Freo Half in 1.58 and Rottnest Half in 2hr 03min

Photos later maybe...

stravadata for Ratts Nest Half..

Rottnest Rejuvenation Recreation mission. Legends of Westralia, Quokkas, Fairy Terns, Bagpipes, strong winds, frothy salt lakes, army cadets, a little rain. #olderIgetthebetterIwas

Another busy week in new job, and I knew I was still in terrible condition, but after the big Kokoda session on Wednesday night, I thought maybe I might be able to sneak under 1.58 for a Seasons Best, (PR is 1.41 not an option this year), and I didn't think I could cope with an attacking marathon this weekend, just too stressed at the moment, and also not doing any fast road running at the moment, so not well trained, and etc etc etc.

So I decided a few days ago to book a spot on the 5am ferry from Hillarys, and challenge myself with a half marathon race on the uniquely beautiful island that is Rottnest , plus it was good to be part of the 25th year, even though I have only run the marathon at Ratts Nest twice before.

Woke up at 0230hrs and made it to Hillarys with about 5minutes to spare (0440hrs) The ferry trip was fun watching the sun come up, as Perth disappeared from view, and we went past a big freight ship anchored a long way out. Very big swell, and boat was rocking around a lot. Was out the back making the most of the views, and stomach started to feel a bit sick towards the end of the 40minute trip. Forgot to get a gel for the race which cost me some precious minutes at the end, which was one of my big racing mistakes today, because I had very low levels of carbohydrate in the last 2-3km...and ended up running 6-7 min K splits instead of 4-5min ones...

Anyhow the race started well and I soon accidentally found myself in the lead with my watch saying about 3.45-3.50 pace, so I stayed in front for 500m, before they reeled me in, and then hung in for a 3.59 first K. Second K was 4.41 which is also quite good after a strong start, so off to a fantastic start.
Then we hit the headwinds on the causeway, and a couple of small hills, was able to absorb that and get firing again to get to the music, dancers and bagpipes with good momentum, and through 5km in 25minutes. 7km was 36min, and 8km 41min? 10km 52min, 12km 64min.
Tailwind from the bagpipes, and some downhills, made it easy to step up the pace, although I overdid that a bit with a 4.27 my second fastest K split for the race. Coming into the finish area with about 10km to go I was feeling good, and getting confident of about a 1.55-1.57, so everything on target at that stage. Went for my powerade, and that energised things further, but then I hit some strong! headwinds near the Causeway, and ended up walking a lot, and taking photos and video of the Fairy Terns. This blew my K splits out to 7-9min which basically destroyed the hard fought advantages I had gained in the previous 11-12km... Got going again slowly, but I knew I had lost too much time, and it was going to be very difficult to get around the 1.57-1.59 mark. Just got hammered by the headwinds. Anyhow I set about trying for some 5min Ks thinking maybe I could hit some 4s in the last 4km... Going ok again, and feeling the buildup of fatigue a lot, but when I got to the bagpipes I tried to go faster. Did a bit, and managed a 5.17. Not really good enough, but under main target pace of 5.45s Then the rain came, and I ran out of energy and motivation. I urgently needed a Gel, but didn't have one, so couldn't fight off the depleted carbohydrate fatigue and mostly just jogged it in for the last 2-3km... Very disappointing to be over the 2 hour mark for a half, but still a good race for large sections of it. Nice to think about something else and catch up with some of the legends of Westralian running like  Sarah, Tina, Ray, TI, Simon, Daz (How many Rottnest marathons has he done now?!!!!) others.... They gave me a nice shout out over the public address system at halfway too. The unique beauty of Rottnest so calming and lovely to enjoy. So really important recreation. Ferry trip back much nicer and watched Mr Bean on the video screen and dozed off a bit. Overall a wonderful blessed island mission. Failed on the time goal, but was in the zone for the majority of the race, so very good value. Just not a good result for final time today. Can only win some of them some of the time... Hopefully next time I go to Ratts Nest I will be able to stay there for a few days... :-

stravadata for Freo Half in 1.58 New course. Nice to see Shaun at the start, was able to keep him in sight for the first 500m at least. After watching Lleyton Hewitt win a Davis Cup doubles game for Australia V Austria on TV last night, was inspired, and started thinking the usual delusions of maybe I could have a shot at my 1.41 PB or at least try and go sub 1.50...Got through 5k in 25, and 10k in 53, but was working too hard to hold onto about 5.45-6min pace, so I knew by about 10km-14km that sub 2hours was a more realistic goal today. Keen to see where I am at, as I know I am not in good condition for this kind of racing, and what the mind wants to do, or used to do, the body isn't ready for at the moment... Weather was good, a bit of an SEasterly wind, and the two lap course was a good one (apart from being 2 laps and about a mile of concrete path at the northern end, and a rotten smell near the Freo Harbour, which I think might have contributed to the headache and blood in nose I got towards the end)... Anyhow knee was playing nice which is good, and even the gluteal was ok. Didn't feel full of fast movement, a bit sluggish, but was able to hit the turbo button and run at about 5.00-5.15 pace when I wanted to, but not sustainably.

Views of Rottnest and ships from the North Mole awesome sights. Nice to see a few people I know going well, including some smiling faces. Towards the end, heat a bit of a factor as we started at 0740...but the breeze and plenty of cups of water over my head was helping a lot.

Had 1 gatorade, and 1 500ml water and 1 carboshotz gel, so kept things fairly light on the drinks for me... Seemed to work well. Took walk breaks for the Gatorade and the Gel, to make sure I got them into my system. Overall a lot to like about this one, although lack of specific training, being 82.8kg, and poor conditioning in general. = slow time for me. Was finding if I pushed the pace a bit, could run about 5.15-5.30, but then would blow out to 5.45-6.05... Probably some intervals would have me more towards that 5.15 sort of pace... (1.50 for a half)... sub 5 stuff not happening for this distance at the moment... Too messed up from a tough year... Enjoyed "turning up the power"( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ajYULAMPmA ) a little in the Lunaracers in the last 2km with Stryper songs SYMPATHY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG9RpcWHAx0 Yahweh andplaying in my head (listening to them a lot a few weeks ago)..., thats probably why I remembered the music... Heart rates 157-160's a lot of the way and a few moments above 170... My watch says my max heart rate was 175 near the end, while strava graph is showing 180 bpm at the finish, either way certainly getting into some racing intensity type stuff some of the way...

[don't like the way in the SORRY video the bloke is the bad guy of course, (women make mistakes too), and also while I agree its important to be truly sorry and demonstrate that in actions not just words (which I think seems to be the message, and a good one at that), what about forgiveness and reconciliation, restoration, rebuild, needs to be more focus on that in this world, loyalty... "love never gives up" not seeing a lot of that mindset these days...

 Excellent rockin tune musically, was a good option to encourage me to keep pushing to the end of this race... 

Saw one guy who had music playing the whole time he was running... 

Some tricky weeks ahead as I try to find a new job, a new place to live, and the ongoing saga of wanting to talk to Kathryn and my children, try and get some restoration there, but not making any progress at the moment, its been a very hard 8 months, and no sign of any positive change at the moment.

But it was a lovely morning and a solid half-decent race, and hopefully this event might help to improve options for my daughters diabetes some day. Interesting hearing Evan and Lauren interviewing a runner who manages diabetes, just like a few other athletes at the top level who successfully do it, including a West Coast Eagles player, and an ultra runner who has done the 240km Coast to Kosci, the multi-day 250km big red runhttp://www.bigredrun.com.au/bigredrun/index run through the simpson desert etc etc...
Blessings today... :-)