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Winery Running Festival Hunter ValleyDate:
Category:
Road Events
I was pretty excited ramping up for this event as I wanted to run my first half under 1:45:00. It didn't help that I fell ill with the man-flu two weeks prior. In any case, my training was on track enough that I should have been able to get close.
Lining up on the start I planned to get away quick and try not to get stuck in the pack for the first few ks before the hill at Audrey Wilkinson. From then on I planned to keep just under a 5 minute pace for as long as I could. I knew the second half would be tough as it was typically back into the wind.
And with that, we were off and running! I managed to get a quick start and shot through the back of the winery without too much fuss. This also helped knock loose the last remnants of my man-flu and freed up my breathing, which really helped.
Approaching the hill at Audrey Wilkinson, I took a deep breath and started the ascent. I swear, no matter how many times I have run this hill, it still knocks the wind out of me! About 20 metres from the top, I got stuck in a little bit of traffic and couldn't get past the foulest smelling man in the world; I mean, this guy literally smelled rancid. By the time I got around him I was at the crest and near throwing up from the stench and lack of breath. It was time to pick up the pace and get away from this guy. A quick loop around the top of Audrey Wilkinson and it was a good downhill run for the next kilometre.
I was now 6ks into the race and needed to rein in a minute and a half to get back under a 5 minute overall average pace. The next 10ks are relatively flat so this was the time to do it. I quickly scoffed a gel at 7k and proceeded to drop my pace down to 4:30-4:45. I hit the 12k turn around point and still felt pretty good so I decided to keep pushing. By 17k I had clawed back the lost time and banked a few minutes so I was on target for a 1:40:00 half, which made me feel great.
Leading into the last 4ks I was trying to run down a girl who had been in front of me for most of the race. She was keeping a similar pace, if not a little quicker. I thought, if I could get in front of her that would be enough motivation to keep running strong for the last few ks—especially if she tried to run me back down. Before the start of the last hill and 3ks to go, I was able to get in front of her, which didn't go unnoticed. We spent kilometre 19 and 20 pushing to keep in front of each other, which was exactly the push I needed.
Running over the final hill and the start of the last kilometre, it was on for young and old. I ran past an event marshal who yelled, "you better run buddy, she's going to catch you!" So I did exactly that, and managed to open a little gap. By this point I was completely exhausted and running only on heart. Good thing there was only a few hundred metres to go or I would have run out of heart.
The finish was in sight and a quick look at my watch confirmed I was going to finish under the 1:45:00 I set out to do. By the time I turned around, I saw the girl I was running with cross the line. I gave her a high five and told her I swore she was going to run me down. She commented that was exactly her plan but she simply ran out of legs.
Such an awesome run. Not fast by any regards, but fast for me, which was great. Now it was time to head home and replenish with lots of fat–bastard food, plenty of beer and possibly a little water.
Race Day Stats:
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