Tuesday morning of the second entry attempt dawned much as any other, no sleepless night, no angsty race-entering nerves. As 7am came and went, it appeared that I still couldn't access the site for entering the Routeburn Classic. I frantically refreshed the screen, and the minutes ticked by, I was going to have to go to work soon, and I thought for the second week in a row that I was going to miss out! Then in a last desperate flash of inspiration, I checked Good Times Events Facebook page, and found a link directly to the event registration page...and it loaded. I frantically filled out the registration form, payed the money, and dashed out the door...it was now in the hands of the internet-shaped gods.
After work, I check my emails, no confirmation email yet, had I only made the wait list, had those moments of fruitless page refreshing misery meant that I was too late. Another helpful facebook update directed hopeful entrees to the Starters List page...and there at number 34 was my name. I have made the starters list for the 2013 Routeburn Classic!
Buoyed on by this fantastic and exciting news, I went off to my Tuesday evening Super Sevens Race. I have just received (as a belated Christmas gift) my GPS running watch, and I have used it on a few runs, and started to get my head around it's multitude of functions. Tuesday night was my first official event for testing the watch and its capabilities out. I figured that to beat my previous 42:10 7km effort, I needed to run faster than 6min/km (my long distance pace ranges from 6:30-8min/km), so this run is a good test of my ability to sustain a faster pace over distance. We all started out, and I kept my legs moving quickly, and settled (or pushed myself) into a steady (and faster than usual) 5:36/km. I reasoned that IF I could keep this speed up over the entire distance I would be sure to beat my previous time, even if I slowed up in the later km. I pushed myself to maintain this speed over the entire distance (it was hard work, but not impossible), and I even managed to pick up speed over the last km. I finished in 38:24 which I was very happy with and is my new PB over 7km.
Tuesday was a good day.
Yay, how exciting! Well done on the PB too :) See you in a few days!
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