Andrew is getting fit

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I had a bright and early start today as Run Auckland Race 6 kicked off at 7:30 rather than 9 AM as is normally the case. Normally each of these events has a 5K race and a 10K race, but as this was the final race of the series, the organisers had put on a half marathon option as well.

When I got there it was still dark but there was already quite a crowd.  I took my camera but didn’t really get many nice shots so I won’t bother listing too many of them.  I did like this view of Rangitoto Island though:

As regular followers of my blog will know I’ve been doing the 5K events but seeing as this was the last race of the series I decided that I would do the 10K.  Truth be told I was feeling a bit nervous about this distance as I haven’t been training for about a week and the only run I’d had was a gentle 5K on Friday.

The 10K course looks quite scenic when you look at my route map.

It started off with a loop around Lake Pupuke (I think that is what it is called) and then a blast down the beach, up a rather steep hill and then back to the start/finish line.  In reality, the scenery was a bit more prosaic.  I never even saw the lake as we ran through the suburban streets surrounding it.

The race organisation was a bit of a shambles for some reason.  A few things went wrong.  Firstly, we started off about 20 minutes late.  This wasn’t a biggie but it was a bit annoying.  The second problem was that the walkers were supposed to start off 15 minutes before the runners but they started with us.  Walker management has not been great the whole series unfortunately.  This meant that the first 100 meters or so were a bit of a shambles.  The third issue I had was the lack of water stations.  At the race briefing we were told water stations would be available every 2.5km but I think the announcer got it wrong as the only water station I saw on the course was at the 6.2 km mark and the finish.

Anyways, back to the race.  I was loitering near the front trying to get closer to the back as I didn’t want to get in the way of the faster half marathon and 10K runners when the organisers just started the race.  It took everyone by surprise as we’d all expected the walkers to go first.  I suspect most people would like to start reasonably close to the front but I found it a bit demotivating as I quickly got passed by first a wave of men and then a wave of women.  At one point I was wondering if the walkers were going to pass me too but that never happened.

After about a kilometer I started to enjoy myself.   The first half wasn’t really too bad.  It was lots of fun with lots of people around.  I always get a buzz doing the races as normally I run by myself and it’s just not the same.  Nice but not the same.  I started to get really thirsty at about the 5km mark and that was when I noticed that the drink stations were missing.

At about the 6 kilometer mark I started to feel a bit sorry for myself and started grumbling under my breath.  I really needed a drink and was feeling rather grumpy.  Then, like a mirage, I saw the drinks table and things started looking up.  The sun shone a bit brighter, the birds started to chirp and my favourite song started to play on the ipod.  I picked up the pace a bit, got to the table in record time and no cups and no drink!  The volunteers said “look they’re coming” but the clock waits for no man so I kept on going.  The odd swear word was muttered.  To compound matters the route headed out onto the beach at this point and I found running on the sand a bit difficult.  It was reasonably firm but rather soft in places.

For a few minutes I got very grumpy and down about the whole race but then I saw the I AM A RUNNER wrist band that Amy from The Runner’s Lounge had kindly sent me via Wee Little Me and I remembered that I was supposed to be having fun and so I kept repeating I am a runner! and just like that I picked up my pace quite considerably.  The last kilometer or so was lots of fun as I set about hauling in everyone in front of me and I definitely overtook more people than overtook me so that was great.  The scenery was fantastic too.

I did a real hard out sprint to the end and hopefully the official photographer got a good photo.  They are not out yet but I’ll be sure to post my crossing the line photo when they are released.

So, to the results.  I was hoping to do the race in under an hour and normally would have been quite confident that I could have achieved that as I’ve done a few sub 60 minute 10K runs in practice now.  According to the provisional results I did the 10K in 53:14!  This is my fastest 10K time ever so I’m really happy. I also finished 15th out of 43 runners in my age/sex group which is a lot better than I thought I would do.

I took my wife and daughter out for a nice walk when I got home (we did about 4K) and have been slacking off ever since. Life is good. :)

Tags: PR, running by AndrewE
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The weigh in gods have been kind to me this week and I’ve knocked another half kg off my total.

