Thinking & Feeling

“The world is a tragedy to those who feel, but a comedy to those who think.” Horace Walpole

Sunday 6 November 2011

YES! New PB in Landmark's Fun Run

The first race I ever ran was the Landmarks 6km Fun Run in 2005, I have run it three times since in 2006 , 2007 & 2008 . I skipped 2009 for some reason I don't recall why, and then was going to run it last year expect I went and broke my ankle the night before the race, so my plans to run it were thwarted. In fact today marks the 1-year anniversary of breaking my ankle and I am pleased to say it is 99% healed!

So this year was my 5th time running this race. Although I could have entered the Half Marathon this year I opted to do the 6km Fun Run again for 2 reasons:
1) I wanted to gauge my time/performance against my previous results, to see if I have improved over time.
2) The boys were entering it too, so we decided to make it a challenge.

I told Quinn I was going to try for a PB on this run, but that I would give myself a 10 minute handicap to give him a chance, and I also told him that once I finished I'd go back to find him.

There were a LOT of kids running this year as it was publicized as a schools challenge. A lot of them are lightning fast, but they start out like the wind and start fading a few kms in. Still some of them are really impressive and tiny too. I enjoyed it and it was a nice brisk early morning comfortable run. I know the terrain well since it's right in our neighbourhood.

So far my best time in this race was 30:40 in 2008. So this year I was hoping I could crack the 30-min barrier. Was I ever surprised and pleased to round the corner at the finish line and come in at 52:50!! Yippee! I actually earned a silver medal too which means I was placed somewhere in the top 40. Woot!

Previous results are as follows:
Date Dist Time  Speed min/KM
Nov-05 6 35.00  10.3 5.83
Nov-06 6 31.20  11.5 5.20
Nov-07 6 31.15  11.6 5.19
Nov-08 6 30.40  11.8 5.07
Nov-11 6 28.50  12.6 4.75

Once I was done I went back to look for the boys. I found Quinn at just past the 5km mark and he was looking tired but still in good spirits. I managed to encourage him to finish strongly and he really pushed himself to the end. He managed to finish in a very decent 43:20 - which is about the same time he did the 5km last week so a nice improvement there. He ran nearly the whole way again and was motivated and focused which is nice to see. It seems the bug is starting to bite him.

I again went back after Quinn finished, to find Griffin. At which point a traffic cop was joking with me about being lost and just how many times was I planning to go around the same loop. LOL

I found Griff at the 5km mark. He was struggling a bit as he was pale and  feeling a bit shaky. It was low blood sugar I suspect as I don't think he ate breakfast. So he was plodding along slowly. After encouraging him to breathe deeply and slowly and giving him a mental boost, he perked up and started walking with more determination and even decided to run the last 400m. Quinn joined us and was encouraging him too. I told him that when he got to the grass near the finish line he must just give it all he has and finish strong. He took this to heart and shot off as fast as he could leaving Quinn and I behind him.. As he rounded the last corner he even had a small crowd cheering for him and the lady with the medal was clapping and leaping and making a fuss of him.He even earned himself a spot prize for his drive at the end. He finished in 1:13:30.

We saw a lot of friends and kids from school there and it was a great morning to be out. All in all another good race which we really enjoyed.

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