After toast at 6am I crawled back into bed & Go Girl and I chatted for another 45mins before it was time to get up & get ready before meeting Rags to walk down to the start. There were 2 hot air balloons firing up in the paddock not far from our front door which had just taken off & were floating overhead as we walked down to the start. I had expected the weather to be rather chilly but Sunday morning was beautiful and mild.
It was about this time that the ‘disorder’ of the day started. Much has been written on CR about this race so I won’t repeat it here – suffice to say that for a maiden event, problems were to be expected but some of the problems (for example, the Half being 2kms short & the full marathon 4kms short) were simply unacceptable. This race has great potential – the HV Gardens is a perfect venue for race HQ and the start/finish; the course was beautiful but tough and then there are the wineries in the area! I felt very sorry for anyone who had picked this race as a target event. Luckily for GG and I, we had decided to relax, cruise & enjoy the marathon relay.
I took the first leg while GG was on child sitting duties. The plan for me was to treat it as a LSD run, meaning my usual LSD pace – 7min/kms. Of course, everyone took off and soon I was at the back of the pack (read: last) and that was even before my tib-ants started to complain. I had to stop and stretch them several times in the first 3kms. At about the 5kms mark, I stopped to walk and found that I actually had no control over my foot. I couldn’t flex it. Mmmm. At this point I started to contemplate a Strategic Withdrawal (read: Doing Nothing Fatal) but with GG relying on me, there was no choice but to continue. Ultimately I decided that I was going to finish the freaking race if I had to walk the whole freaking way.
Thankfully my tib-ants started to shut-up (or they became so numb I couldn’t feel them anymore….) at about the 8kms mark, just before the climb up the “hill” to the Audrey Willkinson vineyard. That was one nasty hill. Check out the spike in the elevation thingy below. The signs “We’re really sorry” and (closer to the top) “See, it wasn’t really that bad” lightened the mood a touch. Up until this point, there was a woman in front of me who I had been keeping an eye on – at each turn around we gave each other a cheer as we went past each other. My hill sessions on L'alpe d'Huez are clearly paying off – she had a good lead on me as I reached the bottom of the hill but I managed to overtake her powerwalking up the hill! Unfortunately I had to stop at the top of the hill for a toilet break so she took the lead again. Thanks to the Audrey Willkinson winery who let me use their facilities inside the cellardoor. And no, I didn’t stop to sample any vino while I was there.
From there on, I was able to run quite comfortably – well, apart from the short, sharp hills which I walked. It really was a beautiful & tough course which I enjoyed once my legs decided to co-operate. I finally caught my "prey" & passed her for the final time at about the 14kms mark. As I came down towards the finishline I was directed towards the finishline, despite the fact that Garmin Elektra was only showing 19kms. I was a bit worried as I’d got caught up with people in the walk but after checking with every official I came across, I was directed towards the finishline where Rags was waiting for me. I found GG, gave her a cuddle, warned her about the hills in the second half of the run & she was off. GG had her own troubles with the course it seems but notwithstanding that, the hills & running her maiden marathon only 3 weeks ago, GG ran a blistering 1:45 – given us a team total of 3:58mins for the marathon. My first sub-4 marathon finish ;-)
What I love about running is the camaraderie. My "prey" during the race tracked me down afterwards; we had a cuddle & thanked each other for the company & support out there during the race (we were a long way behind anyone else).
Accordingly to Garmin Elektra I did 19.25kms in 2:13:13 – average pace of 6:55min/kms. Given I stopped to stretch my tib-ants about 6 or 7 times, walked all of the steeper hills & made not 1 but 2 toilet stops, that average pace isn’t quite accurate…
Here is the elevation thingy for the run:
Told you there were some short sharp hills!
After heading back to our hotel to shower & pack (thank you late check out), GG & I met Rags & M again for lunch – not to mention a glass of a very nice 2000 Shiraz that GG & I won (thankfully we stuck around for the v. disorganised presentation ceremony) before moving onto another café for afternoon tea (yes, food was up there with running as the theme of the weekend) before heading home (via Tempus Two….) ;-)
I pulled up very well from my run. No muscle soreness whatsoever; my tib-ants however are a problem. Notwithstanding that I’ve only got 2 weeks of base work before I start tapering for W2B, I’m taking a week off running. Yes, they are that bad. I haven’t been enjoying my running for weeks because of them. I’ll do all my cardio sessions this week on the bike instead before (hopefully) getting back into the running next week. Fingers crossed….
Total for July: 120.91kms
Edit: the results are in. Go Girl & I won the 2 person women's marathon relay in 3:59:33. My first bling!
3 comments:
Well done Jen. Shame about that course distance stuff up. Good luck with your tib-ants (whatever they are)! :)
love the race report dear - you battled through some pretty damn tough times out there.
... and of course we all know what you were doing in the Audrey cellardoor :)
Great race report Jen. Man, those hills look like killers. The course may have been a couple of kms short but it probably equals the full distance on the flat.
Stuff ups aside it sounds like such a great event, all those wineries :-) I might have see if I can talk some of the troops into doing a road trip next year.
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