(sings)
And I ran, I ran so far away.
I just ran, I ran all night and day...
Couldn't get away (*)
Well,
it wasn't really 'all night and day' - in fact, it was only about 35 minutes.
And I wasn't really trying to get away (although I was, on
more than one occasion, trying to get a "clear path") ... but I
definitely Ran!
Hello, all. I did my first competitive run on Sunday, and I
am still stoked.
It was a 4.5km run, just me and 6,500 of my closest friends
:)
The annual Bridge to
I was one of the latter 6,500 - and while I can't be certain
(we don't get the 'official' times until next week), I reckon I came in in the top 10% of the 4.5k participants - or about half-way
through the 'runners' in that category.
Edit: The results are now in. I came in at number 1632 of 6500 in the 4.5k entrants, and with an official time of 35m32.863s
It wasn't the fastest run I will ever do, at 35 mins, or about 8km/hr, but I was just glad to finish my
first 'organised' race.
It was a beautiful day - typical for
The 'main' race began at 7, and it was fascinating to watch
the runners (and those who had dropped back to a walk) pass by our position, as
we waited for our turn.
But I have to say, as I heard the sirens of ambulances, I
figured that we weren't gonna get off on time.
And I was right. I'm not sure of the details, but I gather
that at least one 12k runner suffered a heart attack ... and that caused organisers to delay our start by nearly half an hour.
Then
the run began. And trying to funnel 6,000+ people through a single set of gates
(to record our times) was, as you might guess, a bit of a problem.
I stood back and let the 'elite' runners though, of course
... and then waited another 10 minutes to let some of the more anxious
fun-runners and walkers get started, then took off ... and I was still about
half-way through the pack.
The first kilometre was spent
trying desperately to (a) not run over walkers who were in front, (b) not get
run over by faster runners who, like me, had waited to start, and (c) keep an
eye on my pace.
I've discovered, from my training runs, that I need to
consciously slow down, and tried to keep my heart-rate below about 150 -
otherwise I risked pushing myself too hard: I was determined that even if I was
dead last, I wouldn't be a DNF (Did Not Finish).
While most of the time I was able to maintain an even pace,
whenever I was passed by another runner, I kept finding that I wanted to catch
up with them ... or at least keep with them.
But the funny thing was that as I slowed, I passed most of
them, because they
dropped down to a walk eventually :)
At about the 3km mark, we passed a whole precinct of coffee
shops, where hundreds of locals were sitting, having their Sunday breakfasts. Oooh, the smell of bacon-and-eggs, and the sharp tang of
espresso was tempting!
But by then, I knew (from my watch) that I'd done about 2/3
or the run, so I just kept running - still dodging the walkers, and not being
passed by any more runners by now.
500 metres further,
and we passed the marker saying 1km to go.
There was a woman (in her 50s, I'd estimate) who'd been just
in front/beside/behind me for most of the way, and we both grinned at each
other, 'cause we knew we were gonna breeze this in.
With
about 200 metres to go, we left the street part of
the run, and entered a park - where the track was lined with spectators /
former runners cheering us on.
A young couple spotted my 'brand new runner - all
encouragement gratefully received' T-shirt, and called out "Go, Newbie,
Go" ... so I did. And sprinted in the last 100 metres or so.
Did I feel good? Oooh, yeah!
After dropping off my timing chip, and getting my "I
finished" T-shirt, I wandered over to the stage to see the winners get
their prizes.
The best time for the 4.5k was about 15 mins
... which made my 35 seem paltry - but I didn't care..
Then, since I had to go to work later that day, I decided
not to wait for a bus - and walked the 5km back into the city itself, before
heading home.
The funny part was that so many people had parked near the
finish line that the traffic was moving at a slower pace than I was .. and I actually passed a bus
on the way
So - in short? My first run is done
and dusted. Not very fast, but I don't care. Now - I wonder when the next
charity run is scheduled around here?
(*) A Flock of Seagulls, in case you are trying to remember
who sang this
