Apparently, I am speed (Elleker half marathon 2021)
I've never had a perfect race. I’m sure if you asked any other runner, they would mostly agree. Maybe I ran too fast at the start, didn't run fast enough at the start, didn't get fluids on board at the right times, didn't do enough training, trained too much, blisters, chafing… there's always one or two things that could have been different or could have gone another way. The Elleker half marathon 2021 was no different. But it was close. Let me explain.
In early November 2020, I was diagnosed with a potential stress fracture of my right tibia. It came as I was building well towards the 6” Ultra marathon, which I’ve run before and now seemingly have a perpetually rolling entry due to my propensity to break down at the back end of each year. Another rebuild was required. This time off I incorporated swimming in to my rehab regime, and coupled with meditation and mindfulness training from supercoach Rob Donkersloot and regular zoom catch-ups with the Mind Focused Running team I was able to get through the six weeks of no load bearing activity. I still had to work, and ward nursing isn’t sitting on my backside, but I got through to the new year with no issues and some vague level of fitness intact. Quick walking came back into play soon after. Another month and I began to add in small amounts of running - first on grass and softer trail surfaces, then to compacted gravel and finally, roads. I wasn’t loading myself up, just taking it slowly and seeing how the body responded. A few niggles here, aches there, but overall nothing out of the ordinary.
By the end of March I was confident I could start to get a bit more serious. I had stepped off a formal training plan from Rob when I was first diagnosed with the fracture, but the fundamentals were still in place: a session of walking, one “speed” run and everything else for the week to be at a low heart rate, ie: SLOW!! I’ve found it to be very helpful with my recovery post runs and also not nearly as taxing on my mental health. I didn’t push myself, I let it evolve slowly. About 8 weeks out from the Elleker race I thought I might have a crack at a quicker one. The previous 5 events I had been the unofficial two hour pacer, often dressed wearing a safari suit. The last event in 2019 I ran a 1:59:59 while cosplaying as Thor and decided I couldn’t really top that one. Time for me to get a little selfish...well, more so than usual. I thought an optimistic target of between 1:45-1:50 could be achieved if I was consistent with the volume increase and sensible with the load - usually the two things I’m not especially good at. My PB of 1:40:09, set in 2015 during the Albany 70:3 relay was not even considered, I just wasn't close to that level of conditioning. Weekly totals quickly settled in at about 50km so as not to get too overloaded. I kept my weekly long trail run in place, but nothing too extravagant - two to three hours at the most. Midweek runs of no more than 90 minutes, focusing on run/walk patterns to keep the heart rate low and build the tank that I had lost while injured. My pace returned quickly. It usually does, I’m lucky like that I guess.
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| Mundy Park parkrun. Trails are good for the soul, and also for the legs. |
“The pupil dilates in darkness and in the end finds light, just as the soul dilates in misfortune and in the end finds God.” - Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
The weekend before Elleker my daughter Annabelle and I headed off to the Stirling Ranges to do some hiking and camp out for a night. It was an opportunity to test out my new swag I had recieved fro my birthday and for Annabelle to move out of her own depressive episode and continue on the bushwalking adventure she has just begun. She ambitiously said she wanted to do the six main peaks in the park in two days. I was happy to humour her, as I was well aware of the size of the task. Needless to say we only chalked off two - Mt Magog in the Western end of the park, and a dawn ascent of the magnificent Bluff Knoll. It was a great couple of days. I made the conscious effort to get myself back on track, and I tried to uncoil the blackness that was around me. It’s still there, but it's getting better.
In the past, I have been a mess race week and race day. Working with Rob, this has improved. My first effort at the Light Horse 3hr race in late 2020 was the first step. I was still scattered and unorganised, but managed to remain calm during the event and run well, sticking to the walk/run plan. This time, I set about actually being prepared early. I settled on race kit, and reminded myself of my race strategy - go through 12km in roughly the hour, and then wind it up (if possible) for the second lap of the course. I still wasn't sure if I could hold the pace for 21km, but not it wouldn't be the end of the world. I wanted to enjoy the run, to experience the journey. I prepped my fluids the night before, took all my meds early, set my alarm, and slept. Mostly. The traditional crap night of sleep still needs to be addressed. I woke feeling mostly stable, and meditated. I went with feel flow (as part of the unified mindfullness training), and visualised running strongly and with confidence. I woke the girls, who were entered in the 10km walk, ate a little, and then we hit the road.
