If you were to ask me a few days ago how I thought this run was going to go, I would have probably thought badly. I felt fatigued, tired and sore. With each tapered training run through the week I still felt heavy despite the de load of mileage. Something came over me Friday night as I started my solo road trip down to Taupo, I suddenly felt excited, energised and ready to race.
Maybe I had only just come to terms with the fact this was a baseline race, with a set pace by Ray to see how I would cope over the distance. It was a cold morning, so I opted to wear long sleeves, even though I generally stay clear when racing but didn’t want the cold to affect my start to the race.
My warm up felt ok, I had no sore muscles or joints, and I was also comfortable at the Level II pace, another positive knowing I was about to race the longest I have at Level III.
I knew the plan of the race, so when the horn went off I didn’t speed to the front, which was a bit strange watching all other runners speed past me. I knew i would probably encounter 95% of them later in the race. This isn’t saying I didn’t run faster at the start. I was running around 4 minute pace being pulled by other runners.
Pretty quickly at about 3km is when I started to re encounter the sprinters one at a time, keeping my pace in Level III, and working my way back into the race. I would find a pack of generally males ahead of me, work towards them, draft behind until I needed to pass to keep in zone.
I felt comfortable through the whole race, never really hitting a wall knowing I have ran this distance before and it’s not a worry about getting to the finish line. I felt strong an eager to push on, holding my pace, taking the needed nutrition throughout. But I definitely haven’t mastered the whole drinking from a cup while running past a aid station, as I coughed it down. The course was beautiful, with a handful of inclines and declines but very steady and not overwhelming.
Reaching the 17km mark I was ready to push the pace slightly more, having to then weave my way through the 10km and 5km racers was another obstacle but kept me entertained. Over these last kilometres I pasted a few other females in my race and males improving my overall placing, and competing the run with negative splits, at 1 hour 30, and 30 seconds. Not far from sub 1:30 but with the way I felt I feel I could achieve that goal easily.
I ended up first in my under 19 age group, and 6th overall female finisher out of 802, so not so bad at all.
I’m so pleased with how the race went, knowing how I felt prior in the week, I am proud of how I placed and executed the run. This race has allowed me to experience running a longer distance at a faster pace in competition, and has shown me how much I love it. I think I may have now got myself hooked on longer distance racing for the coming future, especially out of school with less restricted race distances.
– Jessica Bray