spibelt 'just in case', mainly for my knees which tend to get sore around 25km and since they had never travelled 42km before I thought it may be prudent to have some - never in my life I thought it would be for a toe!)

Anyway it seemed to work a bit. There was a slight uphill where I felt tired and started to walk, mainly because a lot of other people were, but Simon encouragingly mentioned there was a downhill round the corner, so I started to run again.  We hardly stopped at the water stop with 6km to go, where I began to get motivated for the finish.  I think my pace picked up and Simon said go ahead at this pace if you feel good, so I did.

This stage of the race was flat and along what seemed like really long straight stretches of road, so I targeted the runners in front of me and gradually ran past each one. I giggled to myself when one guy said "Where did that YMCA runner come from" as I overtook his group!  I didn't know how long I could continue at this pace but I fought the urge to stop.  I did briefly stop a couple of times, but as soon as I started walking my toe had a shooting pain  - so I had to run!

During this time running alone I dug in and thought of those mantras that you are supposed to have ready:

You can do this!
Of course it's supposed to hurt - you're running a marathon!
Only 4km to go...
Guy in front, rein him in
Airway, Breathing, Circulation
Form, relax shoulders, run economically

2km to go...
Hey I recognise this road, not far now...
Look at that traffic jam on the other side.  Geez, they're all watching me, I can't stop now or they'll think I'm a loser!

1km to go...
You can do this, keep it up...

OMG it's Steven!
"Go Sheryll, you have 10 mins to run under 5 hours!"
"OK, I'm doing 6min/k's"

And there's Luke!  He runs alongside and tries to take a photo:

Honey I don't feel like smiling for a photo right now...

You can do this...
This is a marathon, it's supposed to be hard...

The turn to the finish is up ahead.  I run through Princes Gate and the finishing straight looks very long.

Just a couple more runners I can pass if I try...
Phew, the finishing mat, make sure you stand on it good and proper!

Done. My first marathon!

I think I ran it well.  I ran even paced, and felt strong at the end which was my main goal.  My toe bothered me for a few kilometres and probably held me back when I would have liked to run stronger. Nevertheless I achieved my time goal of sub 5 hours, and my wish goal of 4:45 would have been nice, but hey - I'm already thinking of my next one!

Training for my first marathon

It started with that email.  Sunday morning.  Early January.  A Happy New Year from the YMCA Marathon Club announcing that Sunday's 7am pack runs were resuming for the year:

"Don't wait for anything or anyone. Start this weekend and lace up the trainers, put in some electrolyte, and get to work on the fitness."

It was 6:15.  Those words spurred me straight out of bed, and off for my first long group run of the year.

Since the Auckland Half Marathon in November I hadn't started training for anything in particular, just doing about 30km a week and a few awesome hikes while on holiday.  The runners at YMCA are a friendly bunch - ranging from newbies to multi-marathoners - and many are good at putting ideas into your head.

"Sheryll, are you running Rotorua?
"No, I'd like to build up my fitness for the Auckland Marathon in November though."

The ensuing weeks increased in distance - 21km, 23km, 24km.

"So, Sheryll, are you running Rotorua?"
"I don't think so, I'd just like to see how my (recently injured) foot goes while I build up my endurance".

At home online I check out the YMCA Rotorua training plan and start following it roughly.  By mid February I have built up to 50 km a week with a long run of 26km. Admittedly the build up has been a bit rapid, but my foot has been really good, and I am lucky to have no other niggles.

"Sheryll, if you can run 26km, you can run Rotorua..."
"I might do it, I'll see how the training goes and whether I get injured or not..."

I introduce midweek long runs which gradually build up to 16km.  The weekend long runs get even longer - 27km, 28km, 29km.  I mention to my husband that I might be interested in running the Rotorua marathon and he's keen.  "I'll run the half!" he says.

It's looking possible, but I am still not fully committed.

A friend notices my growing mileage and asks "What are you training for?"
I start typing a reply.  "I'm thinking about (blah, blah, blah, excuses...)" and stop.
That just sounds stupid.
Delete.
I ponder a while, take a deep breath, and type with assertion: "Rotorua Marathon!"

Done.
It took a while for that mental commitment, but once it was made and the world was told that commitment was 100%.

"So, Sheryll, are you running Rotorua?"
"Yes I am!"
"Great!"
" Have you got your entry in yet?"
(They're so pushy those guys!)

