HBF Run for a Reason 14km

Unlike previously, I truly enjoyed this taper week. Maybe because I know I have done the miles in the past few weeks and now is really the time to recover. The extra to time to myself was most welcomed, and for once, the weekly mileage on my car exceeds my training mileage.

The HBF Run for a Reason was something I signed up for, as I was co-ordinating a team entry for my workplace, St Bartholomew's House. St Bart's also sponsored my tri suit for Ironman Cairns with our logo, so I thought I might as well print a few T-shirts for the team. The run starts and ends at the WA Cricket Association stadium, which I've not been into before.

I had a long-ish run in my program anyway, so the race will be timely. But I told myself that I was to keep at a steady pace and not get caught up with the adrenaline rush, and risk going too hard. It was a beautiful morning - fine weather with some light winds. Great atmosphere with musical bands and cheerleaders throughout the course. Running through the Graham Farmer Freeway tunnel was a first time experience for me as well.

The plan was to finish just under an hour, which is 4:17 pace. I found myself clocking just under 4:15 for most of the km markers, which were somewhat inconsistent - I could be running under 4 minutes for some, then close to 5 minutes for a couple. It was nice of Ray from BYL to be out that morning taking photos, thanks! The final km was a shocker, I clocked 2.5 minutes for that one, which only meant that the earlier markers were over distanced. I crossed the finish line in 58:17 - an average pace of 4:10, happy to dish out such a time with a steady, controlled effort.

The Ironman Cairns course preview was released a few days ago. The bike course seems like a rolling hills course but somehow the big hill at Wangetti doesn't look that bad. But then again, looks can be deceiving! The course does have it twists and turns with some speed bumps as we head out of transition. So does the run course, where we have to criss cross through some bar racks at the shared paths. Definitely an interesting one!

Only 7 sleeps away from the big race! My bike's been serviced (took it longer and more expensive than expected, but that's a story for another day!), I've had my massage, feeling good about myself, can't wait! Track my progress live on Ironmanlive.com, next post shall be my race report!

Race bike setup - without the disc wheel this time, so I can tackle the rolling hills especially that big one, which we have to go through 4 times!