10km Road Race - World Masters 2009

I woke at 5.30am and I was amazingly calm.

It was really weird...I had spent three days just freaking out. I had arrived in Sydney to compete at the World Masters Games...More competitors here than there were at the Sydney Olympics. The venue is HUGE!!! and I just felt like a small fry from a little wee hic town. What the hell was I thinking!!!

I had decided to think on the race as ... just a normal 10km race against 9 people....not 180!! and that did seem to work. I rang for a taxi and sat listening to my ipod and chilled out.

The weather was perfect...clear and calm. I unpacked my gear and said quick hellos to the others from NZ and then I headed out to warm up. I spent a good 40mins on the course doing drills and quick sprints etc. I kept my number hidden until the very last minute so that no one could see what age group I was in..but I was quickly checking out all those who had not.

The started us all in our age groups so the first group started at 8am..I started at 8.07am The gun went off and I let the rabbits go out first. I could hear my coach and training partner telling me to walk my own race and let them go. I was most surprised that I caught up the first 3 by the 500m mark and it was then that I realised I only had 1 in front of me.....Hmmmmmm....now what I thought. So I kept up at the pace I was happy with and by the 1km mark I had started gaining on her, by the 1.5 km mark I was right on her heels, but she was pushing a good pace so I thought I would stick to her like glue and walk her down. Every now and then she would break from me and at first I went with her but I learnt quickly that I would recatch her within in seconds. We turned at the 5km mark in 28mins 55 (I felt fantastic but I knew it was too fast but I was not letting her go)

I continued on her heels and felt that there were times when she slowed that she was hoping I would pass but I didnt want to be chased and so I used those moments to rest too and of course she would explode away again (so I knew if I had been in front I would not have held out) at the 8km turn I thought....its on now!!! and she picked up the pace again. My now my legs were hurting and my hip was feeling tight...I ignored it and pushed on. She pulled away at the 9km mark and I didnt know if I should chase or wait....I chose to chase (hindsight...I think that was wrong) I caught her up at the 9.5km mark and she burst away on me again but I just had nothing left...I tried to follow but was already going faster than I ever had before. She pulled away from me and I dug in a pushed...we had transponders on our shoes for timeing so we were crossing over a mat to record our laps and then a mat to record the finish...when I crossed the first mat they all called out....thats great you are finished you can stop now......so I did...Literally!!!!! and then all these people were screaming go go go and I realised the FINISH blue mat was another 30 mtrs away...my legs buckled and I managed to get going again...so my time is about 15 seconds off. But it made no diff to the end results. I had finished in the official time of 59:52 and had won the SILVER medal!!!!!

I saw the winner collapse and go down and I was really worried for her...I was ushered into the tent and I was feeling terrible. They laid me down and took my transponder off. I got up and went over to Fiona and we hugged and cried and got our photos in the local paper. Then I went and rang my husband...as I was doing this I noticed I was having trouble breathing. I couldnt get air in and was going dizzy and seeing spots. I quickly hung up and then I fainted. I came to with paramadics attending to me, taking my blood pressure which had dropped very low and pricking my finger and also putting me on oxygen. The heat out on the track was dropping us like flys and i was drinking but they said that myself and fiona was just exhaustion from exhurting ourselfs. Fiona came up after we had settled our selfs and said it had been the race of her life and that she was getting so upset out on the track as she couldnt shake me off...she said "every time I tried to distance myself from you...you would just strole back up behind me again and it really threw me!"........so my game plan had worked.......now I have to face her again for the 5km on Sunday.....

Oh what a race that will be.

I will post photos once I get back.