38:39 - A PB!!!!!!

8 Km Mother's Day Classic - The Tan 38:39, I have a new 8Km personal best. Weekly total - 65 Km I would have been happy with sub 41 on this course which included 2 short sharp hills and a very slow first Km as I tried to elbow my way through the crowds, but to beat my previous PB by 1:21 was beyond what I had hoped for. This race did not have a timing chip system so the final time will be the gun time, which for me was a touch over 39:00, however I am going by my stop watch which gave me 38:39. Wow, where do I start? I don't have any splits to post because I missed some of the markers, but apart from the Kms that included Anderson St I was sitting on about 4:40 pace (wow!) but did get up to 5:00 for a bit as well. I did get a bit of my famous nausea, particularly at the top of Anderson St the second time around (sorry Rogo, I didn't smile at the top of that one, but I didn't stop and double over either), but this time I ran through it. Every part of me wanted to stop for 30 seconds to compose myself, but I didn't instead I dropped to 5:00 pace for about 60 seconds to let it pass. Then as I hit the 7Km mark I checked the watch and it had just passed 34:00. At this stage I thought, oh shit, I am going to make a PB here, oh shit, oh shit. Calm down Em, deep breaths, take it easy. Because this is where I have blown it in the past and started to have a panic attack. So no heroics, there was a guy next to me keeping the same pace so I stuck with him and kept to 4:40. Then I saw Crissy, Karina and Stu giving me a cheer, then right past them was my best buddy Nadia and Mikey jumping up and down yelling all of which gave me an extra push. Next thing I know the finish chute, which I was convinced by this stage was moving away from me at a speed slightly faster than I was moving towards it was there and I was through. I could not believe the clock was on 39!!!!! and better when I stopped my watch on 38:39. And I didn't lose it before the end this time, granted once I was through the chute I was dry retching again, but that is fine, I had finished, I know it was 100% my best effort. Problem is 3 minutes later I feel amazing and start thinking, geez, I coulda pushed that a little harder. I even mustered the energy to jog back to Nadia and Mikey and the rest of the crew. It was great to see all the others out there today, Beki, Crissy and Karina who I met for the first time, JayKay and Michelle with the family in tow (thanks Marty for looking after my bag) and of course my bestest mate Nadia and her friend Mikey. We also had Stu and Beki's House Mate in our support crew ;-) and Chris was there at the finish line (glad you came out Chris) so all up a great way to spend a Sunday morning. Nadia, Mikey and I then headed off for our traditional post MDC breakie. I had what I thought was a very well deserved plate of Pancakes with fresh fruit and maple syrup Well done to all who participated today for a great cause, I look forward to reading all your race reports. By the way, did I mention I GOT A PB!!! So 2 weeks to another sub 50:00 10Km attempt at Williamstown, though the challenge of 47:45 has been thrown to me, so let's see what happens on the day. Goes to show that the extra mileage and variety that I have incorporated since my last 10Km race on 26 March has really payed off, this was my first chance to test myself again. Thanks for all those hills Rogo :-)