.....this photo tells the whole story! I finally got to finish the correct course for the Canberra 50km....with a whole lot of help from some extraordinary people in this Cool Running familyof mine..... but I never dreamed of a guard of honour finish!
I think that Saturday afternoon at the 5km & 10Km races is always the best fun of the weekend; gives an opportunity of meeting up with interstate as well as local Cool Runners ....great to meet all those whom I've never met in person before (too many so I won't mention names); too early for race day tension to have kicked in & still relaxed enough to laugh, enjoy each other's company & encourage the runners; I love race day eve!
We, not just I, had a brilliant run on Sunday! The Cool Running community, Ewen, Horrie & me...we did it together! Mine was the easiest part of this collaboration...I had only to keep putting one foot in front of the other until the finish line! After months of coaching me to "start to run out of sight...day or dark night", Ewen devised the race day plan which exactly took care of every minute, in blocks of each 10kms in a run/walk program ranging from 23-22.5 minutes running/3:40 to 4 minutes easy walking & to finish 50km in a time of 6 hours 35 minutes. He had settled on this run/walk program in view of an injury I had during the 3 weeks leading into the run &... did it work? You bet it did!
I have never ever felt I'd run what I could call my 'perfect race', but without any doubt, this was it! With the programme carefully in hand, Horrie's part was to see that (1) I didn't get lost (again!) & (2) to time the run/walk segments exactly, giving neither more nor less than what the blueprint said! He did this to perfection, even warning me before each run segment that we had 10 seconds to go! He gained a 3 minute lead on the set time within the first 10km & we kept that right to the end, finishing in 6 hours 32 minutes. It shouldn't surprise me then, that I felt strong, confident & relaxed for the entire run & without any thoughts of not finishing, but I was taken aback by finishing more than 20 faster than the time I set for the W70 Australian Record way back as a youngster of 74 in 2004!
Can I ever adequately thank both Ewen & Horrie? Or those who ran part of the course with us on Sunday? Or those who waited long hours for me to finish? Of course not! But deep down in my heart is a "Thank You" which I hope they all know is there. The same for the CR bloggers who gave such encouragement over recent weeks/months.
For the remainder of this year? A big change which I'm so looking forward to : trying to become faster over shorter distances & then, come October/November trying out for these distances in Canberra with the ACTVAC. I can see no reason for not becoming faster..even on a dark night....if I keep trying!
Well done LL. Australian record holder ! Nuff said really.
ReplyDeleteFingers and toes now uncrossed.
Congratulations LL. A wonderful achievement. Top marks to Ewen and Horrie, but don't forget, you are the one who did it.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and great race LL - I don't think too many other CR bloggers hold any Australian records!
ReplyDeleteNow for that 12 hour ;-)
Congratulations LL on a great run and another record. I must get to 70! Good to see the super pacer and super coach planned it out so well for you. But you did all the hard work. Those cows down Macquarie pass know what you did. See you at SMH half chicky babe!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! Awesome effort :)
ReplyDeleteIt was wonderful to see you again. You are an inspiration to so many people. Two people on the course called me Norma so either I look 20 years older than I am or you look 20 years younger than you are. Having met you I believe it's the latter (I hope so)!! Well done on an Australian record, a remarkable achievement and a "perfect" race. Enjoy the recovery!
ReplyDeleteNorma, you are a national treasure and a true Australian Legend! Who are you trying to kid by saying that you just did the easy part? I've never thought of running 50km as easy. I was so happy to be able to share the day with you and to see it unfold in such a perfect way from the beautiful still Autumn Canberra morning at the beginning to the Guard of Honour at the end. After the debacle of last year, both Ewen and I felt duty bound to help you set the RECORD straight. For you to pick up the pieces and get back into training so soon after such a crushing blow said volumes for your character. I thought then that if you still had the desire a year later to go through all the pain and anguish again that I would be running by your side and making sure that you got what was rightfully yours. And that was the 50km Road Race W75 National Record. Your name will now be on the Australian Record list for a long time to come and I will always remember that I helped in that achievement. And I will remember that longer than anything that I manage to achieve in running. So the pleasure was all mine. Congratulations Australian Champ!
ReplyDeleteLucky Legs, It was a pleasure to finally meet you at the weekend and congratulations on a GREAT performance. Well done. It was an Honour to be part of your Honour Guard at the end (bad english)
ReplyDeleteI can see no reason for not becoming faster..even on a dark night....if I keep trying!
ReplyDeleteI will keep this phrase on my mind for ever, next to your fantastic achivement!! It is wonderful to know the way of how a champion like you thinks!!
Redemption!
ReplyDeleteI think back to how devastated you and all of your followers (myself included) were last year. How sweet is this?
You are a deadset legend - well done!
Cheers,
Ben
LL, thanks for your beautiful words about my comments on Cool Running but it is to you who deserves so much credit. Others can say it so much better than me (noting what Horrie said especially). You have brought some much inspiration to so many people. You have a story that deserves to be told and I am sure it will be.
ReplyDeleteWell done Norma! Legendary stuff! I'm looking forward to the next cuddle already!
ReplyDeleteWell done Norma, as has been already said you are an inspiration to many but most importantly you have gone and proven to yourself after a disappointing race last year that you are an Australian Record Holder and very worthy!!!
ReplyDeleteI hope I have the pleasure of meeting you soon!
Stu Macaulay
LL you are one of those truely remarkable people in this world!
ReplyDeleteWe should thank you for all the inspiration you provide for so many of us! I only hope I can achieve such greatness as you!!!!
Add my name to the top of the fan list! Australian Record Holder Indeed!
ReplyDeleteLots of Love over the moon-lit sky!
It just blows me away everytime I think of what you achieved on Sunday LL. I'll be bragging about you even more now :-)
ReplyDeleteI love your new goals for the rest of the year. Go for it!!!
Norma, I've sent you some photos by email but I can't swear that I have the correct address so if you don't get them, please tell me.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations again. I don't know how many times I've dined out on stories of the ledgendary LL, but I think I'll be able to grow fat on this one :-) :-)
Gnome
Congratulations on the perfect run.
ReplyDeleteI am a bit disappointed that I wasn't there at the finish to see you. After my run, I went back to the hotel and had a shower and laid down on the bed and that was me gone.
I was showing my son the photos of Canberra and he asked about you. He remembers you from Gold Coast last year. I showed him the ones of you finishing and his comment was that " you were looking pretty good". And so you were.
Any possibility that that World Record for the track is in your future plans?
You did it CB!
ReplyDeleteIt was the perfect run.
Hey LL :)
ReplyDeleteJust catching up on blogs. Fantastic stuff! You must be sooo proud of yourself. Awesome effort, awesome results.
Australian record holder! Fantastic!
H xxx