Notes
Stats first;
0k ~10k (0:57:43) (0:57:43)
10k ~ 20k (0:49:13) (1:46:56)
21.1k (1:52:37)
20k ~ 30k (0:50:00) (2:36:56)
30k ~ 40k (0:56:13) (3:33:09)
40k ~ 42.2k (0:13:35) (3:45:45)
Wow! Lot to say, but best to keep it short.
The first 10 with Stayne was the perfect warmup, keeping it real and exchangine a few war stories made the k's drop by.
I left Stayne after 10k and up'd the tempo, powered up the hill at 14k and blew by about 4000 people on the descent, no joke!
Caught Nick at about 16k and that was that.
Was still feeling fine at the half, and saw Reev at about 23k waiting to feed me, but his bike had other ideas as it blew a tire and threw Reev over the bars into a ditch, and that was the last I saw of him. Would've loved some fuel tho, as I'd find out in another hour.
A pretty hard headwind kicked up soon after Reev's wipeout, and I jumped onto the heels of #158, and stayed there for the next 10k. The two of us blew by a whole lot of people and it was great to have someone to work with. It felt right.
Even at 32k, my wingman told me that this was to be his fastest time ever, I echoed his call. So with 10k to go, we agreed to blow it out and see what would happen.
BOOM! By 34.5k I was spent. Slowed down for my first walk break and a little stretch and my whole right hamstring just ceased up. I caught it just in time and got going again, trying (hoping) to hold off any more cramping.
But it was too late, the next 7k is a total blur, I just remember the k's passing by so so slowly. I was dizzy and wobbling all over the place like Stayne after a night with the Captain and Old Chicken. A mix of walking, trotting, kneeling over and using stop signs, lamp posts and drink tables as support to keep me standing was the way it went until the end...
500m to go and I hear Chewy and the Coach screaming in the distance, they seemed so far away, even though they were only 50m from the finish line. As I passed the BK support, adding a few more seconds to my video part, my whole right leg gave in to lack of fuel for amlost 4 hours, no salt and WHACK, total straight-leg, agonising cramp from hell.
I managed to limp across the line and was (what felt like) probably the ugliest finisher of the day.
(Once again) broke down into tears as soon as I crosssed the line - just completely spent both physically and emotionally from one hell of a morning.
Managed to keep whatever was struggling to exit my empty stomach down, tho it took a good hour to feel any better.
A lot of things learnt from this one, too many to list.
The highlights - 10k with Stayne, the weather, the view (would ya LOOK at the conditions!), the 8k with #158, not getting passed by anybody between 10k & 33k- true dat!, Reev's stack, a new PB, thinking (imagining deleriously) that I had any shot at a sub 3:30, blitzing down the hill at 14k, ripping by Nick, seeing Meef cruise by in the opposite direction in my car, FINISHING, the five burger Mac-attack post race back in Sapporo, Stayne's geography lesson in the car, managing to stay awake all the way back to Asahikawa, sleep that night.
The lowlights - see above. But it's all good once you've kissed it off! When's the next one......