Another Race Report!

Damn those new tights are unflattering!

I ran the Harbour Capital 10k race on Sunday. It was cold and wet and I was glad I wasn't doing the half marathon. Knowing I was only doing 10k made it easy to get out of bed. My usual pre-race prep went to plan, right up till the point I discovered Hamish had left the headlights on in the Honda the day before and the car battery was most emphatically dead. One quick cab ride later I was dropping my bag off at the bag drop. Sarah found me in the crowd and we chatted till it was time to move out to the start line, at which point I realised I'd totally forgotten to put my Garmin on.

I was trying two new things this race. I had an Adidas cap on to see if it would help keep the rain off my glasses. I was nervous the Southerly would whip it off and so I bobby-pinned it to my head and had no issues. It has a super-long brim and kept the rain out of my face, though looking down had the effect of blinkering me and my face was hidden from the maraudering photographers. I was also wearing a pair of Adidas running gloves. It wasn't really cold enough to need them but I wanted to see how they felt. They ended up being lovely to wear and not at all too warm.


Sarah and I ran together for the first few kilometres but at a certain point she slipped behind me and was gone. I started out super easy, as I have a terrible habit of going out too fast and crashing by the time I get to Oriental Bay. It helped that I started near the back of the field, leading to a fair bit of ducking and weaving to begin with. As the field opened up it also led to me overtaking runner after runner. I kept picking off women, deciding to hit on any who were wearing the official running shirt. There were plenty of them so I wasn't stuck for choice!

In the end I felt good the whole way around the course. I sat at what felt like a slightly harder than easy pace and just went with it. I never lost any kind of mental battle out there. The whole time I knew it was only 10k. I knew I could run 10k, and I also knew Sarah was behind me and that I didn't want her to catch me!

I never saw Duck, who was out on her bike with the half marathon girls. I did however see another of the Les Mills trainers at Freyberg, and one of our squad members at Te Papa. Cheering and waving was called for. Round Pt Jerningham we started overtaking the half marathon tail-enders, and that was extra motivation.

Before too long the race was over. I ran a two minute PB, and finished exactly where I thought I would given how I was feeling during the run. I can run 10k several minutes faster than that, but I've never been able to run a race of that distance while feeling good, so this was a triumph more significant than the time. I placed 50% in the 10k field, and 60% of the 10k women and women in my age-group. I am such a mid-packer!

The rest of the day was mad. Hamish picked me up and we bought a new dishwasher before having lunch at Sweet Mother's Kitchen then doing the grocery shopping. Finally I got to go home for a shower. Soon after I left home again to have coffee at Diamond Deli with the lovely Marianne to talk about yoga and life. We talked solidly for an hour and a half and then the conversation came to a natural end and we went our respective ways (thanks Marianne if you are reading this - it was a lovely afternoon).

Hamish and I watched the season finale of Dr Who, then it was time to head out again to see Bill Bailey. The man is hilarious, intelligent and an incredibly talented musician and I haven't laughed so hard in a long time.

Nonetheless I was yawning hard by the end of the show and happy to get to bed for a well-earned sleep. It occurred to me on several occasions that a few months ago I couldn't have dreamed I'd be enjoying such a full, rewarding day. Those were the dark days when I was stuck on the sofa in the midst of anxiety-induced vestibular disorder.

I felt truly blessed to have all those opportunities for celebration afforded to me over the course of one wet, wintery Sunday. And I haven't even told you about my return to the Tinakori Hills in my new trail running shoes yet!