Race Report & Some thoughts on Self Sabotage.

Get out of your own way.

Welcome back. Writing this after my first official road race.
It was a 10 km impromptu attempt with a bib under the name HARUNA. 

An early wake up call and an hour drive to the start line meant some time to think about what was about to happen. A prefect amount of time to overthink, play out some scenarios and of course a little bit of self sabotage. 

With this idea fresh in my mind it felt right to make this week’s blog about exactly that.  Hopefully we can come up with some ideas on how to give ourselves the opportunity to reach our potential in the process.

With all the data available to us now through our watches, apps and whatnot it’s easy to get a bit overwhelmed with the predictions these things can make for us. My watch predicted I could run 10 km in 43:00 and Strava suggested 2 minutes faster. I think my best previous attempt was somewhere around 47:00. Of course either one really knows what the track looks like, how it feels to run in whatever percent humidity it was and a list of other excuses as to why today might not be the day.

All that aside I figured 45:00 was a good goal. But wait, I could just be a nice guy and help my friend who was aiming for 50:00. That sounded really nice and would frame me as a man of community and caring about those around me. ( in my head anyways ) Somehow in a moment of clarity I could recognize that this was robbing me of pushing myself and seeing what I was capable of. 

I had to take my own advice and remember nobody really cares the time I would run. I know from previous races that a lot of people go out way too hot and blow up early. From the minimal course studying I did I knew there was a big hill around the half way mark and that the final 5 km I could push it a little. Perfect.  Go out easy, push in the second half if you feel it. I did a little warm up courtesy of Jill. 

A bit of mobility - 5 minutes warm up - 30 seconds race pace - 30 seconds rest x5 - 5 minute cool down. 

Worked good. For those interested in nutrition I drank a bottle of tailwind , a bottle of NOMIO ( round two after a DNF last time ) ate a banana a cookie and had a coffee before leaving the house at 3:30AM . 45 minutes before the start I had a Maurten 160 gel and Half an hour later a Maurten Caffeine 100 - I was feeling perfect.

The start was still dark and on the grass of the football pitch. Enough people that we were around half way in the pack and when the gun went off it took over a minute to reach the official start line. This was actually quite fun. It went from grass to soft dirt with plenty of ankle roll opportunites. Sneakily weaving in and out of the crowd over the next nearly 2 kms before we hit the road. 

I kept the pace around 4:30 and my heart rate was almost at 180, I knew damn well this wasn’t going down so I stopped looking at it and just let it do its thing. Thumpity Thump. I continually passed people and was really enjoying wearing fast shoes. I wore the Adidas Adios Pro 4, they make running feel a bit like a video game and it was fun to keep reminding myself to be light, relax into the pace and let the shoes carry me. 

10 km feels like a nice distance because before you know it you are already half way. ( and the caffeine was kicking in .) Some skills built on the trails came in super handy on both the steep downhills and following uphill sections of the race. I drove this part of the course on the way in so I knew what I was in for. I passed a lot of people on this up. Grateful for my body to be able to keep running when others began to walk. 

I’ve learned that in these moments walking might actually be faster but actually being in the running “gear” plays a little trick on the mind. I had a tiny soft flask I would take little sips from and when I passed water stations I would grab a cup or two and just dump it on my head. Around KM 7 there was a crew handing out iced sponges. THAT WAS NICE. 

The whole vibe of Bali Culture was out in full support, Barongs, kids playing music and cheering on complete strangers before they probably even had breakfast themselves. That’s the best part. There was sections where the Balinese women would throw flowers and yell SEMANGAT ( which translates to keep going / good luck ) This was super motivating. 

Before long I was back where we started and now mixed in and dodging the people running the 5km. There was a guy who kept passing me, then he would walk and I’d catch up. This went on a couple times and eventually he was breathing over my shoulder. It felt like I could feel his panting. I found another gear to drop him and once I saw the finish line I pushed a little harder. 

The only time I’ve felt the feeling I will try to describe next is through running. It feels like your heart is about to come through your throat and somehow you lose ability to swallow. It a super weird feeling but thankfully it was right before the finish line. I wasn’t quite at 10 km on my watch when I passed the line so I had to push another 400m through the crowd. It was too much effort to not get a 10 km personal best. When I stopped my watch it was at 45:03.

NICE! It so cool to think after if there was moments I could have pushed a little harder or ways I could have done better. That’s one of the best things about running. The potential is as high as the work you are willing to put in. Another beautiful thing is the lines of people cheering at the finish line, talking to your mates at the end and seeing the diversity of people all out there early on a Sunday running around.

Let’s wrap this up and figure out how to tie this all into getting out of your own way. We will never realize our potential unless we surround ourselves with people pushing their own limits. Trying, succeeding and “ failing “. Ive said it a few times and here it goes again. NO FAILURE, JUST FEEDBACK. It’s such a gift to be able to choose hard things, to have a body and mind that can feel pain and use it as fuel. Then come back and do it again. 

So, sign up for a race, go do a hard session every now and again and get amongst a crew of people that inspire you and support your crazy ideas. Grateful to everyone out there today and all the people who continue to show up to run club and be that support system. 

That’s it. See ya for a coffee and run real soon.

Peace.