Perth City to Surf and my lack of hill training...

Perth City to Surf kicked my butt!

Phew – my lack of hill training shone through in all its glory this weekend.

The Perth City to Surf is a well organised and huge event in Western Australia. I have read that initial numbers are 48k registrations (new record) and that about 39k competed. The weather at the start of the day was pretty ordinary with a couple of squally rain showers pre-start which I am certain put some people off - sensitive folks here in Perth ;).

We are arranged is starting groups at the Perth Convention Centre which is great as it is indoors and has a steady supply of toilets.

Once the allotted time arrived we were released from the holding area down the road, passed the Bell Tower and up onto St Georges Terrace. Despite it being about 1km from the holding area to the start people set out at a run!!! REALLY...people we have 21kms to go...why are we running??

The lead up to the start line was a great atmosphere with music pumping out and crowds lining the way cheering us on. Really fun start.

We proceeded up St Georges and were confronted with a short sharp hill in the form of Malcolm Street. Surprising to see people in wave 1 walking at this point…we had literally just passed the 1km marker flag! After powering up the hill we turned into Kings Park and a flat stretch followed by a gentle downhill few kms to the bottom of the park. Then we had the turnaround point which meant it was a steady uphill climb for about 3-4 kms back to the park entry point. I will admit to not being very pleased at the 8km point after all that gentle hill work and unusually had to take on some water. Also, personally, the rain before the start meant that there was steam rising from the road which made me feel like I was running in a sauna - not fun/enjoyed.

Once out of the park we carried along with a couple of gentle up and downs for a few more kms before we hit the joy that is “Underwood Road”. Well this is where my wheels fell off – 15kms in and a huge hill…I was about ¼ of the way up when I realised that I would be going quicker if I walked…and I did. I wasn’t happy about it but I was spent. I absolutely went out too fast and was under prepared for the hills (in my home race!!!). I coaxed myself up the hill with the promise of a gel at the 15km aid station at the top. Even the gel did little to lift my spirits!

Carried on a shuffling run through the next 4 kms until we hit the downhill stretch home. Once I got within one km of the finish I took out my headphones and started scanning the faces in the crowd for my family. It was a definite kick to see them cheering for me at the finish line and really made me smile. I crossed the finish line – 2:00:23!! A six minute pb on the course but not great compared to last weekend and not sub 2...

My learnings…

1)      Hill training – I really need to get Jacobs ladder back into my training regime!
2)      Maybe I left it all out on the course last weekend.
3)      I regret not going for at least one run back in Perth after returning from Darwin on Thursday night.
4)   Head games - I need to work on my mental strength as it was tested and found lacking this passed weekend.

On a side note - I have booked an appointment with the physio as I have had a pretty sharp pain on the top on my right foot (pretty much under the laces) for about 3 weeks and probably should have it checked out. Seeing her on Thursday so we will see what the outcome is! At this moment I am resisting the use of Dr Google...

Thanks for reading.