Gardiner's Creek Trail |
As it turned out, a warm and blustery pollen-laden wind made the run quite hard, exacerbated by a right knee that was more sore than it should have been. By the half-way mark of what turned out to be a 16.5km run, I wasn't feeling very feisty and was glad I didn't have another 34km to go. When you're tapering you expect to start feeling good, and when you don't it can be troubling.
Gardiner's Creek Trail |
I also know that having faith in your preparation is key during a race. Most of my personal best times have come in races when I was absolutely exhausted at the half-way mark and running very fast by previous standards. In those races, I somehow maintained the pace through the second half, though it was very hard work. Success depended on staying mentally engaged and having faith that my preparation would see me through. Of course, the preparation is the most important factor, but success also depends on having the confidence to deploy and fully utilise that preparation.