Race Report - Run Auckland Western Springs

Event -Run Auckland Race 5, Western Springs
Date - Saturday 20 June 2010
Distance -10km
Run Time - 41:00 minutes
Age Group (30-39) - 3rd
Overall Position - 9th

Well it was time to pull on the running shoes and again have a crack at getting out of my comfort zone and into the world of 'LLB' - Leg Lung Burn! I had pushed out a pretty decent week in terms of volume so the prospect of lining up for 10km in the pain cave on Sunday morning I have to be honest did not particularly thrill me - perhaps because it was paired with the knowledge that once it was over I would then have to knock out a 70 minute swim, 60 minute wind trainer, a gym session and a night shift!

The night before was spent pondering on what to wear - now lets be honest this is often more taxing than writing a race plan - the weather forecast was for rain and wind but the temperature was not going to be too low - just to further complicate the decision making process! This therefore resulted in me packing a bag that contained more clothing options that was actually probably necessary and that never even got opened!

I arrived at the start early as I needed to register - I got a primo park that meant I was a stones through away from the start line so I could take shelter from the rain in my car until the start of the race briefing - only 10 minutes of getting cold and wet! I hate running with too many layers on so I decided to brave the elements and hop out of my car in a singlet and then strategically place myself between some beefy men on the start line to keep myself warm :)

The race briefing was brief and we got underway on time - the first part of the course was a small loop across Western Springs Park which was waterlogged and muddy! Good times! Most of us ran rather gingerly across the grass until we the hit pavement and then it was all on! Big surge up the hill and into the LLB zone! As the pace settled I hung onto the back of 3 men that were cat and mousing with each other along the course. I named them 'Ernie' - an older guy who later told me he raced marathons on coke and purple jet planes, 'Mr Compression Socks' a tall young guy who was attempting to shake off Ernie's advances and 'Crazy Legs' a man who must have been no more than 5foot 2" tall but who had the most amazing leg speed I have ever seen in my life! So there was our little pack hanging onto each other trying to push each other along the course - my legs were not terribly happy but I was managing to hold my own!

As we were nearing the end of lap 1 (of 2) I ran past a fellow Ironman athlete 'Mad Dog' who was on the sidelines supporting his wife. As I ran past he shouted 'take the handbrake off Laura' - this took me a few seconds to process but not nearly as many seconds to shoot Ernie, Mr Compression Socks and Crazy Legs a look that would convey to them that my handbrake was well and truly off and that there would be no second lap heroics from my corner!

However this did get me wondering......was my handbrake on......and if so what was keeping it on! I guess it is fair to say that we all have a handbrake, not just a race handbrake but a life handbrake, we all have moments where we tell ourselves that we are trying as hard as we can but deep down we know that we aren't - the handbrake is on for whatever reason and we can't take it off. When racing you sometimes don't know if the handbrake is on until you get to the finish line - it's on the finish line that you have to contend with all those thoughts like 'am I happy with that ' 'could I have gone faster' and so on.

So as we set off on the second lap I pondered what might be keeping my hand break on! Was it a physical thing - were my legs so tired from the weeks training that they were applying the handbrake for self preservation?? Was it a mental thing - was I over thinking the rest of the day, the other training sessions, the night shift to come or was it an emotional thing - was the result today not that important in the grand scheme of things - was I merely here to have a hard run, tick the box and go through the process - in that case did the process trump the result??

As we entered the last 2km I came to the conclusion that on some level the handbrake must be on - I wasn't giving it absolute death - don't get me wrong I wasn't cruising....on the contrary I was running hard - Ernie, Mr Compression Socks and Crazy Legs were giving me a run for my money the reality was however that today I wasn't out there to record my fastest ever 10km result, to win the race or to qualify for a prestigious event - I was simply there to go through the motions......saving the handbrake release for a race where the result for me really counted!

As we moved into the last kilometre the dynamics of the pack began to change - Fast Legs was at the front of the bunch and Mr Compression Socks was attempting to take the lead - with every surge Mr Compression Socks made Crazy Legs took off upping the anti for 5 seconds as if trying to convey to the group that the pack win was going to be his. Ernie began tutting alongside me telling me to keep the pace even - he kept repeating that we would catch the plonkers up if we kept it even and he was right - with every surge came a lag and we headed into the finishers chute even stevens! To my complete surprise as we rounded the corner into the finishers chute Ernie burst into at an almighty sprint pipping the lot of us to the post and then promptly collapsed in a fit of the giggles clearly pleased with his win over the group!

All up I crossed the finish line in 41 minutes flat - a 4:06 minute kilometre pace - this wasn't the 4:00 minute pace I needed for a 40 minute finish but all things considered I can safely say that I was happy I gave what I could on the day.......handbrake or not!