Athletics track events: M Games

The weather over the weekend couldn’t have been better for a camping-type weekend. Even though there was a hitch with the borrowed tent (i.e: I didn’t know what went where and how it all worked...) So I had to play damsel in distress. My knight in shining armour had a wooden leg, but he was a very nice guy and together we managed to get the tent up. That was a relief!

Friday evening the first event was the 1500m. I wasn’t sure how it would go. I hadn’t timed myself for that distance in a long time and I was a bit nervous about the competition and the pace. But it worked out OK when I finished with the Gold. Later on, I collected the Bronze for the 200m.


Just after winning the 1500m (Gold)

Saturday morning’s event was the 400m. By then I had gotten to know a few of the other competitors and between events would hang out chatting and watching the other races with them. The 400m was a tough race but managed to grab the Silver. I was pretty happy with that as it was a close one and I almost dropped that spot at the end.

I left the stadium around lunchtime and wandered around Wanganui’s main street where I was quite tickled by the fact that some things have not changed since I lived there back in 1998/1999. Some of the shops were exactly as I remembered – or some with minor changes. There were differences too, of course, but everything looked like it had been spruced up a bit more.

After lunch, I was back into the serious business of my next event in the afternoon. The 100m was fast and furious. I came off the blocks fast (which surprised me) and was off to a good start but lost some ground around the 40 or 50m mark when my heel started to hurt. I barely clung on to finish with the Silver. The pain became increasingly worse, so I went to the Games Village to see a physio. He said I tore something in my foot. I forgot what exactly. Well, I can’t pronounce it anyway. He did an ultrasound on my foot, then strapped it up and told me to rest it.

Overnight, I agonised over my last event – the 800m on Sunday. Should I pull out? Should I run anyway? Would I aggravate the injury if I ran? Would I always regret it if I pulled out?

Sunday morning, I got up early to dismantle the tent. The foot was no better, but I headed to the stadium anyway. Once there, I realised I was never going to pull out before I even started. So I found myself on the start line for the 800m. Within the first 300m, I knew I was not going to be able to keep up and dropped off the pace and had to be content with holding second. I finished with the Silver and though I was disappointed at what could have been a Gold, I was happy I started and finished the race.

So 3 days, 5 events, 1 Gold, 3 Silvers and 1 Bronze medals (+ an injured foot).

Overall it was a great weekend, met some really cool people and I had a blast!

My weekend haul

Masters Games Duathlon

I got up early this morning (too early!) to prepare for the race and make the 75km drive over to Wanganui. It was a rainy and dreary morning, though when I left it was only raining lightly and I was hopeful that it would be dry over in Wanganui.

There wasn't much traffic on the road that early in the morning, but as I drove towards Wanganui, the clouds became greyer and greyer and it wasn't just raining at some spots, it was pouring cats and dogs.

Fortunately it was only lightly drizzling when I got into town and made my way over to the start point. I was one of the early arrivals. The briefing was supposed to start at 8am, and I wanted to make sure I made it. It turned out I shouldn't have worried about it - the briefing didn't start till 8.45am, 15mins before we were due to start.

I did meet a couple of women from Auckland, though, which was nice. We chatted the time away and made me forget my nerves for a bit!

When we started it was drizzling, so got a bit wet, but it dried up quite quickly. The first 5km run leg headed back towards town with a turn around at Kowhai Park. It was a 2.5km loop which we had to do twice. A part of it was on a soft shellrock track (easier on my knees!) and the other part was on road.

The 30km bike leg was also a double loop, each loop was 15km. It was fairly flat, which was good!

The final 5km run leg was a repeat of the first leg. Getting off the bike and trying to run was tough. The double loop did my head in a bit. And everything was definately hurting. I just tried to keep moving.

Not sure what my time was, but I brought home the gold medal! I haven't won any medals since high school!

Three for three

My third event in 3 weeks was the Wanganui (3 Bridges) half marathon on Saturday (Dec 11th).

I was worried about the heat, but it turned out to be an overcast day with a slight wind. The start finish line was at the Boat Club. Other race options were 5km, 10km, and the full marathon (walk and run). The half marathon was a 2 lap loop around the 3 bridges - Dublin, City/Victoria and Cobham. I took the first lap slow, but started to surge after the first lap. I was feeling pretty good around the 12-14km mark. For the final 2km, I was already moving, so even though it started to hurt, I kept pushing through till the finish.

