A disappointing day.
Not happy Jan :(Race day morning was clear and sunny after a stormy looking Saturday and predictions for rain on Sunday. We got to the start about 7.30 and I did my own short warm up and stretch whilst the aerobics warm-up was happening.
Felt pretty good at the warm up and the weather was still cool but a wind was starting to blow from the North which would cause me problems later.
First km went according to plan and it was basically all down hill (metaphorically speaking!) from there. I couldn't get into a rhythm at the pace I wanted to run and my breathing wouldn't co-operate. At the 5km mark I passed the start again and was tempted to pull out at this stage as I wasn't feeling too great but passed the 5km at 29.29 (nice symmetary at least and if I could keep that up would still run under 60 mins). One of the main reasons I kept going was thinking of my CR buddies and how they would be disappointed if I DNFd and that a bad time was probably preferable to that. I really struggled even more from about 7km onwards. I stopped at a drink station and walked for longer than I should have, trying to catch my breath so I could actually take in some water. Stopped again about 500 ms later as the water now seemed to be lodged like a brick in my pipeline! A large and somewhat satisfying belch sorted that and we were off again. I was now seriously behind and had to put in some effort to get anywhere close. Tried to pick up the pace and but now we were running into quite a nasty headwind and the last couple of kms were simply shocking. I tried to keep myself going by chasing down and passing a few people which I did for a while but the final little hill up to the finish put paid to that as my legs just died.
Crossed over the finish line in 60 mins and 56 seconds according to Garth, who also thinks the course was 30 metres short. Haven't been able to get the official result as yet.
Km splits were: 5.40, 5.56,5.54,5.56, 6.03, 6.02, 6.31, 6.10, 6.27, 6.28.
I was pretty inconsolable at the end, although Mr lulu tried his best. This is nearly a minute outside my pb for 10kms which is over a year old. After slogging away all year, and losing some weight, I've managed to go backwards. Quite frankly I gutted and not even Mr lulu buying me French Champagne could cheer me up last night.
I felt absolutely buggered for the rest of the day but managed to put on a brave face for the CR BBQ which we finally got too at about 1pm.
It was great to catch up with the lovely Melbourne CRs. I can't remember everyone but of course the delicious Wobbly Man was there. I really enjoyed talking to Mr and Mrs Lostboy who are delightful and engaged in some interesting conversation with the Reindeer. I also met the legend Kelvin plus Chilliman, Pbig, Cato and lovely Courtley love. Went home about 3 and collapsed in a heap until it was time to go out for a nice dinner. Had possibly one of the worst nights sleep ever (about 3 hours) and then we flew back to Sydney this morning. I've now got get myself sorted for a flight to Adelaide tomorrow followed by a drive to the delights of Bordertown.
So where too from here? Not sure really. I could have another crack at 10kms in a couple of weeks or I could just become a couch potato, which at this point in the proceedings is looking very tempting. I realise that I can't judge myself on one performance but I felt sure that I should be able to at least do slightly better than 60 mins even on a bad day. I've run faster than that in training for a start and it felt easy. I just find it hard to believe that after all that work I've achieved absolutely bugger all.
posted by Lulu @ 1:30 PM
9 Comments:
oh dear - I was suspecting the post might look a little like this. But dear, dear lulu - you've got it all completely wrong!
We talked yesterday about the bad end to the year that you've been through with the illness and the like. Not a single one of us would have been disappointed if you had DNF'd yesterday - it would have been perfectly understandable given the times that you've been under the weather in the last few months.
What it all means is that your overall fitness and aerobic threshold are still improving despite the physical hiccups you've faced. You could never consider that you've gone backwards this year - far from it. it's probably time to rest solidly for a few weeks, get yourself 100% again (it's been a while hasn't it?) and then start afresh with the knowledge that you've built a good fitness base behind you this year.
You'll achieve again - and it will be a damn sight quicker than last year's times to boot. Speaking for myself, I'm really proud of everything that you've accomplished this year, and the commitment you've shown to the training has been inspiring to me :)
Hey lovely,
I'm so sorry that your race did not according to plan. However deciding to finish the race and not pull out at the 5km took real mental strength. But having said that, no one would have been disappointed had you DNF'd. You've not been 100% for a while now which has certainly hampered your training over the last month or so.
This race is not an indication of the level that you are at. It was simply one bad day at the office - trust me, I know. I've chased you around Centennial Park ;-)
Take things easy for a few days, then sit down and set your goals for 2006. Worshipping Lindt may also be a good idea ;-) It is going to be a big year for both of us. Hopefully we can run - and race - together lots next year.
J xx
Sorry lulu - got to agree with Miners on this - the facts I'm afraid are against you!
I quote from a very reliable source - er - your blog actually - an entry dated 30 October:
"Final stats were 10.18km in 60 mins.. 511 cals with an average pace of 5.53/km".
If you were doing that in a training run we can only imagine what you could have achieved yesterday IF you were had been fit and healty over the last little while!
Glad to hear you had such a nice time at the CR bash, interesting that you saw reindeer but no Santa :-)
Sorry it didn't pan out the way you hoped Lulu. We all have bad days and a DNF or a poor finish is likely for every runner. I had a DNF in October as did Wobblyman (I think) a few months ago. Put it behind you pronto as you know you have many better runs ahead of you.
Maybe make the Medibank Oz day funrun on 26/1/06 at Centennial Park your next goal and aim to do really well on your home turf. We'll all be there 4 sure, cheering you home. :)
I can't agree more with what all the others said.
Hope you're starting to feel a little cheerier. Though don't let Mr Lulu know if you are, more French Champagne could be on the way.
Lulu, have to agree with everybody else on this one. You did well to finish when you were feeling so dreadful. Now just concentrate on the positives such as losing weight and running faster in training. Sometimes the expectation just weighs us down and we end up running slower. I'm glad you got to meet the Melbourne CRs. They are a great bunch.
I have said it before and will say it again... Lulu you are a champion!!! I say that was a gutsy effort...it is so hard to fight the urge to pull out when your struggling, especially when you have to pass the start/finish line! I am sorry that your run was not as you hoped! I know you were really looking forward to this one! I hope the build up and pressure did not play too big a part... I know I can run really crap because my brain doesn't cope with the pressure I put on myself!
I admire how far you have come and find your incredible spirit inspiring. I say take a few days off and then regroup with a new goal/s.
Jen has the right idea... some chocolate, a good glass of wine, a good complain and then 2006 here we come! I told Jen this is going to be our year!!!
I hope to see you soon so we can have a good chat :-)
I agree with what everyone else has written so won't repeat it! *thank goodness lulu says* Take some time off, you deserve it, and just enjoy running - don't worry about times. Enjoy the feeling of running and the great CR camaraderie!
Yep Gronk is right, I had a bad one in July/August but ploughed on with the help of those here and managed a 10k PB in September! Stick with it my lovely - it just wasn't your day for any number of reasons. Great to see you and Steve again - sorry we had to split early.
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