A beautiful morning greeted me in Hanmer Springs with a clear blue sky and a serenade of bellbirds singing in the distance. What a wonderful place. I think I could quite happily live there.
My legs were aching. My mouth was dry and I felt lethargic. I just wanted to go back to sleep. This was unsurprising after yesterday's little jaunt around the hills.
I'd found it hard to get out of bed the previous morning as well, dozing off for an extra half-hour after the alarm had gone off. That almost cost me dearly as we approached Hanmer with only minutes to spare before the race briefing started. I will hasten to add that the speed limit was observed for the duration of the journey! Worst case we'd have a nice weekend in Hanmer.
This would be my second attempt at the Hanmer Half Marathon. Last year was my first half marathon event (I'd done the distance in training a few times before) and my goal was to finish in less than two hours, which I'd done fairly comfortably.
 Hanmer Half Marathon altitude profile(Image: multisport.net.nz; click to enlarge) |
The weather was fairly obvious when we were coming into Hanmer: I'd be wearing the waterproof jacket for the run. I thought I may be able to get by without it because it was neither cold nor windy, but last year I learned through bitter experience not to underestimate the conditions in an alpine environment.
I managed to make the registration desk with a few minutes to spare while Janet parked the car. I then proceeded to frantically dash around searching for her, completely oblivious to the fact that my phone was in my pocket. She knew better and called me to say where she'd parked.
Thankfully the race briefing was quite short which allowed me time to sort out my clothing and do some warming up. The queues at the port-a-loos were about as long as they were last year (I suspect some people were still waiting from then) so a quick out-of-the-way "tree stop" was in order before heading to the start line.
I had done this race last year and was hoping to beat my previous time by around 5 to 10 minutes. My plan this time around was to go hard up the first climb then use the first downhill to recover a bit, and keep a good pace from there. And deal with the second climb when it comes. I remembered it as being pretty short but a bit of a gutbuster with 10km already in the legs.
In the days leading up to the race I've been suffering minor symptoms of a cold which had thankfully kept itself pretty quiet, but I was wondering how much it would affect me on race day. I'd also tried to go for a really long run a week beforehand which didn't turn out well due to a previous intense hill run, so my legs might not have been in the best state either. I'd been resting up all week so all I could do by then was hope for the best.
Whatever the reason, the first hill didn't feel as good this time around. I wasn't passing people as much as I'd remembered doing last year. Having said that I think I'd started a little further forward so maybe that explains it. After about the first half of the climb I was pretty much just staying with the pack. Looking at my watch didn't help matters much. I had intended to go quite hard but my heart rate was through the roof. But I kept it up as I didn't want to fall back.
When the downhill finally came it was all I could do to keep the legs moving. I started feeling a little better as the heart rate dropped but I was still keeping it pretty high. I felt relatively comfortable at the time so I decided to keep pushing. My downhill running had definitely improved since last year... if only I could keep my pace up.
A little after the second climb at the 10k point, which seemed much easier this time around, I was very pleased to find the second drink station. I'd been starting to feel a bit dehydrated so a cup of water was welcome even if it was a pain to drink from. After this came the glorious long gentle (muddy) downhill section but I was too tired to really hold enough pace. I remember flying down here last year passing lots of people, but this year I was just keeping up. I was starting to pay for my overexertion on the first climb.
The rain was getting a little heavier by now and I was glad to have my jacket on. If I'd been a superstar athlete I'd have finished by now and wouldn't have had to put up with so much rain. Easy to say, I know...
Coming back out onto Jollies Pass Rd we found the last drink station, a welcome sight once again with the knowledge that we were getting closer to the finish. Turning left back into the forest gave us the most scenic part of the run with a great variety of trees towering above us with their green and yellow leaves. A couple of shallow river crossings left my feet feeling quite heavy which was the last thing my worn out muscles needed. It was turning into a real struggle and I was really fading quite badly.
All I wanted to do was make it to the finish line. I'd seen a few people walking during the race, including some who had passed me earlier. But at no point in the race had I seriously considered stopping - I'm too stubborn for that - but I'd certainly been feeling the pain for quite a while. 3km to go, 2km to go, just make it stop. The only way to shorten the suffering is to go faster... which I was not capable of doing!
 Dave coming down the finishing chute(Photo: The lovely Janet; click to enlarge) |
With 1km to go, as is usual, most of the pain is forgotten. The finish line is closing fast and all of the suffering will be over soon. Last year I put on quite a sprint at the end but this time I had nothing left. I saw Janet take my photo taken coming down the finish chute then remember at the last moment to unzip my jacket so the officials can see my number. Simple things like that can easily be forgotten in the moment.
When I saw the big clock as I finished I was bloody disappointed to say the least. I'd run about the same time as last year. The official results are not out yet but going by my watch I went 20 seconds faster this time around. Well short of my 5-10 minute target. But I was too stuffed to really care that much - I was just glad it was over.
I jogged and walked a couple of laps of the school grounds and did some stretches to cool down, then I started feeling cold so we headed to the car and went to our motel where a hot shower awaited. Great tip: book accommodation that's fairly close to the finish/prizegiving venue, as long as your room can be ready for you at the end of the race.
After my shower we were able to walk (slowly) down to the prizegiving. I thought I had a fairly good chance of a spot prize as not many people would be willing to hang about in the rain. Well I was right about that but despite the quantity of spot prizes my name was not called. Not to worry, I came for the run not the goodies.
So my lesson for next year is to be better prepared. I've been needing to revise my whole training plan anyway but the lesson on pacing will not be forgotten. I've been a little slack in my training this past year so it's time to get a bit better organised.
Despite my disappointment this time I still love this race. See you next year.
— This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
