Perth Activ City To Surf … Done, Dusted, No T-Shirt!

One thing I really like about the events I compete in is the feeling of wanting to do it again.

I have just finished the 2009 Perth Activ City To Surf 12km run and I feel great! I didn’t beat last year’s time and it all came down to the lack of consistent, developmental training. I just didn’t get my act together this year. But I knew that going in.

The Result

My time, according to my Garmin 305 was 1:10, just under 6 mins/km. Okay considering, but there were signs throughout the run that I wasn’t going to get a better time than last year.

The Start

The start of Perth’s City to Surf is Malcolm St which is a 1km up hill run. Last year I remember bouncing all over the place but with heaps of energy. This year I looked forward to it but once I got to the top I wanted to rest.

Warning sign 1. No matter, it didn’t douse my spirits, just a small indicator.

Then I came to the realisation that, contrary to last year, people were passing me, whereas I was passing people last year. I wanted to keep my pace steady but this year just wasn’t going to be a repeat of my first 12km race. Again, I just wanted to enjoy myself so I kept running at whatever pace I could. Warning Sign 2!

Water Stations

I read recently, on a professional running site, that walking through a station where you wanted water really doesn’t affect your overall time. So I walked through two stations this year and grabbed some much needed refreshment (Last year I didn’t walk at all!) I did feel better after the water so I think I benefited from that and am happy that I did it.

Inclines/Declines

I’ve always had a philosophy of running inclines no matter how I feel. This year I tried that but again, they got the better of me and I had to walk a couple.

However, I also allowed gravity to do its thing on the declines and loped along, picking up pace without using as much energy. Again, this seemed to work as I found myself passing people (who then passed me when I had to walk! )

In the end I knew I wouldn’t be beating last years 1:04:27 so I reset the target to be around 1:10 and beat the 1:12 (6min/km).

In the end of course, had I run the whole way my time might have nudged a new PB but, well, that’s hindsight isn’t it and it’s easy to say that now!

Conclusion/What Did I Learn?

1. Firstly, I am really glad I did the run and was happy with the outcome all things considered. Obviously the lack of better preparation let me down so I need to address that.
2. I can’t underestimate the small things when preparing for a race like this. The morning 4km run more regularly would help and slowly extending this will obviously benefit my training (and health). Also my diet isn’t what it was last year. I think I am about 5 – 6 kgs heavier, now THAT will make a difference (no wonder I didn’t bound up Malcolm St! )
3. I have signed up for a 1/2 Marathon training regime from Nike+ so I will keep to that as well and see my times and distance improve.
4. More water. I am useless at water intake so I need to address that and make myself drink more whether I feel like it or not.
5. Finally, just glad I did it. This time I feel better about doing it, even though the time was less it has enthused me to do more. Last year I think the C2S was THE goal and training dropped off as a result once I’d done it. I think the motivation to continue is more pronounced this year. And there is always the World Running League to compete in.

If you’ve read this far, thanks, I appreciate all the encouragement I got for doing this. I think the value of “community” cannot be overstated. Trust all your events are going well too.

Bill

Tagged as: city to surf, Perth, race, run, running