Been looking forward to this for some time,
love Kingston by the river and hoping to push my limits beyond Ballbuster.
A more organized morning this race, a couple friends and I arrived 30mins early, queued to check our
bags and off to the start. A wave start
(sub 2hr women first, then sub-2 men, then everyone else) I took off at the
front of the first group of men, and wow, what a pace. A couple hundred meters in, my lungs were
gasping, but people were blowing by, so the natural instinct was to keep up. 1km in and beeps from everywhere,
a chorus of Garmins indicating 1k done.
I looked down to see the first km was sub 4min, well ahead of my 4.06/km
target, ‘ok, slow it down, maintain your
pace.’
2 to 10kms – Settling into my pace, most of
the others did the same. Heading west
along the Thames Path, I was taking in the sun and focusing on technique. Around km 6, a woman came past slightly
faster, so in the spirit of chasing pain, I pushed a little more to stay with
her. Trailing her for 3km, I figured it
was my turn to do some of the work, so I built to almost full-out sprint and
coasted past before settling back down.
500m down the road, I came to regret that. ‘Side
stich, ahhh! You idiot, this could all
go downhill! Stay positive, ease up
slightly, yes, let her by, recover and back at it.’
11 to 15 – The last 2k of the first lap (1st
of 2) were spent at a slower pace, breathing deep and holding my side praying I
could overcome the stitch. Hit the half
way mark, ‘ok, walk the aid station, take
one drink now, one to go, 20sec walk and build back.’ Following the plan, I was into lap 2
building back up and not far from the target pace. Crossing the bridge and heading west again,
I caught a few guys that passed while I was struggling and stuck with them.
16 to 21 – A solid 5km from the pain in my
side, it was time to step it up. I was
no longer following a pace, simply running down those ahead of me one at a
time, whatever pace that needs, I’ll run it.
22 to 26 – In a back and forth with a
couple guys and admittedly struggling to keep the pace, it was time to dedicate
each of the last 5kms to others. First
my friends who came to the race with me (without whom I may not have been
there), then my brother (still teaching me life lessons), one for Chrissie
Wellington (someone who goes beyond her limits and provides motivation), one to
my parents (who have provided me more than I could ever ask) and finally for my
partner (supports me every day, every decision, every mood-swing and all with a
smile).
Crossing the line, 1.45.18. ‘Wow, I
actually did it, amazing.’ A few
seconds passed, ‘probably could have pushed
harder, didn’t track down true pain yet.
Well, enjoy this today, work on improvements tomorrow.’
Takeaways –
Positive
- ran through a side-stitch, recovered and
still hit the target at 1.45
- mentally remained confident throughout
Improvements
- more interval training, can’t afford a
side-stitch every time I surge in a race
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