32km, 27km,

The week of my first 32km run was a total of 72km, and a record for me.  During those intense weeks I needed to go to bed a lot earlier, and I needed to eat so much! My hips stiffened up quite a lot and I went to see my physio.  As well as a few stretches and strengthening exercises, she recommended a leg massage. It was so amazing I felt like skipping and doing cartwheels as I walked home.

For the weekend of the second scheduled 32km run, most of the club were in New Plymouth and I'd be the only one of my pace group there, so I ran the Whenuapai half marathon.  It was wet to begin with, which I welcomed because I hadn't run in rain all summer so it was a good gear test in case of rain at Rotorua.  I'm pleased to report I had no blisters or chafing!

I ran fairly conservatively until the last 5km where I sped up to try and beat 2:10:22 (my PB) but I finished in 2:12:24.

I developed runner's knee shortly after the Whenuapai half marathon, and ITB management mode kicked in. I'd already been doing glute strengthening 2-3 times a week, but ramped that up to daily, as well as some leg lifts to strengthen my VMO.  Knee pain has resolved but my ITB is still tight and I practically live on my foam roller.

More of a worry is the hamstring niggle I developed last Wednesday, 10 days out from the marathon. I never thought I'd develop an injury during taper!  Luckily I had a physio appointment booked that evening and it was seen to early.  I haven't run since and it is slowly improving but it better #%&* hurry up.  Quite frankly I am scared to run in case it worsens. And I'm dealing with thoughts that I may even DNS, or DNF.  I am not fun to be around at the moment.

So overall, training built up consistently until about 6 weeks ago. Since then I have missed two or three runs during the week, and one 27km long run, as I played it safe with injury. I ran a half marathon race and two 32k'ers, so I'm reasonably happy with my training volume overall.

How am I feeling a week out?  Mixed up!  A week ago I felt excited, confident of finishing, but not confident to push hard as it is my first marathon after all.  Rotorua has two large hills at about 20km and 26km, and is not considered an easy course.  This hamstring issue just throws another spanner into the works.  Ignoring that though - my goal is simply to finish 'comfortably strong', if that is even possible in a marathon!

Catch-up time!

Or should I title this blog post 'Happy New Year'?  It actually has been that long since I last said hello!

Numerous drafts in varying stages of completion currently clutter my blog post folder, so instead of finishing up all those half-done stories about rather out-of-date happenings, I'll combine them all into a vaguely chronological list with plenty of photos - how does that sound?!

• First up, we had an amazing holiday in the South Island over Christmas and New Year:

Shotover Jet

Moke Lake track

Lake Wakatipu

Lake Gunn

Milford Sound

Homer Tunnel

Lake Te Anau

Kepler Track

Lake Pukaki and Aoraki/Mt Cook

Mueller Hut track

Aoraki/Mt Cook

Mt Sefton

• The start of 2015 marked my third runiversary, and new year equals a new training diary.  It's interesting reading back on some of my comments!

• Last year I joined the YMCA Marathon Club, and have been running with them on their Sunday morning pack runs.  The long distances are much easier in good company, and I'm much less inclined to stop.

• I won something!  New Zealand sportswear brand Kori Kita had a facebook competition to post a holiday workout photo, so I posted one of me running up Ben Lomond in Queenstown, and I won an awesome blue Fast Moves running skirt which is now a firm favourite.  I hope to post a review soon.

• I'm back to running 5 days a week.  Most has been on roads around the city, but I like to duck down any of the trails that are prolific around our urban parks and coastline for a little light relief, or a tough climb as is often the case! They are all over the place once you care to look.

• I have a new 10km PB of 56:45!  To be truthful it was actually a 9.8km race so add another minute for the extra 200m, but this is still a 1 minute improvement over my previous best in the same race. I know I can do better than this too!

• Last weekend I ran the Whenuapai Half Marathon in 2:12:24.  About 2 mins off my PB, but I'm OK with that.  I hadn't done speedwork or tapered and it was really a training run.  It started off raining but on a positive note I got to test out all my gear for potential chafing and blister spots!

• Bit of a sore knee since Tuesday, so had some physio and I'm working hard on my glutes and VMO and it DEFINITELY IS going to go away shortly because...

• I'm running my first marathon at Rotorua on 2 May!  Initially I had planned to run my first marathon in Auckland in November, but after running alongside some encouraging club runners training for Rotorua, and coping well with the workload to date (ignore that little knee issue that's just popped up...), I have committed.  I am excited and apprehensive. Wish me luck!  

