Sydney Blackmores Half Marathon- 19th Sept

Just a wee bit under 2 hours. Like really, JUST under it - 1hr 59min 27s.

Satisfied?
Not really. Ok, so my target was to do it under 2 hours. But really, I wanted a target of 1 hr 55 min. The amount of training I did was more than the usual.

Amount of training:

Final week of July: 1 x 30 min run
2 weeks in august: Yoga, 1 x 15 min run
Past 5 weeks: 1.5 hr run, 2 hr run, and 3 x 30 min run

I know I know. It still ain't that much compared to what other people do. I should have been doing more. But I'm just too lazy and don't have the motivation. And I guess the results showed. It was less than a minute improvement compared to my run in May. And the training in May was way less, swimming made up the majority of my training. I think if I were to just swim for this half marathon, I would have gotten the same time. It's all of a matter of sprinting the last 100m.

As I've achieved my target of sub 2 hours, I am now not going to do anymore half marathons for awhile. Sure, the real target was 1 hr 55 min and I should be aiming for that first before I decide no more half marathons, but I was in much pain during the run today that really, I do not want to do it anymore.

Race kicked off at 6.20am while the majority of people were still in bed. It wasn't freezing cold at the start. Just a slight chill which was tolerable. As I started running, I slowly warmed up and was running at a pretty good pace. Or so I thought. Came to the start of the Harbour Bridge which was the 1km mark and my watch read 6 min 12s. Eekz!!! How can this be? And so, I picked up my pace, making it 10min 10s at 2km.

5km mark- 27 mins
10km mark - 52 mins
12km mark - 1 hr 3 mins

I was actually impressed with myself. I could feel the building up of blisters in my shoes but I was maintaining a pace of 5 min 12s/km! That's like the fastest I ever ran (excluding runs on treadmill).

But.. it went all downhill after that. We were near The Rocks after the 12km. It was a long stretch of straight flat road running after that point. It was meant to be quite an easy run. But, I felt myself just trying to make it stride after stride after the 13km mark. I think I hate flat road running with a long straight stretch. It's always that point where I start to feel it and wanna give up. The Putrajaya Half Marathon also had a long stretch of flat road on the highway and that was the point where the thought of giving up kicked in. It was the same this time (minus the tummy ache).

I did not really look at my pace after that. I definitely have slowed down. I was just focusing on getting pass km after km. Just looking out for the 14,15,16 km mark and counting down how many km to go. And that's the worst thing one can do in a run I reckon'. Because it just makes the run feel even longer!!!! I stopped at every single drink station just because I needed to stop. I stopped, walk, ran throughout the whole thing.

Came the 17km mark, it was 1 hr 34 min. I could really make it even if I was just running at a pace of 6min/km. But....the thought of just finishing it over 2 hours was just so strong. I really have given up to do a sub 2 hours. It was pretty much downhill or flat after the 17km. But I still was taking really slow and small strides. I was still stopping and walking. Even at the last 2 km, I was still doing that. Came the last km, I still wasn't sprinting. That is how much I've given up. I even walked a bit in the last km.

And then... I saw it. The finishing line. Time on watch: 1 hr 59min. And I sprinted. And I finished it just under 2 hours.

Target achieved. Then and there, I was satisfied because after all the thoughts of giving up, I managed to do it. But now, come to think about it, I really could have done better. All I needed was a little bit more stamina and determination. I needed a stronger mental attitude. Sure my calves and thighs were burning, I managed to get 3 blisters of different sizes and I couldn't really walk after... but what got to me this time was more of the mental strength. And that is not something you can train and get better at. And that is why I have so much respect for endurance athletes. It is really mind over matter.

After the race, I went to the Skins Recovery Village and waited for 50 mins just to get a free 5 min massage. Hehehe... It was good. No way can I walk back home without a rub. I'm still so sore now but it could have been worst.

And after this race, I think I'm just sticking to shorter 10km runs and target for a sub 50 for now. No more half marathons till I get a new pair of shoes that doesn't give me blisters. And more importantly, till I am mentally stronger and able to drag myself out of the house, put on a shoes and make running as my daily routine. When that time comes, then maybe I will do another half marathon. The thought of doing a full marathon will have to wait.

And I really do need a new pair of shoes. I can see my socks from the outside of my shoes. We had a lecture today on the biomechanics of running in a physio's point of view. And one of the way to help treat our patients is simply to look at their shoes and advice them if they need to change. One of the features are the present of creases in the mid foot of the shoes. And I looked at mine.. Yeapzz... time to change!!!

And this is a photo of me... this is the point where i was actually giving up and was like.. "screw the under 2 hours target, i'm gonna look good in my photo!!"