Weekend Races

Sunday 15 July - Harry Kerr Relay

My throat was now really sore and I could barely make a sound when I got to Mt Smart Stadium to join my team.  I learned that Bob, who I was following, had a hamstring injury and may need to pull out early. That meant I would have to finish his laps as well as doing my own 10 km. I had thought I might struggle to do 10 km but a sore throat is not as disabling as a sore leg.

The Auckland A team members were all capable of going under 60 minutes so we knew our team was in a different class. Auckland B was the only other team in the judged division, with four teams in the unjudged division. We were about 350 m ahead of Auckland B after leg 1 and this reduced to about 300 m during Bob's leg.  I started warming up when Bob started then went inside to keep warm for a while.  I warmed up some more once I learned that Bob was slowing noticeably and it soon become obvious that he would need to stop. I took over at 7.2 km, needing to walk another 7 laps before my own leg started. I concentrated on increasing the distance between myself and the Auckland B walker rather than my actual pace, mindful that I wanted to have enough energy in the tank to finish the full 12.8 km without slowing too much. I managed to lap the third Auckland B walker a few laps after she started and then twice more before I completed my laps. I timed myself over my first 25 laps at 64:09 which I thought was good considering the race the previous day, my sore throat and having to walk the extra 2.8 km. I don't know what my official 10 km time was but it would have been quite a bit slower than that.


I didn't wear my Garmin for this event. I find it a distraction on the track. I don't remember to hit the lap button every time I cross the start/finish and worry that I might get a card when concentrating on my watch rather than my technique. There were 6 or so judges on the track but no board operating and it was only a couple of hours after the finish that I found out I received one penalty. I did receive several warnings including one for lifting but the chief judge was very positive about my improved technique.

Saturday 14 July - 10 km Road Race

The second club championship race was scheduled on the same weekend as the Harry Kerr relay. I requested that the race be moved to another date but the committee decided to leave that date as set. Missing a club championship race is the equivalent of giving up any chance of winning a medal so I decided to race two days in a row.

The plan was to race this one pretty easy - more of a training walk. Once again we were very lucky with the weather. It was a drizzly day but I managed to finish the event without getting wet at all. I started out in third position behind Ian and John and managed to get to the front after two or three laps. Fraser passed me not long after that but he only did 5 km so I found myself in the lead after he finished. John had passed Ian and was not too far behind me so I needed to keep up a reasonable pace to stay ahead of him. I was happy to finish in 66:26 with no cards or warnings, especially when my Garmin tells me the distance was 10.16 km.  I started to develop a sore throat on Friday and was pleased that it had not caused me much problem during the event, apart from needing to take a drink when it got dry.

10 km Road Race

http://scottishathletics.org.nz/2012/news/road-walk-races-paekakariki-14-july-2012/