nineteen seconds..
nineteen seconds..
"that's less than a second a lap mark, nineteen seconds", well. That succinctly summarises my thoughts for the entirety of Saturday up until exactly 5pm (the time i was 'officially' allowed to start drinking beer).
The week like the last couple of weeks went pretty well. The usual Monday swim/run, Tuesday was of due to Greg's funeral (rest in peace brother) and back into it Wednesday with a double swim set (7k, a lot for a non swimmer! Although I am planning on changing that tag). Thursday was ramped up with a great run set with Seano at midday. This was followed by a good chat afterwards about goals, plans and priorities. It was much needed and good to have a chat with some with their head screwed on, who can offer sound advice.
Friday (and the start of my long weekend) and for some reason our 4k set in the pool was a killer. I honestly saw not one person without and absolutely exhausted face on when we had finished, good set! This was followed by a cheeky THIRTY SIX K! coffee ride with Andy. Haha i have not done a ride that short in a long long time, but it was good to catch up and have a nice brew.
That afternoon i had the greatest ever massage from Elyse, she is the greatest masseuse please, look her up if you are in need of a killer massage http//:www.ntpages.com.au/therapist/27450
Saturday morning and it was off to new Perry Lakes stadium again for another running TT, this time 10k :/ i was feeling pretty nervous, but keen to give it a go. I got there with plenty of time to spare, and before i knew it we were off. Unfortunately for me, i pretty much instantly found out i was the fastest one there (for the 5 or 10k) so i had no one to pace/draft off. It kept going down hill from here...
I hit 3k and i was done. I wasn't running incredibly fast and was certainly not overexerting myself, i was just running, well sh*t. No i thought to myself, at least run the five. I went through 5k and as i crossed the line, ready to stop Brian (my coach) said to me, "nice running mark! you are on track keep going". Farrkk i thought to myself, i can't stop after that, ok just two more laps?!
It only got worse from there, i continued to run, what felt like awfully. But every time i rounded that 400 meters and ran past Brian and now Scotty they continued to give me support, and it made the difference. At about 6k i ran the worst 2 and a half laps, lost my rhythm and was ready to stop, throw in the towel and go home. Then i clocked over 7k.
And i had an epiphany..
"winners don't quit mark"..."what is everyone going to think if you just quit now, going gets tough and you stop?" i thought about the people i train with and try to help, if they see/hear about me quiting now, what are they going to do when i gets tough? I thought about a person in particular who supports me no matter what, i certainly wasn't going to let this person down..
So i ran on, harder and faster, 7k check, 8k check. It wasn't getting any easier, its was getting harder and harder and hurting more every step, but i had to at least try and run the 36 mins for 10k. Finally (somehow) i ran across the line. 36.19. DAMMITTT! I was so angry, nineteen seconds....
After my anger subsided, i had a think about my run. Sure i was angry that i didn't make the time the first time 'round but i was happy with what i had learnt, i am not a quitter :)
It was then off to Serpentine for another Peel Road race. It was a tough race and as usual i worked up the front, my day was over when i tried to go with a bit of a break with a couple of guys from A grade. We never really managed to get away and i failed to get back into the group when they came back past, i didn't mind, I'd done my work so i cruised the last half a lap as a warm down. From there it was off to Jarrahdale, where a whole bunch of us met up and stayed over night. A night filled with games, great food and to much beer (from 5pm). I actually had the best night and reallyyy enjoyed myself, good times :)
Sunday was filed with a 6am 90k hills ride with Benno (a bit of a struggle of 2.5 hours sleep, or maybe the 5.15am beer i had before we left...). We held a nice steady pace and got some good work done, cheers mate. After that we barely had time to scoff our faces before a 15k off road trail run. We ran across this amazing trail, which followed a drinkable steam pretty much the whole way. It was a nice cruisy run, with Seano and I setting the pace and others following. After lunch at the pub and a couple of hours of chatting, we he hit the road back to Perth.
Another pretty full on week, and with 2 more weeks of tough training to go i am really looking forward to the good hit out that should be the Gold Coast. Train hard as the Aus season is fast approaching!
Cheers
Markus
