5km- Sub 20 Minute Attempt

I knew I had my surgery coming up, so I wanted to test my current fitness levels and have a 5km hit out. I usually do my 5km Time Trials (TT) in the same place for accuracy. Different tracks can have very different perceived results for the same distance. So I ventured off to Kawana Park Run to give it a crack.

My previous Personal Best (PB) time was 20.22 mins which was eight weeks before. I have been doing speed and strength work since then, so theoretically I could have gotten faster. All week leading up to Saturday, I became a little anxious as I put pressure on myself…..again! This is such an energy zapper, so I slapped myself in the face and pulled it together. I was going out to attempt a 5km run in under 20 mins. I could either do it or I couldn’t…… there was no use worrying about it!

I lathered myself in my favourite relaxation and preparation tool (magnesium spray) and I was off to bed for an early night. I awoke with familiar butterflies doing circle work in my tummy. Comprehending pushing myself so hard is intimidating enough, let alone aiming for such a fast time. That was the stench of self-doubt in the air.

I could feel it was cold outside and dressed appropriately in my long Skins and a blue T-shirt. Whenever I attempt a PB, I always wear a pink singlet, it makes me run faster. Today however, I decided to challenge that belief and dress for comfort.  I scoffed a banana, gulped my pre run drink, grabbed the cherubs and we were off.

The wind bitterly nipped at our noses and ears. It was 4 degrees and gusty, not conducive for a PB attempt. As I had my surgery booked for next week, this was my last chance. I knew I would lose fitness during the recovery phase of surgery, so favourable conditions or not, I was still going out to run as planned. We rounded the corner to a rainbow painted sunrise of pink, purple, orange and yellow. This scene of delight is why I love to rise at ‘ridiculous o’clock’ to go out in the middle of winter for a run.

During my usual 3km warm up, I didn’t take off my jumper or my gloves. I had frost bite on my face and my runny nose had turned to icicles. Well, not quite, but I was bloody cold. It didn’t even feel like I had warmed my body up properly.

I repeatedly told myself it was too cold to be trying for a sub 20mins. To pull out today and come back to do it another time was the easy option. This attitude was not going to get me to the Masters National Championships next year; it was time to ‘suck it up’ and get on with it! Period.

I stripped down and jogged up to the start line. King Waz had me do some run throughs on the road to keep my heart rate up and my body warm. He had been carrying a bit of soreness, so he wasn’t able to help pace me today, looks like I will be doing it alone. A tough ask, but I was up for it.

Me in blue on the right. Pushing up the Hill

There was a countdown to the commencement. Three, two, one, Go! My first km goal was 3.50 mins per km and I came in a little fast at 3.47. It is only 3 secs but for me running at that speed too early, I can blow myself up and really feel it toward to end. The second km is uphill, so we allowed a little more for that one at 4mins flat. All week this is the km I was worried about, wondering if I could push that hard up the hill. No I couldn’t. I came in at 4.12. Now I had to make up time. I had a little more uphill and I pushed harder. My body still hadn’t warmed up properly, I was cold.

I rounded the light house to be smacked in the face by a glacial head wind. It felt like it literally pushed me backward. It was brutal! As I pushed as hard as I could through the resistance, it seemed futile. It was at this point I nearly gave in and slowed to a comfortable pace, thinking it wasn’t going to happen today. I already had time to make up and now I had extra resistance. Triumph for this attempt was not looking good.

Then I felt the downward side of the hill ease the resistance against my body somewhat. I hoped the trees may provide some shelter from the onslaught of the open ocean air-blast. With the positivity of these two aspects flying through my mind, I put on my ‘You Can Do It’ hat and drove down the hill. I knew I was half way and done hard work to get me to this point, I didn’t want to throw that away. ‘Never Give Up‘ was echoing through my head. I often use these words as a reminder when the going gets tough.

My third and subsequent km times were to be 4.00 mins flat and then to finish as hard as I could. I had a 10 second variable in case I needed it and boy, did I need it. 4 min pace was going to be challenging with this confronting wind and being behind time already. My third km downhill was 4.05 and then I hit the flat fourth km. The trees seem to be more sparse and the wind stronger, but I think I was just getting more tired. One of my friends Zac, who knew what I was up to, caught up to me to help me out. It is great having this kind of encouraging running community who so willingly support each other. I was grateful to have him on board.

I was out of breath, but managed to express to him how much I was struggling at this point. I find this fourth km the most challenging. It is usually where I lose time. My legs were weary, my throat burned from the cold air and I though I was going to vomit. All I was doing at this point was putting one foot in front of the other, I was unmistakably in pain.

I was telling myself ‘One step at a time, keep going.’ Zac told me to slice through the air like a pizza cutter and it gave me something other than my pain to focus on. I knew I should be concentrating on my technique to keep me strong, but because of this confronting battle with the wind, I was way beyond that, now it was all about survival! My defiance didn’t allow me to surrender, but it was certainly a fight.

Between now and the finish line, I was not going to look at my watch, I was just going to give it everything I had left, which wasn’t much at all. My watch beeped to inform me I had entered the last km. Knowing I only had one to go, lifted me somewhat and I found something within. I tried to gradually build up like a steam train to the finish. It is a fine line between going too early and not having anything left and picking the perfect time to step it up. I saw the car park ahead and knew there was about 100m to go and gave it a last ditch sprint attempt.

Sprinting home with Zac

Looking back on my splits, my fourth km was a blow out of 4.17 and this is where I had let myself down, but finishing on 3.51 when I was exhausted made me pleased. Today I did not achieve a sub 20 minute result; I finished with a time of 20.12 mins. My initial reaction was disappointment as I fixated on my short fall. It was a measly 12 seconds. As I cool downed with my Coach, he reminded me, I had earned myself a 20 second PB on last time and that was something to be proud of. So I tried to focus on that instead of being so hard on myself.

I will certainly be having another shot at it when I am fit after surgery. It would be nice to have more favourable weather conditions next time, but you can never pick the plight of your race. Part of being an athlete is to be able to adapt to whatever is thrown at you and not chuck in the towel. Always do your best with whatever you are given and continue to drive yourself forward.

Not long ago, I would have looked at this effort as a failure, and for a short time I did fall into that trap, but there is a world of learning in it for me and with that extra knowledge, I can make myself better. I continually learn something new about myself on my running journey and that is empowering.

So watch this space for my next attempt…….maybe I will wear pink instead of blue!