Hoping you have all had a great year so far!  

The Auckland Half Marathon - A Belated Race Report

You know you're not particularly proud of your achievement when it takes you a full week to dash to your computer and write up a race report!  And when you do, lots of other internetty things present themselves to you that better suit your desire for procrastination - and very soon one week rapidly turns into three.

And then you finally start writing, but because you didn't actually achieve your goal, everything you write starts to sound like an excuse.  Or maybe the excuses are really lessons to be learned.  The most important lesson being:  "You can take in all the advice, but on the day you may whimsically decide that none of this actually applies to you."

I slept poorly, tossing and turning all night, continually looking at the clock, and when it finally read 3:28am I hopped into the shower.  I had slept well the night before though, which may or may not have had anything to do with the consumption of 4 glasses of wine... mmm, perhaps that's lesson #1?

Pre-race, everything went according to plan.  We managed to park close to the finish for a quick getaway, and walked the 10 minutes to the ferry terminal.  This was a semi-surreal experience in itself - with many fellow yellow gear-baggers intrepidly walking the 5am streets, converging upon the ferry terminal with their cushioned footsteps and hushed conversations of nervous excitement.

Nervous excitement being evident in the camera shake on my arrival at Devonport
Auckland CBD in the distance

The 15 minute ferry ride felt like only 5 minutes in the dark, and before we knew it we were in Devonport and heading straight for a toilet queue.  This early some of the queues were only 5 persons deep, so within a few minutes we were at the marathon start and hanging with the elites!  (PS, although they had their own allocated toilets, they still had to queue too!)

Steven contemplating what he has got himself into.
(He ran a 1:41 - his first half!)

The 3:15 pacer - maybe next year?!

We watched the elites warming up, admiring their slight physiques and bouncy strides, and generally wishing we had a few of those genes right at this moment.

Marathon start

To be honest I felt the complete opposite - heavy and sluggish. I hadn't run for two weeks, my body felt stiff and joints rusty.  A week ago I almost certainly wasn't running this race.  But my foot improved rapidly during that time, and two days prior I decided to run.  My podiatrist was happy with my progress and decision to run, and strapped my foot to help stabilise it.  I had no idea how my foot would handle running again and had visions of having to withdraw and arrive at the finish by ambulance.  Looking back, I realise that I hadn't mentally prepared for this race like I had last year, and I think I definitely benefit from visualising and having a plan.

I did a few stretches to try and limber up, before handing in our gear, and lining up with 20 mins to go.  Steven disappeared somewhere up with the rat pack, and I found a space which happened to be near the 2:00 pacer, with the vague notion of keeping them in sight.

I had done a quick 'back of an envelope' pace plan at lunchtime on Friday.  My average pace last year was 6:10, so I planned to start out at that pace to the motorway (9km), pick it up to 5:50 to the bridge (14km), then 5:30 after the bridge, (6:30 was allowed on bridge and hills) and give it whatever I had in the final 1-2km - maybe 5:20? Maybe even 4:something?

Well the plan worked, but in reverse.  My first kilometre was 5:20.  I knew I should slow down, but I felt great, my foot had loosened up and was fine.  The lady next to me was puffing and I was breathing easy.  Maybe I could run sub-2 after all, even though none of my training indicated so.  Maybe I was different, a super-talented runner who defied all previous statistics and could pull magic out of thin air.  My head tried to slow down but my legs wanted to keep pace with the runners around me.  This is the stuff you read about all the time in magazines like Runner's World - what not to do.  But I did it.

Why, I do not know.  Maybe my legs loved running again after a 2 week break, maybe I thought I may as well give this sub-2 goal a shot, maybe I had brain fade.  Yes, that is probably it.

I started to falter around the 8km mark, which was no surprise as I had been running at 5km pace. The sun had come out and I took a moment at the drink station to down some fluids.  The 2 hour pace group passed me here.  I carried on to the busway but by Akoranga station (11km) I took the first of several walk breaks.  This is where I started getting passed by multitudes of other runners, and the demoralisation of failure set in.  It was a calm sunny 20 degree morning and slightly humid, but I felt like it was 32 degrees.  Despite being outside by the harbour, there was no fresh air.  My heart rate seemed to elevate at the slightest exertion, and at one stage I felt a bit dizzy and squeamish.  I said goodbye to my goal, and settled for the best I could do on the day.

