Post Fondo & Sri Chimnoy Race Report

The Fondo ride I completed on Sunday 17th May was my longest spent on the saddle since March 2014. That ride really put me out of my comfort zone in terms of strength work on the bike as well as endurance. On Monday, I decided to have a sleep in and complete my strength session after work. This meant that my swim was going to be pushed to Tuesday.

My body was still fatigued as I could only finish about 500m of swimming on Tuesday morning. The biggest sign that my body was in need of recovery was that I came home early on Tuesday afternoon post site visit for work and pretty much crashed until the next morning. I completed my 2nd strength session for the week on Wednesday night, it was all I could do.  

I didn't want to over-do my training so I decided to stick to running on Thursday night rather than try a double session for the day. I was actually looking forward to running that night which was strange for me as running has always been a hesitated session. Everything about the run was great. We started out with 2 x 1.2km laps of the reserve and the main set was 4 x (1km @ uncomfortable 10km pace followed by 200m walk). I made a new friend (Kirsten/Kristen) that evening as we both ran at the same pace. This was followed by a cool down lap where we got to know each other. 

On Saturday, I changed my training plans around and rode with a few friends who live down around the Peninsula. We did hill repeats of Humphries Road. I felt that my strength work on the bike during the Fondo event as well as my strength sessions have helped with the hill climbing. I felt comfortable and definitely used my core during the climb. As I was riding with friends rather than training partners, my average speed was around 20km/hr but it meant that I was able to push myself on the way home without feeling stuffed. 

On Sunday 24th May (today), I entered my second Sri Chimnoy run event. There was 7km, 14km and 21km. I know that I am not fit enough to do run a solid 21km and a month ago I had just done a 10km so 14km was a good distance. Last minute, due to road closures, they shortened the 14km to 12.8km. I left the house around 6:45am this morning, hoping to get to the start line by 7:15 for my usual pre-race prep of a toilet visit. The morning was sooooo crisp! I could not feel my lips nor my fingers. Luckily, we could walk around in our warm gear until around 7:55am, 5 min before race start. I also consumed a gel at this time. 

The 21km and the 12.8km distance started together at 8am with the 7km starting off 5min after us. I started off slow. It took me a while for my body to warm up. Wasn't sure if it was due to my hill climbs on Saturday or the coldness of the morning but my legs just didn't want to move! I remembered hitting the 4km mark and that was when I was happy with my pace and breathing-I was no longer huffing and puffing from my throat. My iPod died at the 5km mark which meant that I was no longer running with music, I just had to pay attention to my body and my technique.

There was a lady who ran past me in purple crop top and purple shorts and I remember seeing her off to the side after a few minutes and I knew that she stopped for toilet duties. What happened after that was something which I couldn't avoid or remove the image from my mind. She ran past me (as she was faster) and she had so much shit running along the back of her shorts. I wasn't sure if she went to do her business but didn't have anything to wipe so she just put her pants back on - it was so wrong!!!

At about 8km, I consumed my 2nd gel at the aid station. With about 5km or so to go, my body started to tell me to stop. My legs started to get heavy but I pushed on. I started to pick people off in front of me to aim for. I could pass some runners in front of me who started to walk whilst I also tried to run away from the people behind me whose footsteps and breathing I could hear. I am happy to report that I ran the entire way, only walked through aid stations. 

With about 1km to go and the path led back along the river, I pushed my little legs out. At this point, the 21km runners ran passed me like I was standing still. The fastest 21km runner finished about 6min before me - that is crazy talk!

Like all events, my Garmin read a shorter distance than the actual event. I finished the 12.7km in 1:16 which I am pretty happy about. I had no expectations for the time for this event, I just wanted an event to make my runs accountable and meaningful. I had my serving of pancakes after the event which is what I love about the Sri Chimnoy runs - no medals or show bags, just fruit and pancakes!!!

(UPDATE) - I placed 48/76 for females and 40/52 for my category (18-39 females).