The Tough One

Even the name sounds scary.  The Tough One is a 32km race that takes place in Johannesburg every November.  Apart from the Soweto Marathon a few weeks earlier, its really the first tester for runners since a long and fattening Winter.  It's pretty much what I've been training for since I started running again.  It's given its name for a reason...its a Tough One!  I ran the race last year and since it was going to be my farthest distance ever run, I had no idea what to expect.  All I knew was what people had told me...expect it to be hot and expect it to be tough.  Despite my nerves on the day the race passed by in a bit of a blur and I ended up enjoying the atmosphere on the road so much, that it really didn't seem so bad.  I put no pressure on myself for time and since there is always a 5 hour cut off for this race (the same as a 42km marathon) I wasn't worried about completing it.  I assumed I would come in around 4 hours and I was perfectly happy with that.  To my surprise I finished the 32km in 3:14 and even qualified for a special Athletic Icon medal for a sub 3:15 (just made it).  I think the best part about the race last year was not knowing what to expect.  I had never put my body through something like that before and so I had no idea how it would perform.  This year, however, was different.  As much I tried to convince myself that time was not important, I knew that I actually wanted to run a sub 3. I was never 100% convinced I could do it though, even during the race I had my doubts.  Under 3 hours is the cutoff for men to qualify for the Athletic Icon medal so it's not an easy thing to do.  But, no harm in trying right?  Since the route of the race had been changed this year, I again didn't know what to expect.  But it was certainly hot and it was certainly tough! I made it through the first half of the race with little problems but when I reached 20km I suddenly realised I had to move a little faster up the hills if I still wanted that sub 3.  I suddenly became demotivated and unbearably tired.  When I started to walk up a particularly long hill, a man in front of me turned around and shouted, "If you want it, you have to decide now!" And so after a few seconds of thinking that I didn't care if I got it or not...I was tired and I wanted to walk...I re-evaluated and realised that actually I did want it.  So I said a quick prayer, made the decision to go for it and ran the last 11 km fairly comfortably.  I finished the 32km Tough One in 2:56 and was ecstatic!