I’m down to 92.87 kgs (204.7 pounds) now which is unbelievably low for me.  If I didn’t lose another gram I’d be happy to tell the truth but I’ll keep pushing on.   In many respects I think I’m no longer really trying for weightloss - I’m much more interested in my fitness.  Which is a great place to be.

I did day 01 of week 02 of the 100 pushup challenge in the gym today.  Today I was required to do 12, 12, 9 , 7 and max (min 10). I did 12, 12, 9, 7 and 12. I had no trouble at all today.  I guess it’s a bit of an easier session after the tough one at the end of week 01.

I’m getting a bit lazy with the max set of pushups so I’m going to make a real effort on Wednesday to do quite a few more than the minimum.  I know I could have done more today but the spirit was weak even though the flesh was willing.

I also participated in a virtual 5K today.  Technically I was supposed to do it yesterday but I figured it’s still the 29th in America so I’m fine.

I did it on the treadmill as I wanted to go to the gym as well.  Ironically the weather is glorious today and it would have been a perfect day for a run outside.

I think I did my fastest 5k ever on the treadmill with a time of 26:41.  I felt really good so I carried on and did another 5K which came in at 29:30 which, when you add them up (56:11), means I got a treadmill PR in both the 5K and the 10K!

Tags: PR, Weigh in, fitness, running by AndrewE
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Today I participated in Race 3 of the Run Auckland series.

The race briefing email stated that there was no parking at the actual event as they’d blocked off all the parks so that we could run freely. The organisers recommended that we parked next to a local high school and take the track that leads down to the starting area. So I thought I would take their advice. I thought I knew which track they were talking about but I went to the wrong one and ended up being about 2 kilometres away from the start. This wasn’t a problem however as it was a nice morning for a walk.

I had planned on arriving at the venue about 45 minutes early as I had to pick up my timing chip before the race started. I made the cutoff time with plenty to spare so headed off to use the facilities. One advantage of the venue was that there was heaps of public restrooms. Race 1 only had 3 portaloos which wasn’t really enough.

The course today was flat and straight. A nice run alongside the beach. Up the beach and down again was 2.5 km. We 5Kers had to do two laps and the 10Kers had to do 4.

The 10Kers started at 9AM and once again most of the participants appeared to have chosen to compete in this event.

We 5Kers were due to start at 9:20 in order to give the field time to spread. This was actually quite nice as we got to see the 10Kers running. The really fast ones did 2 laps before we even started and they were mighty impressive. One of the highlights was seeing Nina Rillstone who is representing New Zealand at the Olympics this year competing in the 10K - she finished it in 33:29. I’ve never seen a lady that skinny yet muscly before.

My best time in a 5K race was 31:01 which I set in my very first race. In my misdirected second race I set a time of 33:48 but ran an extra kilometre as I took a wrong turn. For this race I was hoping to set a PR. I kept telling myself that anything under 28 minutes would be great but secretly I was hoping for around 27 minutes. My fastest times in training have been around 28ish and I’ve always felt I could go a little faster in an actual race where I would push myself harder than I do in training.

At 9:20AM my race started and I was off. I actually had a great starting slot this time as there weren’t as many people doing the 5K event. I was in the second row which was great.

At the 800m mark we ran past a cafe full of bemused looking people. I could just see them thinking look at all these crazy buggers. Part of me longed to be in the cafe having a moccachino and a croissant.

I did my normal trick of starting really fast! Big mistake I know. My first kilometre was my fastest kilometre ever at 4:45. I was thinking uh oh, I’m going to die on the last leg. I MUST slow down! In the finest tradition of ignoring that little voice inside of you, my second kilometre was my second fastest ever at 4:59.

I hit the second lap and my legs were starting to let me know that they weren’t too keen on this running business. Why the hell are we doing this? We could be at home in bed. I slowed down quite a bit but was still on record pace during my 3rd and 4th kilometre. The last kilometer was tough but I kept thinking RUN YOU BASTARD! and so I did. I kept trying to overtake the people ahead of me as a means of motivation.