The plan was to do slightly better than my Taupo time, but it ended up exactly the same - 2 hours 5mins. It felt like a really good run, so I was a little disappointed with the time. But I suppose it's pretty good considering the longest training run I've done since my last half was a 70min run. I need to train smarter, I think. And more speedwork obviously needed.

It started to spit just as I was finishing my first lap, but it never got too heavy until we were all sitting on the grass at the finish waiting for prize giving. It drizzled and I got pretty cold sitting there waiting without a jacket. Turns out I should have just gone home. I think everyone who was there won a spot prize except me :(

Two events in one week

Taupo Cycle Challenge (Nov 27th, 2010)

We did this as a team of 4, with me completing the 4th and final leg. The route was a lot of fun, with a few long downhill. There were the uphill parts too of course. Hatape Hill was a heartbreaker. Because it was so hot, many people got off their bikes to walk it. The temperature on the day soared to 32degrees. I was very tempted to stop as well (several times), but hung in there barely and somehow by a miracle got over it.

The rest of the route into Taupo main center was great, particularly at the finish line.

Our team time was 7:26:12 with my individual time at 1:57:20




Old West Road Race (Dec 3rd 2010)

This 10.6k run is an informal run between Massey and AgResearch staff. It was a hot day on Friday, but managed to finish in 61:53 (unofficial time for now), beating my last year's time of 65:35.

Off road at Kinloch

My first off road half marathon.... and I am hooked.

The Mizuno off road half marathon event was held in Kinloch, about 20km from Taupo. Kinloch is a gorgeous little get-away place with many beautiful holiday homes in the area.

The course was over an undulating terrain with two fairly gentle but long climbs and a large part of it was over the W2K mountain bike track. I was rather surprised to be feeling quite good in the first half of the race after the initial steady climb. Despite wiping out once quite early in the race, I picked myself up (with the aid of a couple people behind me) and kept going.

My calf muscles started to protest somewhere in the middle part of the race but I adjusted my running and ignored it the best I could. There were a few amazing views at the top when we finally got there - looking over at the lake, which was a good distraction from the pain.

The final 4km was pretty rough but I worked through it and turning the last corner and seeing the finish line was the best thing ever. I finished in 2:30:27, and just about gulped down a bucketful of GU drinks and water, and stuffed a chocolate fish which they were handing out, into my mouth.

It would have been good to carry some water with me. I had thought I would be OK without water for a half event in such cool weather, but that probably contributed to the calf cramps. It wasn't until we were walking back to the bach when I fell onto the side of the road - with severe calf cramps in both legs. It felt better after stretching it out, but it's pretty sore even two days after the event.

So, will I do an off road event again? Hell yes.

(Event on Sept 4th 2010)

August 1st Taupo half - my first official half

The weather wasn’t the greatest. It was overcast and there was a slight wind coming in from the lake. But at least it didn’t rain (not till later anyway). I started in the back of the 5th wave and tried to settle into a steady pace within the first 3km. That was hard to do with that downhill bit right off the start line. But I think I managed to stay disciplined and keep to my pace.

My first 5km split was slower than I would have liked it to be, but picking up the pace after the 10km marker wasn’t really an alternative either. I did put in a few short surges, overtaking a few people on the narrow footpath as we headed back into Taupo, but would settle back into a steady pace until the last 2km when I tried to sprint it. I passed as many people as I could on that last hill and through into the finish line. It was strong finish which I was happy with, but when I noted my time, it left me wondering if I didn’t give it as much as I could have throughout the earlier parts of the race. My legs felt like they didn’t quite belong to me towards the end (they seemed to have a mind of their own), and at the finish my left knee was so sore I was walking with a limp. But that cleared up quickly enough after I walked around a bit more.

Overall, I think it was a good course. It was fairly flat, and I was already anticipating that last hill – which really wasn’t too hard to do when you know the finish line is only 500m away. I did push through some pain towards the end, but I guess for my first official half marathon, I did an OK job.

10km club event

Ran the 10km event sponsored by the local running club yesterday. The weather could not have been more perfect - it was a sunny, crisp cool winter's morning. Excellent conditions for running. It was also a relatively flat, fast course.