I'm not sure if
there were any runners after me.
Oh, I know there
were some walkers - and a few who'd run most of the way, and walked the rest
... but I think I may have been the last-placed non-stop "runner" in
today's Spina Bifida Wheel-Walk-and-Fun-Run in
Brisbane.
And I don't
care, 'cause I beat the one runner who really counted: me.
Today, I ran 8K,
or 5 miles, for the first time in my life.
It was in a
charity run, for the Spina Bifida & Hydrocephalus
association of
But then again,
I'd never run longer than 7km - and even then, I'd only done that once - so I
was in new territory today.
And so you can
imagine how good I felt to do the race in a shade under 56 mins
- 10 mins better than I expected!
The run was
along the river-front, and I guess there were about 400 people taking part in
the 2k, 4k and 8k events.
I turned up, on
my own .. my wife decided not
to come, since it looked like rain, and sitting around for an hour waiting for
me, while it rained, didn't seem like a particularly exciting way to spend a sunday morning.
As it turned
out, the rain held off - and the race was run in dry, cool (for
While I was wandering
aound, warming up and generally killing time, I
spotted a guy wearing running gear bearing the Cool Running logo.
It turned out to
be Plu, a
He snapped a
couple of pics before the start, and then we were
away.
I found myself
caught up in the race-pace - and in fact pushed far too hard for the first 300 metres or so.
As my HR moved
to about 150 (far too high, for early in the race) I noticed that one of my
shoes was not properly tied - so I stopped, to re-tie it. And that probably
saved me.
Most of the rest
of the runners got ahead of me, and so I was able to get back into MY rhythm,
rather than theirs. Actually, It may also have had something to do with the
fact I had no music - and without DJSteveboy's Podrunner mix (http://www.djsteveboy.com/) I felt a bit
'lost' for a while :)
Anyway, it was a
beautiful morning for running - and when I got to the 1km marker (which was the
2km event 'turn-around',) I glanced at my watch - and it was at
A couple of
hundred metres later, I passed a couple of guys with
SBH Official bibs - and carrying a card table. They were hurrying ... but I
thought no more about it.
So, I'm
shuffling along, at my usual pace - a dad and his (8 year old?) daughter
walking in front of me. I pass them. And in about 2 mins,
they pass me, now running. And in about 2 mins they
are walking and I pass them again. And in about 2 mins
they pass me. See a pattern here? It kept up for the next 6 K!
Just before 3km
into the run, the first of the faster runners passes me on the way back! Arrgh! I've run nearly 3km, but they've run 5 and a bit!
A tad demoralising, I think ... but then I pass the
dad-and-daughter-duo again, and I think "Ha! The 'elite runners' may be
faster- but I'm still running!"
Soon after, I
see some marshals, directing us across a bridge ... and realise
that I don't remember seeing the 2k mark (which was where the 4k
walkers/runners were to turn around.)
So I've now got
no idea what my pace actually is ... but hey, it doesn't matter: Just finishing
would be a new PB for me (in terms of distance) - so up'n'over
the bridge I go.
Then down again,
into the Botanic Gardens - one of the absolute jewels in
A few hundred metres into the gardens, and there - coming back towards me
- is Plu, from coolrunning.com.au .. who whips out his trusty digicam, and snaps a couple of shots - interrupting his run
to make a newbie feel like a star!
Thanks, Plu - you are a legend!
And then I spot
the 4km mark - and water. Ooh, yeah, by now I'm starting to feel like it :)
I check my
watch, and blow-me-down! I'm UNDER my target of 30 mins!
So, around I
turn, and back I go, with a new spring in my step.
As I was getting
my bib marked at the 4k point, I mentioned to the marshals that I'd not spotted
the 2k station - and a couple of women who had arrived a few seconds before me
said that they, too, had wondered ... they were only gonna
run the 4k, but were now 4K from the end :)
So we took off
again - with them passing me on the slight downhill segments, and me passing
them on the up, as they dropped to a walk.
At one stage, I
heard one of them comment on my T-shirt - which has Mountainlake's
slogan on it: DFL>DNF>DNS - Dead Flamin' Last
is better than Did Not Finish is better than Did Not Start :)
So ... jogging,
jogging, jogging - and I get to those marshals at the bridge, one of who called
out that I was doing great. I said, "Yeah, I'm getting there, slowly"
... to which she responded "You're going faster than I am!" which
brought a smile to my dial.
A bit further
on, there are the blokes with the card-table that I'd spotted ... they were the
2KM marshals, and the reason we'd missed them was that they were still heading
to their station when we passed them :)
It didn't really
matter - they were there in plenty of time for the 4K event, which didn't start
until some time after we 8Kers set off - but I did
wonder what my time was for a while :)
On the subject
of time, I check my watch - and I'm well within the 45mins that I'd set as a
target at the 6km stage.
Then, I get to
the 1km/7km point - and realise I'm in uncharted
territory. I'd run 7km - once - a week ago - but now I was running further than
I ever had, in my entire life!
It's the little
things that make life so sweet, I reckon - and the buzz I got just from knowing
that I was doing something new was quite a high!
Then, I'm into
the final stretch of 300 metres. Here's
dad-and-daughter, being passed by me one more time.
There's a couple of guys in wheelchairs, who've
probably done the 4k event (or maybe the 2K ... I dunno).
But one was in his 20s - in a chair - and pushing a kid about 9 or so, in
another chair. Now THAT's guts!
And there's the
'finish line! So I pick up the pace. And I look down t my watch - and I've done
55.57! Bloody hell! That's a surprise! The grin on my fice
was about a mile wide, as I pulled out my phone, and sent a video to everyone I
could crowing about the result :)
The best time
for the 8k was 26:07, I'm told - or better than half my time ... but as say, I don't care!
'Cause I was
able to run 8km in an hour - but only 3 months ago couldn't run 100 metres without being 'winded'.
And I was able
to raise some funds for a worthwhile charity at the same time.
Do I feel good?
Oooh, yeah :)
Regards
Graham C