This morning I ran the 10th Onehunga (Oh-knee-hung-ah) Half, in Auckland, New Zealand. It was my 2013 goal race and my first half marathon. It's a pretty small local race, but this morning they apparently had 300 running the half.

Short Story: I finished in 1:52:18 and scooped 2nd masters woman (40+). I was ecstatic with the result. Now I'm on the couch feeling the pain in my legs and overall fatique! But happy with a job well done! Now I have 2 weeks holiday from work to recover. 

Long Story:

It's spring here and I trained pretty well in early winter, with July just over 100 miles, but August and September not quite at 100. Most weeks were between 20 & 25 miles. It was frustrating that sometimes I let the rain (not the cold), family (had some ups and downs with DH's health this year) and work (high stress these last couple of months). If you see my log (feel free) you'll see my recent weeks were a bit heavy with my long run, making up almost 50% of the weekly total some weeks. I also had a few niggles, but have largely come through injury free, which I'm really proud of. I wasn't really sure how to taper, so I just eased off slightly and rested yesterday. I had a bit of a sore throat for the past few days, but I hydrated aggressively yesterday and overnight and it really paid off for me. I had also run a 5 mile race a week ago and ran it pretty hard, picking up 3rd in the masters and getting prize money to boot (only $25, but I'm not arguing). I felt pretty rested although I was awake in the night for a bit (bad sleeper!).

Race day. The weather was pretty much perfect - about 55 F, rising only a few degrees by the end, a little cloudly and the possibility of drizzle (we had about 10 minutes worth only). The start was delayed which was a bit frustrating, with a tree falling over the path at one point, which they were removing with a chainsaw. The course is flat and mostly follows a harbourside bike path. There were 7k, 10k, 16k (10 mile) and 21.1k events. Waiting for an extra 15 minutes was a bit chilly, but we started eventually and I think I succeeded in my goal of not going out too fast. I started fairly towards the front as it was chip timed but there was only gun time and I knew I could be in contention for awards. But it did mean a lot of people passed me in the first 1 - 2 miles, many of whom I passed back over the rest of the course.

The course was kind of like a Y. The stem of the Y was about 1.5 miles, and then there were two out and backs along the harbout in different directions and there was a bit of a wind to deal with at several points. At the first turn around, at about 9k, I could see there were about 12 or so women ahead of me, but couldn't tell how many were older. Very few people passed me after this point, and they were only men or 16k racers. It is a great path and there was enough room for everyone. I did almost all my long runs there as it is a 10 minute drive from home and know it really well. My DH and DD stayed at the junction of the Y where they could see me pass 4 times!

I did most of my training runs in similar or cooler weather and only took water midway through when I passed the car so I was aiming to not have to fuel, or have a bathroom stop, which I accomplished. I did grab my water bottle when I passed my DD at the 13k mark and took a swig of water, which didn't sit well for a few minutes, but my stomach settled down again. Before the last turn around, just after the 17k mark, I counted off the women coming back towards me and I knew I would be in the top 5 in my division, but it's hard to tell the age of the competitors. I hope as this race grows they can at least introduce 10 year age divisions.

As I neared the junction of the Y to go back to the finish, we came out of a flat, but curvy section of path with tree cover and I suddenly saw I'd gained since the turnaround point on three people ahead of me. I caught the man without too much effort, and he had a shirt with 52 in 52 on it. I asked him briefly what it meant and he's trying for a half marathon a week for a year. I congratulated him on his 26th one today and continued. Just after I saw my family for the last time (1.5 miles to go) I overtook the next woman who I'd just seen cheered on by her husband and 3 kids. Felt a bit bad, but I don't think she was in my division. I was really trying to catch the younger woman in front of me, and was making good ground. With a few hundred metres to go I drew up behind, but she put the pressure on and the gap widened again. I realised I might get under 1:52, but had nothing left in my legs. Ended up with 1:52:18 or thereabouts.

Still waiting for the official results, but with only gun timing, it's probably pretty accurate. My C goal had been under 2 hours, B goal, sub 1:55, A goal 1:52:**, which I got, and my secret A+ goal was sub 1:50. I'll aim for something like that next time I think. They do the prize giving a bit differently, awarding prizes soon after you cross the line. I was recovering with my family and the RD came up and told me I'd come second in the masters division. I went to collect my prize, a 12 month subscription to a Triathlon magazine. Cool! I think I ended up 11th woman overall. Not bad for my first. I'm looking forward to next time already! It's a totally different beast, racing a half compared to a 5k where you are in the pain cave for almost the entirety. I found the last mile or so hardest mentally as there was a bridge to cross which was a short but steep rise up and then steps down which I had to concentrate on. Overall, a hugely positive experience. Next up I have a 10 mile race (which I'm going to use as a training run) next Sunday, then a one mile race the Saturday after, which I aim to race hard, with sub 7 minutes as my A goal.

Happy running everyone, and thanks for reading this far if you're still here! You deserve a medal!  Sorry about the lack of photos.

wow, nice job for a debut! congrats.

Badass! And congrats!

Excellent debut!  And congrats on the 2nd place in the Master's division.

1:52 in your debut... VERY nice!  

Congrats! What a great time!

What a debut!  Good timing and an award. Would definitely like to race in New Zealand at least once.

Enjoyed the RR. Great job! (just curious, do you use Fahrenheit there, or did you convert it for us?)