Warwick Pentath 2009

Month - 122.5k
YTD- 586.5k

Another Warwick done and dusted and I must say that although this is my fave event and I shouldn't criticise, this year was alot better organised than previous years.

The week leading up to Warwick weekend was a little concerning, especially in regards to the weather. SE Qld got hammered with rain before it moved south to smash up NSW. I cant remember ever having significant rainfall during the event and due to the format of the weekend and the different terrain you are expected to run on it would be very interesting if it did rain.

Thankfully the worst of the weather moved on however we still experienced strong winds and passing showers that always seemed to show up before an event.

Race 1 - 1/2 Marathon 23 0700k May 09 - Not concentrating on this distance over the months leading up to it I was unsure where my short training regime would leave me. I am feeling great for events under 10 k as my longest run was 13 k. The last time I ran above 20 was for Ali's 1/2 marathon at the start of March where I jogged around in 1.45.

Anyway I wanted to go a little harder than that but still wanted to leave some in the tank for the remaining 4 races. I aimed for 1.35 anything below that and I would be happy. As it turned out I felt pretty good and was actually spot on 90 min pace for the first 7k, the next 7k a little slower passing 14 in around 61.30, then the wheels fell off and the weather turned bad with a strong head wind and cold rain. I ended up crossing the line in 1.33.43, about 4.15 slower than last year.

Race 2 - 4.6k Cross Country 23 1200k May 09 - Due to the rain the course had to change at last minute which made it a little concerning. Not knowing what to expect and how hard to go was something I am not used to at this event. I pulled up good after the 1/2 and felt pretty keen to get going. The course was pretty flat but run over grass and dirt tracks that were very soft under foot. One stretch was into the most vicious headwind and was probably the hardest part of the course. My aim was to be beat a friend on ours that has it all over me in the longer events but it is much closer in the shorter ones. I ended up finishing ahead on him clocking almost 30 secs faster than him with a time of 17.28.

Race 3 - 5k Road run 23 1500k May 09 - The final run of the day it is on a flat piece of road and is an out and back course. Last year was the first time for the new course and was a massive hit with the runners. It is fast....usually however as soon as I hopped out of the car I could see that the second half of the run was going to be directly into the strong wind. According to the BOM the wind at 3pm was 24km/hr which was the strongest for that time thus far during the month of May.

Being back in my comfort zone with a flat short race I again was hoping to achieve a victory over our friend who pipped me last year by 5 secs. The first k was run in 3.45 and was feeling pretty good. The 2k marker came up and was passed in 7.33. From then on it was hell and i forgot to look at the halfway split and 3 k split. Due to headwind I had my head down and was drafting off this poor bloke for the majority of the back half. I did try to get out in front and take a turn but as soon as I did I could remain beside him but didn't have the legs to pass.

About 400m to go the bloke I was drafting off took off and I couldn't hang on. 200m out I took a glance behind and couldn't see out friend so I eased up a little crossing the line in 19.15. This was only 7 secs slower than last year in perfect conditions. I believe that I could have cracked 19 mins for the course if the wind wasn't so strong.

Race 4 - Killarney Ascent 10k, 24 0715k May 09 - The event I wanted to achieve a PB if nothing else. I have never cracked 50 mins, with the last 2 years coming under 50.30, so this year had to be the one. I had done alot of hill work up to about 2 weeks ago when work commitments reduced the training alot, however i was still hopeful that the work I had done would be enough. Our friend beat me by over 3 mins last year so I didn't think I would be able to get another victory just yet.

The race started and the wind was strong for the first 3k until we turned for the the hill. Passing the first undulating 5k in 22.30 gave me hope that I would break 50 mins. Passing the 6k where the hill really hits hard I had to clock 5.30/k for the remainder to achieve it. I was a little disappointed that I really slowed up between the 7 to about the 8.5 mark, but still managed to get within 5 secs of getting another victory however the best thing was that I not only broke 50 mins but I managed to break 49 mins posting unofficially 48.40 or thereabouts.

Race 5 - 1500m Road race, 24 1130k May 09 - The last event of the 2 day race and after sitting around for a few hours I had stiffened up a little in the legs to the extent where i was going to run the event with Sammy. Being his first ever event and being only 3 years old that would be casual. I did however run the event my own pace and then doubled back to meet Cass and Sammy on the course.

I had figured out my time so far for the event and knew that I only needed 5.44 for the 1500m to break 3 h 05 in for the 42.2k event. I also felt pretty confident that I could get another victory over our friend making it 3 - 2 in my favour, although overall he would still beat me quite easily due to his 1/2 time. Much better than the 4 - 1 in his favour last year.

I took off pretty quickly but felt great, smooth and was just passing people all the way up to the turn around. I had the top female in my sights and by the halfway mark I had passed her. At that stage I looked at the watch and discovered that I didn't start it which was a shame. The run back down to the finish is slightly downhill and having no wind that was hindering us made it a fast finish. I crossed the line about 10 secs in front of our friend however I missed the the massive clock when I passed the finish line. At a guess probably under 5.05.

I wasn't even exhausted and was a little disappointed that I didn't go harder and go under 5 mins which I haven't done at Warwick since my first year. Anyway I had enough steam to jog back up to meet Cass and Sam for the remainder of his run.

When I reached them he was being piggy backed by Cass and wasn't interested in running. He then got keen to begin running about 200m before the finish until he neared the finish chute where everyone was cheering him which seemed to scare him and he began to cry while he was walking. Funny, so all in all not the best experience for him but a good story to tell when he is older. For your info he crossed in a tad over 15 mins :-)

Overall my result was unconfirmed around 3.04.xx about a minute slower than last year. Considering my 1/2 was 4 minutes slower than last year I am very pleased with being so close to my overall PB.

To wrap up I have achieved all 5 races for now 5 years in a row and was given a shirt for my achievement. Not sure where I will be next year, so at this stage this could be my last Pentath for a while.

If you got through all that, without necking yourself then I congratulate you.

That's all

Peace Out!