Well guys, I think I'm finally "back" after being bent over and serviced by the 42.2k at the GC Marathon.....
Ha. I guess it wasn't really that bad, I've definitely suffered alot more in a marathon that's for sure.
Decided to put it out there and head out on sub-3hr pace for the first 21k and see what happened after that. Felt pretty good thru 21k in 1:28:30, but of course the marathon only starts at that point really, and 30k is where you hand in your Man Card.....
So here are the splits...
5km - 20:59
10km - 41:56 (20:56)
15km - 1:03:17 (21:20)
20km - 1:24:31 (21:14)
25km - 1:46:40 (22:08)
30km - 2:09:23 (22:43)
35km - 2:33:45 (24:22)
40km - 2:57:29 (23:43)
42.2km - 3:07
There wasn't anything catastrophic about the loss of time in the last 21k, it was just a gradual slide as you can see.
Overall I guess I;m pretty happy with the time, anything under 3:10 is acceptable in my books. For w hile there I thought I might be able to still muster up a PB, but it wasn't to be and 3:07 is still my 2nd fastest mara time ever.
Like I mentioned previously, it's all a learning experience and there are a few things in my mind that I've taken away from this race and will work on for the future.
Next race ? Coming up on the calander are the Yeppoon HIM and the Gold Coast HIM. At this point I have no plans to do either of these races.
I'll possibly run the Ipswich Half Marathon on 27 July and go shopping for a PB and sufferfest there, and then I will most likely be fronting up for the innaugral Port Douglas Long Course Invitational World Championship on October 11.
Have just been having a rest this week but will be heading out on the bike for the first time in a couple of weeks tomorrow morning.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Expectations
When I was younger, I played alot of team sports and I was always a very nervous athlete.
Now, whether it be in a Triathlon or Marathon, I don't get nervous. At all.
Most that have spoken to me prior to a race would say, I become quite quiet, but have an overall sense of calm about me.
Why?
Well, I believe it to stem from expectations. In the sports I did play as a youngster, I excelled, and I think subconsciously I really felt the weight of that.
I didn't want to let my team mates down, I didn't want the team to suffer as
a result of my poor performance.
What it boils down to is a fear of failure. It can be truly suffocating.
In individual sports, such as triathlon, there are no team mates that I could potentially let down, should I not perform. I can only let down myself, which I sometimes do as I am my own harshest critic.
I set my own personal bar very high.
I strive for personal excellence.
Should I consiuder something a failure on a whole, I always ensure there is some aspect of that I take away as a positive. Sometimes that may boil down to something as simple as "I know not to do somethng stupid like that next time, I have learnt my lesson".
A learning through a failure is a positive driver in my eyes.
Truth be told, all those years ago my team mates probably had no expectations of me, it was all in my head. We were kids, they were as self-involved in their own performance as I was in mine, it's just that my personality type meant that that manifested itself in me somehow feeling a sense of needing to carry the team due to possibly being more talented than them in certain aspects.
But talent is relative.
So is failure.
A disappointing result in my books may be the pinnacle of a sporting achievement for someone else. I think it's important to never lose sight of that.
This Sunday I'm running the Gold Coast Marathon.
I'm not nervous.
I feel no weight.
I have a healthy expectation of myself.
I'll strive to achieve personal excellence on the day.
Now, whether it be in a Triathlon or Marathon, I don't get nervous. At all.
Most that have spoken to me prior to a race would say, I become quite quiet, but have an overall sense of calm about me.
Why?
Well, I believe it to stem from expectations. In the sports I did play as a youngster, I excelled, and I think subconsciously I really felt the weight of that.
I didn't want to let my team mates down, I didn't want the team to suffer as
a result of my poor performance.
What it boils down to is a fear of failure. It can be truly suffocating.
In individual sports, such as triathlon, there are no team mates that I could potentially let down, should I not perform. I can only let down myself, which I sometimes do as I am my own harshest critic.
I set my own personal bar very high.
I strive for personal excellence.
Should I consiuder something a failure on a whole, I always ensure there is some aspect of that I take away as a positive. Sometimes that may boil down to something as simple as "I know not to do somethng stupid like that next time, I have learnt my lesson".
A learning through a failure is a positive driver in my eyes.
Truth be told, all those years ago my team mates probably had no expectations of me, it was all in my head. We were kids, they were as self-involved in their own performance as I was in mine, it's just that my personality type meant that that manifested itself in me somehow feeling a sense of needing to carry the team due to possibly being more talented than them in certain aspects.
But talent is relative.
So is failure.
A disappointing result in my books may be the pinnacle of a sporting achievement for someone else. I think it's important to never lose sight of that.
This Sunday I'm running the Gold Coast Marathon.
I'm not nervous.
I feel no weight.
I have a healthy expectation of myself.
I'll strive to achieve personal excellence on the day.
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