The finish line loomed and as I started to sprint I got chicked! A young lady zoomed past me and there was nothing I could do to haul her in. I tried hard but she crossed the line a good two metres in front of me. I pressed stop on my Garmin and looked at my time. 25:18!!! I not only beat my expectations I smashed em!

Unfortunately I couldn’t celebrate as I was trying hard not to throw up. I’m not quite over that cold yet.

I then had the long walk back to my car. One thing I failed to mention was that my car was parked at the top of a cliff and there were stairs leading back up to it. I hadn’t really noticed them coming down. But I noticed them going back up. 116 of them. I really noticed them going up!

Overall a great race and a great day. According to the provisional results I’ve finshed 6th in my age group and 18th out of all the men. I’m not too fussed about that but I will treasure my PR which is actually 25:17 according to the official results! .

Tags: Milestones, PR, running by AndrewE
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I have my first 5K race under my belt!

Preparation started 10 weeks or so ago when I first started the C25K program but you can go read all the posts about that if you want to know more!

Preparation for this specific event started yesterday afternoon when I went to Takapuna to get my race pack. I’d never been to the Takapuna Athletics Club before so of course I went to the Takapuna Rugby Club instead. Luckily my darling wife (navwoman) steered me right. It was an honest mistake as the two buildings are next to each other and share a carpark.

It’s funny, but I was quite nervous going in. It’s almost like you expect the person handing out the packs to say Oi! You! You don’t look like you can do it! Get out of here. I guess I have one or two insecurities still. Anyway, needless to say it was fine, they had my name on the list and I got my pack no problems. I went home with a grin on my face, runner #66.

That evening, I spent quite a while going over all my gear, checking my Garmin was charged and so forth. I had to attach the timing chip to my shoe laces and, believe it or not, it took me twenty minutes to figure out how to do it. It should be relatively straightforward but it wasn’t.

Anyways, I went to bed about 10:30 and woke up at 12, 2, 4 and 5:20. Nerves, you ask? No, baby I say. My poor little girl had done some rather nasty power chucks all over her cot and didn’t sleep well. Neither did my wife and I.

I got up at 5:20 and had breakfast and spent some time reading up on the Running Ahead forums looking for some last minute tips. I didn’t really learn anything new but it still felt good reading about how others had done it.

At about 8:30 my wife dropped me off at the race venue. As soon as she drove off my spirits sank a bit - everyone looked so fit and professional! However, I walked to the start area and realised that the people I had seen were all part of a club and were fit and professional! Fortunately for me, there were heaps of normal looking people around and everything was good.

I bumped into one of my colleagues who was going to do the 10K event and we chatted for a bit. The safety briefing was at 8:45 so I thought I had better relieve myself before the event (as you do). 1000 competitors and 3 portaloos. Let’s just say the trees got watered a lot. Men went into the bushes on the right and ladies the bushes on the left.

The safety briefing was over quickly. Basically they just wanted us to be aware that the roads weren’t closed so we had to be careful. The funniest thing they said was that if you don’t think you are fit enough to complete the event then please get professional help. I somehow doubt anyone decided then and there to give up but you never know.

5 minutes before the start a rather attractive lady stomped off with her partner in tow. She’d been disqualified for having a bare torso! Against the rules even if it was a very nice torso.

The folk doing the 10K event were off first and there looked to be about 650 (a mixture of runners and walkers) of them but that’s just a guess. It took about a minute and a half for them all to get through the start but then it was our turn. At this point I gulped down a energy gel pack as I hadn’t had any food for a few hours and I thought it would give me a boost.

I lined up closer to the back of the pack than the front as I figured I wouldn’t be setting any records. We then had about a five minute wait as we had to give the 10K runners a ten minute head start. About 20 seconds before we were due to go the sound system died and the support crew were frantically trying to get it up so that we could hear the signal to go. The lady who was doing the countdown just screamed go as they clock hit 0 and we went!

The first section was a mad rush as everyone tried to get through the start gate as quickly as possible. As I went under the gate I remembered to activate my watch so that I could have all the stats at the end (whew!).

