A minute and a half? I'll take it.

I've been meaning to post a race report sooner but I was tied up with exams, and my cousins, nieces and nephew, uncle and aunt, and grandfather was in town too! So I decided to cook a big feast for them and have them over for dinner, which was an ultimate success! My only regret was I did not take any photos. Bummer.

Oh and then my brother went and got himself engaged, so that kinda stole my thunder for a while. :P But CONGRATS Kor & Li-Ann! Finally i'm getting myself a sister soon. =)

Anyway.

I guess I have reached a stage where I should no longer expect 20-30 minute improvements on my race times. heh.

I did the Auckland Marathon on Sunday. It was a gorgeous day with clear skies and just the right amount of clouds to make it not too hot, yet not too cold. And for a pleasant change, Erin came with me this morning because she signed up for the full marathon too! That brave, brave woman. Even I wouldn't be crazy enough to do something like that...run a marathon as my first formal race.

So yes. About 2 weeks and a little more ago, I had worn the wrong pair of shoes by mistake to work. I had wanted to do a work out after work and I wore my old trainers which have absolutely no more support in its soles anymore. But I ran on the treadmill anyway. And it started from then. I had a sore left heel and it just never got better. I still kept up my running, 2-3 times a week, which really isn't that much. But I guess it never got the chance to heal. Roughly 8 days before today, I decided to completely shelf running and do spin/swim instead.

In the morning, my heel felt slightly tight, so I stretched my entire body out properly. Then I started to run. It wasn't extremely painful, but i could feel it there. I tried to ignore it. But at about 10km it started to play up. The pain was getting quite uncomfortable and I didn't know whether I should continue to plough through or slow down. I decided on the former, telling myself to just go on as long as I can bear.

The pain persisted, and I was sure I had a funny stride by now. I got slightly worried, and told myself that I will slow down when I hit 21k. Funnily enough, when I crossed the Harbour Bridge, the pain went away! It could've been the excitement, it could've been it was (finally) warm by then, whatever it was I just realised "Hey, it didn't hurt anymore! Go forth!". =D

The rest of the journey was pretty much the same. I maintained my pace to the best I could. Once in a while I could feel a sharp pain on my heel, but for some reason I was able to mask it quite well. I slowed to take sips at the drink stations, I ate both my GU gels, and I had a jetplane (jelly bean).

The best part of the race, I guess, was the fact that because I wore devil horns (It was Halloween!) people were cheering for me! I heard "Go Devil Lady!" and "Go Ms Devil!" and even "Go Horny!". hahaha...it was pretty cool because I sometimes sit and ponder how I could get people who don't know me to cheer for me at a race (to simulate home). =)

I had targeted under 4 hours - that's what I tell people. But really I had wanted to do it under 3:55. I had people I wanted to beat. But most of all, I had really wanted to come out strong from this race, hold my chin up high and feel really good about myself. Just so that I know nothing can bring me down.

I guess that last bit helped me achieve 3 hours 55 minutes. It's roughly a minute and a half faster than last year. I was pretty pleased, eventhough I had lost to Heather by about 4 minutes, that's ok. She did her PB too, so I'm proud of her. =) I did my best, and I felt great! I even went on to cook dinner for 10 adults and 3 toddlers that night. I'm awesome. =)

Whatever you say, it's your loss.