Guest Blogger : Dan talking about the Half Marthon
As we rose from our slumber on the first morning of the
Warwick Pentath, the nerves and excitement of the weekend before us were definitely
starting to kick in. I could feel it in my bones.....although there is a very
good chance it was just the 6 degree wind chill cutting through me. The morning
was certainly fresh! We all tried acting tough...."It's not that
cold!", we exclaimed....but who were we kidding? In truth, the cold and
windy conditions had us all rugging up since we arrived on the Friday
afternoon.
After a light breakfast was sorted, we ventured out into
the cold, beautiful morning. Our small run from the motel to the sports centre
was a good little warm up and it wasn't long before we were stripped down,
stretching and heading to the start line.
As the starting gun sounded and we settled into a
comfortable pace through the initial section of town, I watched Matt and Nick
disappear off in the distance. At that point the weather was still fresh, but
the sun was rising and it felt like a pretty glorious morning running in the
fresh air of the country. We hit our first real hill around the 4km mark and it
felt good to feel strong up the incline and use some of that BRS hill training.
The next few kms ticked past as we made our way out of town and tackled some
gentle undulating hills along the highway to Yangan. It was awesome to have
people out along the course with plenty of cheering and a bit of music to add
to the atmosphere, as well as cars passing us slowly and shouting support. At
the 10km mark I knew that I was well on track for a PB and felt reasonably
good, swapping lead with a few people around me at different points. A few kms
later though, things got a little more interesting as the head wind began
increasing in ferocity blowing through the valley. For the next 7-8km, from
around the 12/13km mark, it was a tougher hit out with some long up hill
sections and a cold, nasty wind blowing diagonally across our faces. To add to
the difficulty, another steeper incline was waiting for us at around the 19km
mark, which for me was another tough little mental barrier. However, the last
downhill km into Yangan to finish was an awesome relief as the finish line
became a welcome sight. With a strong push to the finish and some great
encouragement from early finishers Matt and Nick, it felt great to pick off a
few people in the last stretch to the finish. Half of the 42.2km weekend was
done and dusted!
Congratulations to everyone for an awesome effort in a
tough half marathon, considering there was another 4 races and 21.1km still to
go for the weekend. Matt ran brilliantly as always for second place in a fast
time of 1:19:30, pushing first place all the way. Nick was awesome placing 10th
in 1:28:00. I did a PB at 1:38:59 and Bridget ran a solid time of 1:54:45. We were all really happy with our efforts-
all in all, a super first race!
Saturday Session - S&C OR Long Run
When: Saturday 6th June
Time: 6am to 7:45am
Where: Captain Burke Park, Story Bridge Kangaroo Point
What: 1.5 hours of running and weights ............if you are keen for a long run, meet us there and see who is keen to join you.
OR meet for a looooong RUN
Breaky: followed by Breaky and Coffee!
Cost: $2
Remember, we suggest you complete the monthly program, twice a week or three times a fortnight to really reap the benefits, to improve your running, and to help you stay injury free!
Happy Running
Renae & Matt
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