Posted on by Debbie Harris

I DID it – my way!

Run Melbourne 2017

Last week I wrote a post about my upcoming Run Melbourne 2017 event – I CAN do this – and I am pleased to say not only did I do it, I did really well!

This is a quote from my post last week:

I’m not fast, I’m not stylish, I tend to run a bit heavy, I’m sometimes happy when it’s over and I’m no longer what you’d call a youngster.

Run Melbourne 2017 map and times
Run Melbourne 2017

I can now tell you that according to the official results:

Out of 330 women entered in my 50-59 age group I came 44th – yes 44th can you believe it?

I was only 9 minutes outside the winning time for the #1 50-59 woman!

My overall place was 812 out of 3259 women running the 6km event.

AND I ran a personal best time.

AND I loved it.

AND I have a medal to prove it!!  Yes I know everyone got a medal but it’s still special despite having the distance wrong on the lanyards at 5km (I have since amended this with the help of a thick black pen to read the correct distance of 6km!)

Here’s a little video my sister shared on Facebook as I was finishing – I love hearing her voice shouting ‘Go Deb!!’  I’m the one in the pink over on the right hand side and I look up and wave at her although I don’t remember hearing her shouting at me.  It’s so funny hearing her and she sounds so much like her daughter!

 

Tips I should have followed but didn’t:

I laughed with my sister, who was my support crew on the day, about a Facebook post I read advising runners how to best prepare themselves for their run. I did it all wrong!!

Trying something new: NEVER try anything new on race day or leading up to it, if you’ve not practices it before don’t try it now.  From what you eat to what socks you wear – go with what you know!

What I did: After a fantastic/hurting remedial massage on the Thursday before the run on Sunday,  I drove 6 hours to Melbourne then promptly went to an hour long gym session with my sister.  I had never been to this gym before and used muscles I hadn’t used for ages!  WRONG!!!!

Nutrition advice – don’t go changing it up now.

What I did: I decided to try my sister’s new healthy eating plan, starting the day before the race.  WRONG!!

Sleep – try and get a good night’s sleep leading up to race day.

What I did: The Friday night after driving, exercising and talking I couldn’t sleep and ended up finishing reading The Handmaid’s Tale, at 2.19am (according to Goodreads). We then had to be up, fed, dressed and out the door to catch the train into the city by 6.20am for a full day out riding steam trains around the suburbs of Melbourne. Due to train delays we didn’t get home until after 9pm, ate a late dinner and went to bed ready to wake up refreshed and well rested for the run the next day!! WRONG!!!!

Prep – have all your gear ready the night before.

What I did: I had all my gear ready except for the safety pins to pin my bib on.  I nearly started a domestic between my sister and her husband as they couldn’t remember where the pins were kept and we had to leave NOW to catch the train!  In the end I grabbed some bulldog clips and hoped I could cadge some pins at the event, which luckily I did. They must know something as they had a huge bowl of pins at the information tent. WRONG!!!!

Run Melbourne 2017
Run Melbourne 2017

Last year I ran in the event for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it, the crowd, the atmosphere and the fact that I was running again, and this year was no different!  The organisation was brilliant, the crowds were happy and the weather was quite balmy for all the dire weather predictions the day before.  I wasn’t especially nervous, I just went out and did my own thing.  I kept a track on my pace and ran with the 6km/min pacer for a while which was a good feeling.  I started getting sore in my right hip towards the end but managed to keep running.  I enjoyed the entertainment along the way and high-fived a lot of the supporters as I passed them.  The cheer squads were great fun and it all went by in a bit of a blur to be honest!!

The number of people involved, walking and running, was great to see and the whole place was abuzz!  Well done to everyone who ran, walked or helped out in any way to make it such a fantastic event.

Meeting a fellow blogger in person

Meeting up with Annie and Janette at Run Melbourne 2017
Meeting up with Annie and Janette

The other awesome thing about the event was that I finally got to meet Annie (in the middle) and fellow runner Janette (left).  Annie is one of my long time runner blogging buddies.  It was lovely to catch up with her for a few minutes and I must say both her and Janette were in excellent spirits considering they’d just finished the Run Melbourne Half Marathon!  I am in awe of their efforts!  I always love meeting bloggers in person and it’s the voice that gets me every time.  I’m so used to reading their words and seeing photos but speaking to them in the flesh always turns out to be a real delight!