The course started off in a park and for the first 500 meters we were running through this park. There were quite a few little bridges that we had to cross and I was nervously looking at the max weight limits as there were a lot of us on those bridges! I passed a lot of people in the first 500 meters and I think I was probably going too fast but, having said that, I was passed by a lot as well so it was probably just the field sorting itself out.

The next bit of the course wound around the Remuera golf course and it wasn’t too bad. I was feeling pretty good and I had picked my bunny, a rather fit looking girl. About 500 meters later I picked a new bunny as my bunny was gone. Unfortunately she started walking about 250 meters later so I gave up on bunnies.

The first hill came as we left the golf course surrounds and went into a residential area. I was quite pleased as I actually passed some rather fit looking individuals. There was one guy in particular who always walked up the hills then sprinted past me to the next hill where I would overtake him again. I eventually left him behind about 3.5 km in. I think I found the hilly bits easier mentally as I sort of expected them to be tough. When I got to the top of the hilly bits then I felt buggered for a bit and let my mental focus slip somewhat.

I hit the first water break quicker than I had expected. I was on track to come in under 30 minutes at that point. My aim was to come in in under 32 minutes. I told everyone who asked 35 but I was thinking 32 would be good. I had been faster on the treadmill but always ran slower when I ran outside so I thought under 32 was reasonable.

The third kilometer was tough as we climbed quite a ways. At least it felt that way to me. I’ve avoided hills in my training so far but I think I shall be adding them in the future.

Let’s pause the story of my run for a little rant. What’s with the walkers walking three or four abreast and chatting! We runners kept having to run out in the road to pass! It was really annoying to say the least. One of the things I have learnt from reading other people’s race reports is that it is polite to keep out of the way of the faster people wherever possible. Oh well, end rant.

At the 3 kilometer mark the leading 10ker lapped me (The 10kers did 2 laps of the 5K circuit). He was motoring! I didn’t see another 10ker for about a minute (or so it felt). That guy was fast! I was most impressed.

The 4th kilometer wasn’t too bad. I think it was mainly downhill so I was feeling alright. However, there was a sharp uphill right at the end of it that annoyed me somewhat. I apologise to runner #458. The swearing wasn’t directed at you.

The last kilometer was tough! I was pretty much out of gas and the little voice inside me was saying it’s ok, you can walk but I didn’t. I’m rather proud of that. I really wanted to but one of my goals was to run the whole race.

Then I did it! I hit 5K but, to my utter horror, I discovered that the finish line was another 400 meters away! I had semi expected it as I had read on another blog that the course was slightly longer than 5K but I didn’t think that the organisers were that bastardly.

That last 400 meters was very tough. They say you should sprint the last bit but I had no sprinting in me. I focused on the runners ahead of me and tried to haul them in and to my pleasure I did manage to overtake two of them. Most importantly, I was not chicked at the end! It was such a great feeling to hit the finish line. I felt such a great surge of personal satisfaction and vindication. And boy was I buggered. I pretty much just sat down on the grass to take my timing chip off. My colleague was there and congratulated me which was great. He’d had to pull out of the 10K at the halfway mark as he’d gotten a really bad headache but had hung around to see me come in.

The time on my watch was 30:54 which I was very happy with. 5.4 km in 30:54 meant that my pace was 5:44 per kilometer which I think is great! According to my watch I hit the real 5km mark in 28:46 which I am extremely pleased with.

Afterwards my brilliant wife picked me up and she had my snacks that I had forgotten in the car with her! She is a legend. Thank you darling for all your support.

I’ve still got a stupid grin on my face. I’m amazed at how far I have come in such a short time. One of my commentors, Chief Wahoo, said something along the lines of how he finds races times of reflection where he thinks about how far he has come and where he would like to go. I understand what he means (I always understood, but now I feel it!) more deeply now.

Thank you all of you who have helped me along the way. You guys rock!

As an aside this also means I’ve completed week 02 of the OHR program.

Hmm…now this is looking very tempting for next Sunday.

Tags: C25K, Milestones, OHR, PR, Toys, running by AndrewE
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