23 February 2008

Tony Sunderland


Thursday - Restday

Friday - 6.00pm -Pat Carroll Brisbane Running Clubs Challenge - The City

3K Road 2nd 9m38



The race Venue got shifted at the last minute due to a concert taking place at the original venue The Botanical Gardens. A really hot and humid day in Brisbane with the Temps getting up to 32 0 C and the humidity levels sky high! We were fortunate the sun was just going down and so some of the real bite of the sun was going. The course was run along the footpath to the side of the river partly under the freeway.
A crowded start but was able to find space and opened up quite comfortably taking a lead from a field of aprox 200 runners. After aprox 400/600m Aidan Hobbs , who had beaten me in the same race last year came along side and then nudged into a lead.
The question I ask myself is how comfortable do I want to be when I'm racing? Normally the answer is I want to be comfortable and not too hurt myself too much! Quite understandable! maybe the times when we really do go for it and run into the uncomfort zone is when we know we have really given absolutely everything and are truly running to the very best of our abilities.
I saw the poster above and thought about my racing and my comments above! I can truely say that I just about give every race everything I've got, its about searching for that EXTRA bit that gives me satisfaction when I think thats what I've done.Tonight was not a night for heroics for me and I let the elastic between Aidan and myself well and truly snap as he pulled away to a comfortable win (10sec?). There is no disgrace in being beaten by someone of Aidan's pedigree. We turned around at a point that my watch read 3m40 and I was thinking surely this is too early? but not appreciating that we were going to be running back the way we came plus an extra section that we'd jogged out to the start. I would normally enjoy the experience of running back on myself in a race to see how other team mates are doing shout encouragement and get a feeling for where the others are in respect of yourself race wise.
Today was not quite as much fun as it was a narrow pathway and there were lots of fast moving cyclists going in both directions. So I didn't really take in how anyone else was doing! Didn't even see third place. Running wise I think I ran faster on the way back really opening up after the turn but not to the point that I was ever going to catch Aidan.
The race was really a fun run come get together and I wasn't exactly sure where the finish line was but stopped my watch where I picked up the place card. I'm sure the course was slightly long! It was great to meet up with lots of runners after. Andy C.and Patrick H. who were in our Masters 4 x 1500m team that set an Australian record M45 last year, the original Blog Miester Matty Phillips, and of course to have a beer or three after with Geoff, Errol and Kenty.
True to form Kenty missed the start of the race but still did the Honourable thing by running through the field and finishing a creditable 55th to help the team out. As ever on these occasions we runners owe a great deal to Pat and his helpers for putting on another great day.

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