There I was in Gold Coast at 5am on a Sunday morning (as usual for us runners) it was cold and dark and I probably didn’t need to be there that early but hey my nerves were all over the place. It is the day for a Half Marathon sub 2hr and speed doesn’t come natural to me so I was freaking out!!!!
I have been running for less than two years and I consider myself just an average runner that struggles to run fast. Just last year I decided to run my first Half Marathon, inspired by the beautiful ladies from RMA. Since then I have done two Half Marathon races: the first one at the Brisbane Marathon in 2hr06 and the second at the Twilight Bay in 2hr20. The thought of running fast kind of scares me and I don’t think I would had pushed myself if it wasn’t for my amazing running coach Jodie Oborne believing in myself 😉
It was my first time at the Gold Coast Bulletin Fun Run, I had no idea of the course and a week before the race I was told there was a hilly part. OMG! I thought the course was flat??!!! I decided not to panic and I didn’t even check the elevation.
I picked up my race number and walked outside, the sun was rising and the scene was amazing! For few minutes I enjoyed some calm and peace of beautiful Gold Coast.
Then I decided to do a warm up run, something that I learned recently on my Marathon training. A year ago I wouldn’t run before the start of a race but now I know all the benefits it actually brings 😉
After a little run I met up with some amazing running mums from Gold Coast and some Brissie mums too… It’s really good to put faces to names. How awesome is RMA? Chatting away relaxed me and before we knew it… we were starting.
My mantra started as soon as I started my Garmin: you can do it! You can do it! and just like that I got to the hill at around 2km mark, it wasn’t as bad as I thought : success!
Although I don’t really like running up hills, I love running down hills. It’s something I learned with the trail runs and I just love it! Here an opportunity to gain ground faster with less effort!
At around 4km mark I saw my husband, he ran with me for a little bit and took some photos, he said I was running fast and I couldn’t be any happier 😉
Approaching the first turn around I started to see the RMA singlets running on opposite direction, lots of high fives, waves, smiles, it was just so nice! That feeling that you belong… I needed it so much and it helped me to tell myself I was NOT feeling tired…
I must mention RMA Vanessa Kantor who would stop her running to photograph all RMAs she came across! Thank you!
At this stage I wasn’t tense anymore, and at half way mark and no injuries it was the time to push harder, negative split is something new for me…I got to a faster pace and kept going…going…going… I got to 15km and didn’t realise how quick it went! 15km already? Oops forgot to have my gel at 12km… better to have it now….
I looked at my watch and saw that my goal was really going to come true!
As I got to 19km mark my husband was waiting for me, although he is recovering from Plantar Fasciitis and not able to run, he ran another 2km with me. I had a big smile on face I was running to make the impossible possible! And I wasn’t dying! I felt strong. I couldn’t believe myself 🙂
As I entered the CBus Stadium, hubby stopped running and kept screaming Run Faaaast!!!! and I ran, I ran with all what was left in me. I got there and I was sprinting, huffing and puffing…
As I crossed the finish line a wave of emotions fell on me and I was a mess of happiness: 1 hour and 53 minutes!!!!
Lucky me RMA Rose Willis was gathering at the finish line and gave me a big hug and a shoulder for me to cry on. She had done so well too! A 10km sub 1hr!!
RMA spirit all around.
What a great race! What a great day!
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