Kay oh Ray: my run is my drug.

Yes, yes, yes. My apologies for the oh-so-cheeZy Ke$ha reference.
Inspired by a post-race conversation, it is true - no matter how much it makes me roll my own eyes.

As you may have already deduced, today was RACE DAY!
It was the first of the 2011 calendar year and took place in our little city of Busan. We found out about the race from our lovely running friend, Kylene, to whom we are always indebted.

Kylene prefers to remain annon.

home base.

The 'KNN Green Marathon' was an event with 5km, 10km, and half marathon distances. It started near a convention centre called BEXCO and, depending on the course, took a route through many of the most beautiful parts of Busan including Dongbaek park, Haeundae beach, Suyeong river and Gwangali bridge.

just one of the many impressive buildings in Busan.

For me, this was meant to be a 'fun, relaxed run' just to tune up and check in with a little time trial before the 'BIG' race in Daegu on April 10th. Like many other runners, my plan of running a 'relaxed' race was total BS. I find it pretty near impossible to hold back under race conditions, especially if you're feeling good.

However, lately I had been feeling pretty down about my training and was thisclose to throwing my goal of a sub 40:00 10km out the window. It seemed so far out of reach, and my times in training were nowhere near where I thought they should be.
Honestly, I found myself in a little fight with 'running' and felt like I was not getting as much out of our relationship as I was putting into it.

With a doubt-filled mind, and my new, negative-mass race flats, I resigned myself to an expectation of a 43 minute race or a pace of about 4:15. I thought it would be pretty difficult but I wasn't going to beat myself up.

And so, the crowds gathered at the start line, we did our weird Korean stretching/jumping routine, repeated some Korean pre-race mantras, and the gun sent us off.
There were over 8,000 people registered in the race, and about 3,000 doing the 10km which led to several of the inevitable keeners at the beginning who bust out with a sprint, then die at the 200m mark. It's an easy trap to get caught up in, but through experience I have mostly learned to stay relaxed and not kill myself before the first km has even passed.

Thanks to my friend Mr Garmin (my trusty GPS watch that probably weighs a full pound - neutralizing the weightlessness of my shoes), I was able to know my exact times for each kilometre that passed. The first 1000m went by in 4:07 seconds, much faster than my target time, and without any discomfort, so I stayed where I was (pacewise) and continued to remind myself to stay relaxed.

The course was really great with enough uphills and downhills to keep it interesting, and only a slight wind in the middle of the course. I wasn't sure where I was in the grand scheme of the race, but at the turn-around I noted at least 4 women quite far ahead of me and so decided it was not a podium kind of day.

That was absolutely fine with me. I was having a lovely run, feeling relaxed, strong and happy with my km splits. I also had a little running companion who made the last 6km very pleasant...

It is now my belief that my pre-race ' make me be fast' prayers are always answered in the form of a Korean man in his late 30s who runs with me, blocks the wind, tries to feed me water, and won't let me slow down when I tell him to 'go go go!'. This is at least the 3rd race that I have run with such a man. They are never the same person, but they always give me the same great feeling that I'm not in the race alone. (It also helps that they are male, so there is absolutely no danger of them affecting my place).

As we crossed the last bridge into the final mile of the race, I knew I wasn't going to place. I had not actually looked at my overall time, but only knew my times for each km, and hadn't taken the mental math energy to add them all up.

Imagine my surprise when I caught a glimpse of the finish clock and saw ' 39blahblahblah'. I could hardly believe it. I kicked for the last 150m and, by my watch, came in at a big PB time of 40:21sec. What elation. What a feeling! I actually did the fist pumps in the air and shed a couple of tears. That is only the second time in my life I have felt so emotional after a race, and I did NOT expect to have that kind of race today.

So, my 'relaxed, fun' race turned out to be a 1:30sec pb kind of race - and it wasn't even hard! What an amazing, overwhelming feeling to finally see some of the work pay off.

my athletic support.

In the sum-up, story conclusion, I did not place in the race. I came in 5th place for the women with a time of about 40:21. I'm indifferent about not placing, and ecstatic about my time.

Outside of MY running bubble, there were PBs all around. Every single one of our running friends ran a personal best race today whether they ran the 10km or the half, for their first or 5th time. It made for a really awesome vibe that lasted all afternoon, and I'm sure has made everyone pumped for the next race and upcoming season.

Ian in the 10km.

Mr McCue's first half.

and 3 more PBs from Matt, Kate and Tom.

After a few celebratory drinks, we made our way to the Wolfhound Irish pub for some burgers, stopped by the beach for a view, and then had a little more 'coffee' and conversation at the local Family Mart.