Land of the Kiwis A runner in New Zealand

Race Day: NBx-mas Classic 5k in Christchurch

Here we go. Race day. And not just any race day. It's my southern hemisphere debut race day. (Actually, the anticipation of the race was way beyond what ended up being the scope of the race).

The meet turned out to be a pretty intimate affair. You might have guessed that since everything else in the Land of the Kiwis is relaxed, their meets would be pretty laid back as well. Well, you would be right. In fact, it honestly felt kind of like a fun run, even though some of the best 5kers on the island were there.

Leading up to the race Cary and I separated in the hostel and just chilled doing our own thing. His lead-up involved a morning run and a little time exploring Christchurch. For me, I was more comfortable watching Balls of Fury, and some other equally mindless movie while catching up on world (Tiger) affairs. Zing!

Only productive part of the day was writing several postcards. Chance of them getting to their recipients by Christmas? Zero.

The great part about this race is that there is the video, so I'll just focus more on what I was thinking. I did a low-key 1 mile warmup as it was quite hot out (compared to what we've been experiencing. About 24 degrees. Celcius. Deal with it). The race actually went off a bit earlier than I thought it would and I did an abbreviated stretching routine. Cary actually almost missed the race, sprinting over and tying spikes on the line. I don't blame him, it seemed to me like we should have had about 5 more minutes, I only made it because I saw a lot of people gathering in the 5k vicinity looking intimidating. Anyways, the strat going in was simple. Run 70s. Stay in touch. Hope to deal with a pickup after 3k.

The first part of the race was perfect. I fell in with the lead pack, didn't get clipped too much, and felt really solid for the first mile doing exactly 70s (nice pacing List). I think my big problem that whole time was I was hyper-sensitive to how my body is feeling. I just don't know what else to think about. It's so damn boring. Anyways, I was happy to be breathing smoothly and striding well at the 1 mile mark. Unfortunately, that's really not too far into a 5k. Just like my first 5k 8 months ago, I began to feel my legs get weary at the halfway mark. No one took off at that point, and as I expected, the move was subtly made when the leader started dropping to 69s with 1600 to go. Me and my little running buddy (Mark Bailey), on the other hand, started pulling 71s. I knew the right move would be to get around at the 2 mile mark but I was just too tired, and, come on, I still have a MILE to go! The urge to move around kept hitting me, and with 600 to go I felt like I should be going anaeobic. But there was just too much distance left. As it was, I began kicking with 300 to go and it was still too early. I just couldn't muster any strength that last 2k. The whole time, I was just holding on. Holding on. Really kind of frustrating. Mostly because you just have sooo long to berate yourself.

So yup, I still hate the 5k. On the plus side, a race that consists of just 4 silly laps around the track sounds too good to be true.
I finished 4th at 14:37 (results). Despite the boredom and then pain I just put myself through, I'm actually reasonably happy with the result. Don't get me wrong. I hate that I lost, and that I'm weak, and that I was thinking about giving up for about half the race. But 14:37 is a good time for me and here's why:

• I've only been back in the saddle for 4 weeks.
• I'm coming off of 3 weeks of straight traveling.
• My achilles isn't terribly strong right now, purhaps affecting my stride.
• I'm not used to the heat (though, judging by today's times compared to previous years, everyone was affected).
• And last, I just haven't run very many 5ks. The result being that I don't feel comfortable feeling like jello with so much race left.

Above all else, it's great to have a solid indicator of exactly where my fitness lies. Up til now, it's been all guesses, comparisons, and speculation. I'm going to talk to Mitch soon and hope to come up with the 2010 gameplan.

Big 3 mile cool down with the fellas. Talked a lot to the other international, a fellow from Sweden. 7 miles

Beyond the race, this meet was awesome, everyone knows everyone else and the atmosphere is so stress free. I would specifically like to thank the meet director (Craig?) for burying me in NB gear (I think he pitied me running in a T-shirt). But even beyond the incredible material generosity, everyone was remarkably friendly in a way you would never get in the states. Yes, I'm hating on the States. However, I will say, the friendliness is kind of born out of necessity. If you alianated your competition here, you'd have like 2 friends. The US can afford to fragment into competitive little groups, whereas the running community here is just not big enough to support major factions. Plus, here, for some reason, everybody's just so like-minded anyways. Its not like some runners are Californians or Texans or New Englanders. No, here you're just Kiwi. Cary and I were invited and attended an amazing BBQ that night at the house of one Gus Taylor, where we ate and drank with almost everyone in the race. Things were fun and funny there through midnight at which point we ended up hitting the impressive Christchurch nightlife scene.

Bed at 3AM with a long run looming in the morning.