BRRC Half Marathon Championships

Well what a difference a couple of weeks can make. As you may or may not recall two weeks ago I struggled big time to complete 11ks.

Today I completed the Half Marathon at the BRRC in 2hr 08 min 32 secs and finished in much better shape than two weeks ago. I didn't know whether I would be able to go the distance today as the longest I had run was 12k last Wednesday but I was prepared to give it a go. I knew I had to run conservatively if I was going make it, so started out at around 6:18 pace but as the race went on and I became more assured that I was going to make the distance I upped the pace and in the end averaged under 6:00 for the last 5k lap despite the steamy conditions.

My splits for the laps were:
1st Lap (1.1k) 6:32
2nd Lap (5 k) 31:30
3rd Lap (5k ) 31:02
4th Lap (5k ) 30:21
5th Lap (5k ) 29:54.

I am over the moon with this result and I am now looking forward to the Twilight Half in three weeks time and getting under 2 hours looks like a good goal for me to aim for.

I know one thing for sure tomorrow will be a rest day as my legs are feeling very sore tonight.

Harvest

Three weeks ago I started a Peripheral Stem Cell Harvest procedure. This started with two days of chemo and an overnight stay in hospital followed by a week of growth factor hormones to stimulate stem cell production. I then finished with two days hooked up to an aupheresis machine for the actual harvesting.

I thought I might have been able to at least maintain my fitness during this period but I underestimated the dose of chemo they were going to give me and the first week I could hardly get out of bed let alone do any exercise and the second week found me rather drained by the actual harvest procedure.

So last week found me getting back into running but at a level I was six weeks ago.

Yesterday I did 11k in 69:07 (6:17 avg pace) at an alarmingly high Heart Rate. I was reduced to no more than a shuffle at the end and could not have gone one step further.

At the start of the year, I set a goal of doing all the BRRC Champ races this year. With the Half Marathon in two weeks this is going to be a huge challenge.

"Dream up Dream up,
Let me fill your cup."