Denouement

What a race!  I kept a 3:56 pace for the 18k tempo with Roberto 13 days before this race, and that was hard and I felt myself flagging at around 14k in that, but it was a bit warm for that run, so I was hoping with cool temps I could do 3:55 pace for this race, but that was B goal.  C goal was to not totally embarrass myself (totally dying, not placing top 10, a bathroom incident, or 4:xx pace would all qualify).  The “A” goal was to run faster than my average pace at the Standard Chartered Half marathon, which was 1:22:05, which was 3:53 pace.  This course definitely was rolly in places, but the hills were manageable, nice and wussy, the perfect kind of hills for me.  I thought I would go out at 4:00/k the first couple of k’s to warm up, and try to keep the pace comfortable the first half, then keep a good effort up the biggest hill between 16.5 and 18k, then use the downhill to kick it back into a gear and finish strong.  With the above overall paces as guides depending on how I FELT.

The race started at 9:30 and my hotel was a scant 500m from the start line, which enabled me to have a relaxed morning (that is up until 20 minutes til race time, then I was scrambling).  I ate a substantial breakfast (one packet of oatmeal, two hard rolls with brie).  I then did a walk to the race area to ask a couple of questions, then went back to my hotel and stretched and rolled.  In my hotel I have the smallest TV screen I have ever seen in a hotel.  It is about a 14, maybe a 15”.  And all channels are in Italian, but there are three music channels that play mostly songs in English, so I would go through those (Mtv, Virgin and Playme), catching up on what’s hot, though they would also play old songs too.  Anyway, I went outside and ran 2.5k, enough to see the first 1k of the race, and it is flat the first half then a gradual uphill. This suggests no faster than 4:00 first k, because of hill and warming up. 

I have some issues getting my back to the drop off.  I can’t find my glide, I never did, and got a couple of reddish marks thanks to that.  I opt for no sunglasses (it sprinkled a bit in the warm up), and no gloves.  I don’t know what the starting temp was, but I would take a stab at 10C.  I had light arm warmers (black knee high nylons with a hole in the bottom for my hands), but 5 minutes to the start the sun came out and I rolled them down, but I kept them around my wrists because there were darker clouds in the direction we would be running (I never used and dumped at 10k).  At the start the top 10 or so male and female runners are announced.  There is a helicopter taking video.  The start was very obvious (a 10 count down in Italian with people changing in English) but still an (apparently) Italian man jumped the gun, however the directors don’t make us come back.  We start out fast.  Within 300m I probably have 10 ladies ahead of me, I look down at my watch and pace so far was about 3:45.  So I dial back a bit.  We hit the uphill and I take it easy, come in at the 1k at around 3:52.  I don’t want to start that fast but that k is now done and there’s nothing I can do about that. There’s some headwind coming off the lake, and I am at the back of a pack that is about 12 men and 3 women strong, so I hang with them and draft, draft, draft.  The whole course was very curvy so I also paid close attention to tangents.  I stayed in the back of this pack for probably 3-4k, we are going a bit faster than I would like (about 3:52) but I am afraid there might be no-man’s land behind me and wanted the pack for strength and drafting.  Naturally and slowly the pack broke into smaller groups, and I would hang with a group, draft and pass, draft and pass.  At one point (probably 10kish) I was taking the wind and was thinking, “How did this happen?”  Probably a combo of a good tangent and the group spreading out.  Sometimes a runner would be 20m ahead, then I would do a better tangent then all the sudden they are 10m ahead, so that’s one way I picked people off gradually.  Green shirt girl and I were back and forth for the first 4k, then she fell back, then another girl who was at the lead of the pack and I traded off for a while, but I never saw her after 9-11k.  First 5k was 19:20ish, second 5k was 19:05.  I was trying to keep the effort relaxed, but was also concerned about my pace thus far.  Around 8k we entered a tunnel and I thought, oh no, a repeat of Yokohama in the same part of the race—don’t go too fast.  So there was a person ahead of me and I told myself to just go the same pace as him, and that helped me stay calm. I think I might have passed him by the end of the tunnel but at least I didn’t tear it up while gps-less.  By 13k, I was feeling good and knew I just needed to stay relaxed through the hill at 18k.  Team Italia was able to send me because of one of our sponsors, Unigasket paid for the race. Well the Unigasket contact/big wig biked the race beside me or just ahead for 2k on (he had a bike permit so was officially sanctioned to do this).  He had been silent up to this point, but I told him, “Over halfway done!” I had an African girl ahead of me about 200m, and my goal was to slowly catch her by 18k (the top of the hill).  Big Wig tells me I am in 7^th or 8^th place for the women.  Well I passed her at around 14.5k without a fight, which made me miss my 15k split but according to my watch’s automatic 5k split it was 19:15. That then brought me to blonde petite chick. (I am not mentioning all the men I also passed, there were probably 2 guys for each girl I passed?) and I passed her and a man on the long uphill at around 17.5k!  Me, this is me, we are talking about.  Passing people on the uphill.  I crest the hill and try to push the downhill, going quite a bit faster than 3:50 pace for a k or so.  I remember being at 19.2 thinking 7k left—that’s nothing! The fourth 5k was 19:04. Close to this point big wig tells me that the next girl is about 200m ahead, but I don’t see her.  Then he tells me she is 150m ahead.  And I am wondering if he is feeding me a line to keep me going.  Then by 22.5k I am getting close to passing a man during a really curvy section of the run, and I look at the man closer and realize his butt looks a lot like a girl butt.  This is a girl butt!  So I pass a short haired girl who doesn’t respond.  This is fun.  Now there is no one in sight.  I have one last gu (this is the psychological gu) at 23.5k and I know I have one mile to go.  Right after taking the gu I fall apart for about 50m.  Those who know me know that means I slow and start to whimper-cry.  Big Wig has been encouraging me since 15k or so, and I know I have a witness if I wuss out at this point, and it is totally unnecessary.  So I got my crap together and decided I would not slow.  So there you go.  The 24.5-25k bit is a nice uphill, probably only 1 or 2 percent but it’s cruel to put at the end.  Big Wig tells me to not give up now, and I don’t, though I can’t say I conquered the hill.  My last split was 19:07  There is a short downhill then 50m flat for the end,  and I see 1:35:xx when I can finally see the timer with my sorry eyes, so I give a wussy mini-kick and come in 1:35:53. 

