This past week has been non-stop and managing everything was definitely a learning curve. Coming into the week I knew I had a lot on my plate and trying to balance what I knew was coming was daunting. Starting on monday I was completely sick with a virus, struggling with brain fog and not having sufficient sleep, not a great start to a long week of mid term exams and racing I know… I had been struggling with the cold for almost a week and was hoping it would resolve itself as at first it didn’t seem so terrible, but once I got the point where I couldn’t think, concentrate, remember things, or breath from being fully congested I do have to admit a few break downs were had.
Physically I was feeling ok, it was more in the head, and with it being race week luckily I had training that was already slightly less full on. Pushing through and studying and attending all my lectures was tough but I knew I needed to keep pushing as I didn’t want to have to move my exam as that would also mean not racing as I wouldn’t feel right to race and miss the exam from being too sick.
I took myself to the pharmacy and was given some medication that helped with some of my symptoms which I was so grateful for and managed to get to the exam on saturday morning feeling as I had done everything I could given the circumstances.
Feeling better than I thought leaving the exam, the next event was up and I needed to quickly pack and head on the road to start the 4.5 drive to Christchurch, which was a nice break away from constantly looking at my books. Arriving at my accomodation at 8:30pm and waking at 5am wasn’t ideal but again I made it work.
Because I arrived so late I also missed the expo the day before, meaning in the morning I left a bit earlier to pick up my race number beforehand. Luckily I brought my bike along and I actually cycled into the event which was so perfect as parking wouldn’t have been possible and it was a 40 minute walk otherwise.
Warming up and getting to the start line wasn’t an issue and I was actually more excited than nervous, as with the circumstances coming into the race I didn’t have expectations on myself knowing I could easily start feeling too sick. Not sure if it was just the Christchurch air but it seemed my headaches were at bay and almost cleared my system, getting out of Dunedin was probably my best decision.
With the gun going off and the haul of people crossing the start line, I was ready to go. Running alongside all of the half marathoners and the marathoners at the same time was a cool experience but also allowed me to be more surrounded by people to pace off of which definitely helped me pull through in a good time.
Most races when I look at my first km split its was faster than my other kms, but here I actually progressively increased and held a constant pace which im happy with knowing I didn’t go out too hard, too fast. Once I found a pace I found comfortable I felt like I was flying on legs I didn’t have, and I knew then I was in a case of actually finishing well.
As I went through the 5km mark, checking my watch I was shocked to see my 5km PB pop up, and that’s when I knew I was in the place to either do really well or hit a wall but I was willing to see how it would go.
The course was flat and the weather was perfect, my legs continued to step one in front of the other and I was able to keep holding the same pace. Hitting the 8km mark I started to feel the pace catch up to me but I knew either I could pull back and finish the race knowing I could have given more, or dig into my mental barrier and keep going, and that’s what I did, knowing I only had 3.5 km to go and 3 until the 10km split I dug deep and pushed no matter how much my legs screamed for me to stop. As the finishing shoot came I kept pushing through seeing the time above the finish line I already knew that I was happy with my time but seeing the chip time I was even more proud of myself.
Going into the race not expecting much and coming out of it with a 1:30 minute pb is more than I expected especially coming into it with a previous PB that was already a massive jump from the time before. Road racing has continued to prove to be my favourite and continues with the environment that it brings, I can’t wait to see what I can continue to do through the next training block towards my first half of the season in June.
– Jessica Bray
Jessica is very modest with her reporting. You’ll see from the results she comfortably won the Under 20 Woman’s category with 2nd place nearly 7 minutes behind her. She was also 4th Woman overall. – Coach Ray