The Dragon Runner

Sri Chinmoy Royal National Park 10km

5 May 2019

A triumphant return to one of my favourite events - my goal going in was to beat the time I set in last year's event & I found myself not only achieving this but setting a new time goal during the run.

The morning started well with a chance to see my friends from the Australian 100 Marathon Club before they set off to run another marathon. There is over 2,250 marathons worth of running experience in this group photo taken shortly before the race start!

My race was the third event to start, run over an out & back course along the majestic Lady Carrington Drive heading south from Audley. The surface is a dirt & sandstone firetrail access road that follows the Hacking River upstream with plenty of undulations to be negotiated.

This course is so very appropriate for the Sri Chinmoy organisers as it is challenging at the same time as being peaceful & relaxing. Over the years I have seen many native animals close to the road, today I had to settle for the sounds of nearby birds & the breeze in the tree tops. It is so easy to settle into the run & just relax as the kilometres tick over.

The volunteers at the drink stations along the course are so friendly & encouraging, everyone gets a cheer even if they are not in the event & just out on the trail for a training run. Having water & sports drink available every 2.5km during the race really is quite a welcome luxury too!

I felt like I was running well, but still within my capabilities all the way to the turning point. I knew from an occasional glance at my watch that my time goal of beating last year's time was well in hand if I could just maintain the pace as my legs began to tire. Between 6km & 7km on the way back I was hit by a wave of tiredness yet managed to keep moving on the smaller hills.

I found a second wind after passing the 7.5km aid station & sharing a brief chat with a half marathon runner who passed me & encouraged me to dig deep. I arrived at the big hill at the 8km point & continued running up it as best I could. About half way up I stumbled on tired legs but kept going. After stumbling twice more I walked the rest of the hill as I had become worried that the next trip would result in a fall.

After cresting the hill I checked my watch & realised that I was actually on pace to finish under 1hr 15 minutes if I could keep moving well. I didn't really need to increase my pace much to achieve this new goal which was a really pleasant surprise.

I pushed hard up the final hill & ran as hard as I could in the final kilometre as my knees became quite sore. Nothing mattered in that moment except getting to the finish line as quickly as I could. Apparently I still have some competitive instincts with my running.

2019: 1hr 14min 33sec ~ 2018: 1hr 20min 21sec

The post race breakfast of pancakes & fresh fruit was just what I needed to help replenish some energy even though none of it works with my current keto diet.

I am very happy with the final analysis of my run, the kilometre splits recorded by Strava are a lot more even than it felt & a good indication that I am getting fit again.

7:07 ~ 7:13 ~ 7:22 ~ 7:52 ~ 7:22 ~ 7:37 ~ 7:39 ~ 7:39 ~ 7:26 ~ 7:24

#reset #refocus #rebuild #health #fitness #wellness #beactive #challengeyourself #pushlimits #becomebetter #dowhatittakes #nevergiveup #metime #newlife #fitter #faster #stronger #jorg #upandrunning

May Events

Date	Event	Time	Temp & Elevation	Weight
May 4	Shellharbour parkrun	36m 32s	18c ~ 57m	98.8kg
May 5	Sri Chinmoy RNP (10km)	74m 33s	16c ~ 113m	99.3kg