I stopped my run walk to take photo on the bridge - always a good excuse...!

I walked up the bridge even though I ran up it last year.  Coming off the bridge I saw the first of about 5 runners on the sidelines being attended to by medics, I guess they were suffering in the heat, and I was glad I had made the decision to take things a bit easier.  For the last 4km I adopted a run/walk strategy, trying to run a bit faster during run times to make up for the walk breaks.  Overtaking, then being overtaken.  Yo-yo runner. Leap-frogger. That was me.

One thing I did notice is that there seemed to be more supporters this year cheering from the sidelines.  Starting through the streets of Devonport, at the Takapuna on-ramp, Akoranga overbridge, and especially Curran Street onwards they were out in force.  They gave me a lot of encouragement, although I probably didn't look as if they did.

Still, I managed to have a fast finish (where does that final energy always come from?) and overtook some runners in the finishing lane.  I finished in 2:14:41 - only 4 mins slower than last year, but it sure felt a lot harder than that.

To compare, last year my net time was:
48.43% total finishers
63.66% female finishers
72.36% F4549 finishers

I'm not that unhappy with my time, I'm not even that unhappy with my performance considering the warm conditions.  I suppose I've just had a lot to process after this one, what went wrong and why, what I could have done better, and how to improve from here.

Not every race can be a personal best - or where is the personal challenge? The best thing is to learn from your experiences, and I think I've learnt a lot from this one.

Or maybe it was from Runner's World in the first place...

Tomorrow I will run

This training cycle has been a real mixed bag, where I've experienced both the highs and lows of running in a zig-zag fashion.  There has been a lot of inconsistency and missed runs due to injury, Arthur's Half recovery, even travel to a funeral, but also some nice long runs and a couple of confidence boosting tempos - which is what I'm going to have to focus on tomorrow to keep all my negative thoughts at bay.

One morning down south we managed to fit in a nice 10km rural loop - lots of newborn lambs :) 

 My niggling foot that I never told you about flared up big time on my 18km run 2 weeks ago and I haven't run since.  Let's call it a forced taper.  I visited a podiatrist (prerequisite - had to be a runner!) and he doesn't think it is bony which is reassuring, but I have some foot biomechanical issues he'd like to sort out after this half marathon.

If you had've asked me a week ago I would have said it was 90% likely that I wasn't running tomorrow, but magically over the last few days my limp has disappeared and the pain has gone, and my foot suddenly feels the best it has in 6 weeks.  Podiatrist guy is happy for me to run, and so the decision is made - tomorrow I will run!

But my confidence is flat.  My legs feel like their arterioles have degenerated. I've spent the last 2 weeks moping around the house, and u-turning into a positive race mode is not happening quickly.  I need to think happy thoughts, go pick up my race number, soak up some pre-race atmosphere, get my gear ready, and make a race plan!

*****

So I did:

It was a sea of yellow bags outside the Viaduct Events Centre,
although this snap doesn't really do it justice!

The obligatory shot of my name on the race car...

The souvenir T-shirt is nice this year - it fits!

I don't think I'll be running a sub-2.  I'll be taking it easy to begin with to see how my foot handles running again, and ramp it up a notch if I start feeling confident.  My guesstimate time is 2:06:15 - well that's what I put on the Tauranga Half competition, if I get that I win an entry!

Let's leave with some positive thoughts:

• I'm looking forward to the ferry trip over to Devonport in the early morning - it's kind of surreal!
• I'm excited about Steven running his first half marathon!
• Go Michelle - I hope you get your sub-2!
• Looking forward to seeing Jody volunteering at the finish, yes I might need you to remove my timing chip for me!
• Luke will be waiting for us at the finish - if he get's up in time!
• I'm happy that I can run at all - really :)
• The support from YOU!  Little things like "run strong" from supergeneric girl and "good lucks" from across the Tasman really help when you're feeling a bit down!
• Anna Frost left this quote on her facebook this week - "Think easy, light, smooth and fast" - that's tomorrow's mantra :)

Running in the Footsteps of Lydiard

Yesterday I had the pleasure of running Arthur's Half - the little sister to the Lydiard Legend Marathon.  It was the 10th anniversary of this iconic event, first organised in 2004 not long before Arthur Lydiard died.  The course is based on the local training routes of Arthur and his athletes, in the Waitakere ranges on the western outskirts of Auckland.