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| Dress for success |
Black clouds loomed to the south. The forecast for the day had moved to and fro regarding rain, settling on 90% of up to 8mm of rain during the event. I hate running in the rain. Like, I actively loathe it. Thankfully, there wasn't a lot of wind and it wasn't especially cold. A few years ago the event started in a balmy -1℃... I regained some feeling in my fingers by the second lap that year. Looks like the sleeves were going to stay on this year too. I caught up with the traveling contingent of, among others, the Bickers/Willards, Cassie H, Brian G and the wonderful Anna Bamber. Anna had been training the house down in preparation for the upcoming Transcend Ultra, and just quietly, I thought she was going to smash the run today. She finished in third place for the womens event, PB'ing in 1:27:34. If you know, you know. Y'know? The race brief started. And went on... and on... and on... can we just get on with it? Right, that's it. Line up on the oval. The gun's in the air.
*CRACK* LET'S GO!! *
CRACK* Wait, what? False start?! FFS. Let's do it right this time.
*CRACK* Ok for real now? Good.
The first km is a bit quick, as per my usual zerg rush start. But after that I'm settled in to a decent groove and going along quite nicely at roughly *checks watch* 4:50/km. Um, okay. This could be interesting. Quicker than I thought I might lead out at but I'm certainly not working hard at all. At 4km the heavens open. Not a light sprinkle of rain, it's fair bucketing down. Thanks, I hate it. My shirt is clinging to me like a small child and I'm soaked to the bone. But it's all part of the journey, I put it aside and keep moving. I'm in the moment, just where I should be. I relax myself by focusing on my breathing, feeling the flow of air in and out. This is part of my in-run meditation, and I'm feeling really good about where I am. The km's keep clicking over. At 7k we turn on to the hilly out and back section. The leaders are scooting back towards the loop as I'm heading out. Here comes Anna. She looks comfortable, but claims she isn't. She's a terrible liar. I feel strong and don't lose any time on the small climbs. It's still raining, and I work hard to keep the negative emotions from taking over. Back to the loop we go. The local paper photographer is at the left turn to the loop. I give him a small wave. No shenanigans this year. Back on the loop and keep on trucking. I throw a quip at the aid station about them offering water while it's bucketing with rain which gets a laugh. I'm here all week - please, try the veal and tip your waiter.
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| Approximately 10km in and three minutes ahead of schedule. Time to wind it up. | |
At 19km it's now or never. I've caught up Glenda and Annabelle doing the 10km walk, and say I'm on a possible PB time as I scurry past. They give me a gee up, and I put it all out, moving to a 4:30 pace. In front are two older runners I've been slowly gaining for the past 10 minutes. I kick past them and tell them the sooner we get this done the sooner we can have a beer. One stays, the other goes with me. And then kicks past me. Challenge accepted. We're now really pushing, and it's all really starting to hurt now. The last km is here. I just go all out. Breathing is hard, the legs are getting tight but what have I got to lose? We swing on to the oval, which is softer now due to the rain and like running in treacle. 4:12 for that 21st km... 200m to go... I'm crying and trying not to vomit. I'm sure old mate in front of me is the same, although I can't tell. I pass him with 50m to go... try to sprint it home... someone is cheering for me, I don't know who... over the line.
STOP THE WATCH my brain screams. Someone hands me my medal. I look down...
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| Um, wow |
I raise a very exhausted arm in the air. And to be honest, I'm a little stunned. I didn't see this coming at all, but it all came up Millhouse. Anna appears out of the crowd.
Anna: "How did you go?!"
Me: "1:39. PB'd. You?"
Anna:"I PB'd TOO!!"
We hug and I spill her coffee all over the ground. Some things never change. I stumble about a bit, locate my bag and change shirts. What the hell just happened? I sit and stare at my watch for a bit, and just soak up the feelings. Glenda and Annabelle head on to the oval to complete their walk.
"Did you get it?!" Belle calls out. I say I did and she smiles. All my friends arrive in dribs and drabs, Brian and Cassie toodling through looking fresh. Others not so much - the joys of this sport. We chase down some food, and organise to meet up later for drinks. That's another story all in itself. And then there was the Bald Head recovery run the day after. It's now a little tradition with Anna and myself, and even something like gale force winds wasn't going to stop us hitting our favourite trail the day after we both smashed our times.
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| Who runs in marine storm warnings? These idiots |
Now I'm a few days removed from the event, I can say this was possible thanks to Rob and the mind focused running training program. In times gone past, I would have fallen apart at the seams because of the rain, or because of that first km being too fast, or for one hundred other different reasons. Training both my mind and my body paid dividends. Rob has said multiple times that he's not about PB's, gently telling me off for pushing too hard during training last year and emphasising that the program isn't set up to make me run faster, but smarter and with more enjoyment. Looks like it can do both. Thanks mate, this one is for you too.
What's next? Dunno. But it'll be fun.
Elleker half marathon 2021. 1:39:20 (PB)
https://www.strava.com/activities/5420754305
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