Wellington Marathon - Second Time Winner

A 6:30 am start in the dark was a challenge. I could not easily see my Garmin lap times to check my pace. After about 3-4 km I was caught up to by Chris from Tauranga. We walked together and chatted for a while until she went a few metres ahead. I decided to try and stay with her, knowing that it is risky to let someone else determine my pace and not confident I could keep the 7 min/ km pace up. A number of times I dropped to around 10 m behind but each time I put on a mini sprint to get back on her shoulder.

I was hurting from early on but I got the impression  Chris was hurting too and that spurred me on. Unluckily Chris caught her foot on a curb just over 1 km from the end and was not able to catch up with me once she recovered. She finished just a few seconds behind me.

We had been passed by a strong walker about 4 km from the end and I was not sure if she was in the marathon or half marathon. I was a bit surprised to hear myself announced as the winner as I crossed the line. She must have been in the half marathon. My time was only a few seconds faster than Rotorua. I had hoped for a significant improvement but in the end was happy to equalise. I didn't feel nearly as comfortable today as I did in Rotorua. Perhaps I was not fully recovered.

Wellington Marathon

Walking Training this Week

All I managed this week was a couple of sessions of 3 - 4 km on the treadmill. I didn't want to walk too much due to the upcoming marathon and the tightness of my calf muscles and the soreness of my glutes. I did a couple of yoga sessions and avoided classes with lots of squats and lunges

Sunday 15 June - 15 km Training Walk

I spent 2.5 hours delivering pamphlets in the morning but agreed to do a training walk with Philip after lunch. I was definitely lagging behind him all the way and pleased just to get to the end of the session.

15 km Training Walk

Saturday 14 June - 10 km Club Race

This is the first of 3 10 km races that make up the Socttish club championship. I have been the woman's champion for the past 2 or 3 years. Courtney Ruske flew up from Christchurch to attempt to gain the W U20 record. I knew my marathon training and lack of speed work had left me incapable of achieving a record. My goal was to get to the end in good shape and without any cards. I managed that although I did get two warnings. I was 3rd overall and second woman.

10 km Club Champs Race

Saturday 7 June - 15 km National Champs in New Plymouth

I nearly missed the start of this race. I thought it started at 1:30 but the start time was actually 1:15. We had been catching up with friends and had left our departure a bit late. Luckily I made it to the start line albeit without a proper warm up. There was 3 female walkers in the race who I would never expect to beat so I was happy to finish 4th in a reasonable time with just one card.

15 km National Champs - Taranaki Walks