My watch showed the course short, 24.85.  Big Wig says it is 25.2 and that’s what the k markers showed.  There were some long tunnels with curves that would have affected my gps.  I did a mapmyrun and it came in just over 25k but I didn’t have the patience nor the satellite image accuracy to get all the curves right, so I think it was 25k-25.2k, somewhere in there.  I would like to think it was 25.2, that would be awesome because that actually puts my ave pace at 3:48.  Either way, it was one of those magical races where all went well, and my race was as good or even better than my training.  I am grateful, so grateful for this gift. 

I am grateful to Unigasket, Team Italia, and Roberto. Roberto is the one who obtains the sponsors for Team Italia, the one who helped me navigate preparing for the event, negotiated workouts with me, trained me on the three Italian phrases I know :D  Plus he helped me not despair when I moved to the HK. 

Paul has been a dear with the kids, even taking them to church in my absence.  Normally they take a “church holiday” when I am gone, and they have to wake up at the crack of dawn (for him :D)—7:30 to get there on time.  He said they got to church 10 minutes early—WHAT??!!!  Being here alone has been a bit lame, so I am excited I am coming back in 2013 with Paul (he has a conference in Milan). 

Ciao (yup, that’s one of the phrases).

The second big event that the race directors planned in association with the race was a recovery run this morning with the Puma promoting manager, Gennaro di Napoli, and the NYC champion, Gianni Poli.  Running with celebrities.  Not only that, but it was a 9k loop around the big island in the middle of Lake Iseo.  It is Monte Isola and the largest freshwater island in Europe (it’s claim to fame).  There were only about 20 people who went, and the boat was big enough for 300 or so.  I chatted with an Italian who now has his home in Bermuda but is here vacationing in Italy.  I also chatted with di Napoli.  He ran down for me some of his impressive running accolades at my request, and he told me about his career.  He worked for Saucony for 6-7 years then Puma raided Saucony, including him and a designer, to launch a running emphasis.  He said that they first launched in the Boston area, and they are currently launching in Italy. When I told him that Saucony isn’t found in HK he told me flatly that he did not believe it.  I will have to look around some more to see if I misspoke :/ The run around the lake was beautiful.  It was raining, and the island was lush and had a couple of villages with old buildings, tiny vineyards, only authorized cars allowed. At one point a little road going up a hill had a bugle with a circle and slash.  No bugles allowed up this hill!  I cracked up at the sign.  Perhaps that is the road up to a shrine they have on the island.  It reminds me of some “no devil” signs (pictures of devils with circles and slashes) Paul and I saw in Northern California in our ill fated attempt to find the redwoods in the summer of 1996.  Back to 2012, I wonder how many of the residents on the island keep to the island. There were two private islands we saw on the run and the boat ride.  Those private islands had impressive villas on them.  When we got to the boat we took some pictures, then once inside I took off my shirt even though I only had a thinner sports bra on, and got on a dry shirt.  I was the first to unrobe just a bit, but soon everyone is stripping down to undergarments in very mixed sex company, and I was pretty surprised, though as runners, we do lose some of our modesty. No one attacked each other so I guess it was all ok :D

8.67k @ 5:22/k pace. 

I ran a mile trying to shop a little bit, but the grocery was still closed at 8am and of course little shops were too and it was raining, so I just jogged back tot he hotel.

Long flight home.

Turns out personal movies on airlines are NOT edited :/ 

No sleep on airplane, got home at 9am, took a two hour nap then zombied through the rest of the day.  opted for no run.  No cross training.

Weighed myself this mogning and it was not pretty.  How could I gain 10 pounds in 10 days?  I know I induged, but seriously? 

I ran the Tai Wai to twin bridges loop.  No watch but I think it is 10.9k. 

One hour elliptical.  

Core in evening. 

Ran from my home to Kowloon Tsai Park, did four loops there and back home.  Again watchless.  I could get used to this.

Then skyped with Tara Summers :D

Went to Roberto's work to hand over some Italian goodies.  Mong kik shopping, then 60 min elliptical.

JJ left scouts without Mickie and came home from Wan Chai (35 min from our home by metro) without Mickie, so Mockie and all the leaders were freaking out and searching for him.  There was nothing I could do since I knew 95% chance of him just being on his way home on the mtr, so I waited and he got home, then I called the leaders in Wan Chai, and one of them insisted on driving Mickie home.  I have instituted new procedures with these little guys to make sure this doesn't happen again.   

We played squash (Me and the three boys) from 10-10:30.   

Met Jane and Kate on Bowen Road for an easy run.  Went watchless again just because the watch wouldn't register.  Before the run I have a 10 minute walk uphill with lots of stairs, and it started to rain hard, so hard I am soaked through in minutes.  By the time we started running it had lightened up and finally stopped after a few k.  I really enjoyed socializing with the ladies.  The run went so quickly even though i know we were running a relaxed pace.  Next week I start training again, but taking this week easy was nice.

PM Core workout.