I've always wanted to run this race.  I remember Arthur visiting our school when I was about 15 and he left a huge impression on me then.  Even if he did talk about running for an hour at a time - my 'training' at that stage involved running a kilometre down the road to the Whitestone bridge and back as fast as I could!

We picked up my number on Friday night from the event base, and did a recce of the course while we were out that way.  I'm so glad I forced convinced Steven to drive it because having knowledge of the course really helped me on the day.  Always do a course recce!

The first 8 km or so undulate through the suburban streets of New Lynn and Glen Eden to Oratia, with a few small climbs to warm you up (and some nice downhills to compensate).  Then the real fun begins - with a long climb up Carter Road.  Starting gradually and ending with a few steeper bits, it was actually over sooner than expected even though I did quite a bit of walking.  By this time of day the low cloud had cleared, the sun had come out and it was humid+++.  At the 11km drink station someone mentioned it was 100% humidity - I'm not sure how true that was but I was certainly sweating a lot - and it might have explained why I was feeling sluggish.  I'm really glad I decided to take my small Nike handheld - I nearly left it behind but decided on it at the last moment. Lucky, because as it turns out I had drunk everything in it by each drink stop, where I filled it up again - as well as another full cup for myself!  I took a GU gel before the 6km and 11km drink stations, and although I opened another one at the 16km drink station I couldn't stomach it.  When I finished the race it was still in my hand!

After the Carter Road climb, the course begins to descend to Scenic Drive.  It took me a while to recover and get into descend mode, there was still a long way to go and I didn't want to thrash my quads too early.  But I settled into a short stride/quick turnover pace and soon started gaining on the others and overtaking them. Then they overtook me at the 16km drink stop.  Then I gradually reined them in again!  Once through Titirangi Village it was 5km downhill all the way, so here I really tried to up my tempo - I felt great and it was fun to run fast!

Well, I thought I was running fast...!

Let me tell you that the final stretch of Godley Road is a longer than long 2km, if that is possible. Even when you have made a mental note of this particular fact while doing the course recce!  A guy passed me on the flat (not sure if he was a marathoner or halfmarathoner) but he was going at a nice clip so I hung in behind him.  Until I realised we weren't even at the golf course and I would never be able to keep up his pace til the end, so I eased off a bit.  I actually walked for a few metres to catch my breath again, and then it was a final surge around the corner and along to the finish.  Looking back I am disappointed in myself for not keeping up with that guy.  I don't know why but I always doubt myself and get scared of becoming too breathless - something makes me give up when things get tough.  I found this advice from Kilian which I might tattoo on my forearm for when this next happens:

I ran through the finish chute and suddenly there was a guy standing right in front of me smiling and holding out a 10th anniversary Arthur's Half medal to place around my neck - I was speechless - my Best Running Moment ever!

My Anna Paquin moment!

Someone called from the sidelines and it was Sheree, who I had chatted to while running through Glen Eden - about our injuries of course!  She gave me a congratulatory hug and vice versa, and in the moment I forgot to wish her a good hamstring recovery and best wishes for the Waihi 60k which she is running in a month - so I'm doing it right now!

All the best Sheree!

Here are my results:
Time: 2:15:51
10/25 in F40-49 age group
154/206 overall

My only other road half marathon was the Auckland Half which I ran in 2:10:22 last November, probably a faster course.  Carter Road was a bit of a killer today, but then I still had a fast finish.  I'm going to say my performances were about equal!

As usual the volunteers were great and supportive, but I have to make a special mention about the wonderful spectators!  Along Carter Road, which is semi-rural, there were a few families standing at their gates cheering us on, some with placards waving. Coming into Scenic Drive where we joined the marathon course there was quite a group of people encouraging us, and throughout Titirangi Village the people in the cafes were standing and clapping - it was so nice to see and made you feel like an elite athlete really special and inspired - awesome support 100% appreciated!

I really hope I can run this event again next year.  I think what I loved most about this race apart from it's meaningful history, is that long final descent - you can have a fast finish and it leaves you on a massive runner's high!  I love my trails, but roads are great too!

Have you ever run Arthur's Half or the Lydiard Legend?  Tell me about it!
If not, tell me about your weekend of running!
What keeps you going when the going gets tough? (Obviously, I need tips here!)