Annie is just as lovely in person, as I knew she would be, and we caught up on engagement party news, wedding plans and running.  As she’s from Tasmania my sister was pleased to meet her as well.  Annie blogs at Unsporty Women Can Run and has been an inspiration and great support to me during my running journey.  We have loads in common and I love this recent post from her Country Runner at Heart as I can relate to it so well.

 

The bling!
Official pic!

Thanks to everyone for the comments and support leading up to the event, I couldn’t do it without you all.  I am so used to running on my own in the quiet of the bush,  which is such a different experience to running in a huge crowd in the city, but I am getting better at managing myself.  I just love the feeling of accomplishment afterwards.  I didn’t even really mind the extra kilometre in the end.

Running my own race in Run Melbourne 2017
Pin for later

So it’s a wrap – I DID do this!!

Deb 😊

You can also find Deb’s World here – I’d be delighted if you’d join me.

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45 Replies to “I DID it – my way!”

  1. Wow!! Lots of congratulations, Deb!! We all knew you could run and do a fantastic job of it 🙂

    Happy to see you come in 44th. I loved reading the preparation tips and your discussion the things you felt you did wrong. That takes courage.

    Liked by 1 person

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  3. Love this! VERY nice medal, and brilliant official pic. But most of all a great big Well Done for getting out there and doing it. You did really well and that shows in your age category rankings. I love a good race, you can’t beat the crowd enthusiasm!

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  8. Congrats, Deb! I knew you could do it and do it well. I did my 6K on the treadmill since it was 30C on Sunday here. I mentioned your previous “I can do this” post on my blog. Enjoy your new achievement.

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  10. Nothing can quite beat the excitement and energy of race day and it sounds like you used it to your full advantage – in spite of all the ‘should nots’ beforehand 😉

    Congratulations Deb! I hope you keep running happy 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Your message was in my spam folder, so I’m sorry for the late reply! I really enjoyed putting together the list of should nots – it didn’t seem to bother me too much thankfully. Thanks for the visit and comment Joanne!

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  13. Congratulations Deb. We all knew you would make it!! As for all the WRONGS you did go out on a ledge with those didn’t you?! I’d be dead. Well just what I’d expect from a hummingbird on speed… How nice that you and Annie caught up. Well done again. I think you should “repurpose” that Wrong list in a post further down the line. I’m sure it is the tip of the ice berg. Next challenge for you? Louise

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    1. Thanks so much for your lovely comment Louise. I loved the wrong list of things so that’s a great suggestion! It was so good to meet Annie too. We’re off for two weeks walking in the Flinder’s Ranges in a week or so, that will be a challenge for me as we’re camping out 🙂

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        1. I’ll be taking a blogging break for the rest of the month, as reception will be dicey and I want to just enjoy it all. I’ve not been that way before so we are taking the bikes for some rail trail fun in SA. 😊😊

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          1. I am an Adelaide girl originally. Lived and taught in Whyalla for three years. Went camping on an art camp in the Flinders (million years ago) and had some day trips up there from my Whyalla days, My family and oldest friends are in Adelaide. I love SA there are lots of wonderful places and no crowds. Enjoy

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  14. Pingback: A sentence a day for July: a writing challenge – Deb's World

  22. Super excellent! I can feel how exuberant you felt! It’s funny you mention socks. My husband told me that socks matter a lot more than one would think when it comes to running. I’m not a firm believer that my feet deserve the perfect smart wool when I run! I don’t think it’s possible to have the perfect “re-run” routine. Sleeplessness is pretty normal in my world, though trying to keep things quiet is a good idea. I have a big 24-hour trail race coming up, and I’m going to take your advice (and your enthusiasm) to heart!

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  23. Congrats on your finish! Awesome time! I’m a runner as well, but I do it mainly for exercise…I haven’t competed in years. 🙂 Maybe I’ll give it another try. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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  25. Pingback: A sentence a day for August: a writing challenge – Deb's World

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