Fast 5 with Tess Woodland
An integral part of The Runners Hub is our runners. We can learn from others around us and their experiences, both with running and other aspects of life. So each month we will interview one of our members to find out a bit more about them in the hope that we can all learn from their experience.
Next up is Tess Woodland. The theme of the last few years has been disruption and cancellation. Tess experienced this when, after a solid training block, had the GC Marathon cancelled with a few days notice. We wanted to ask Tess how she responded to this disappointing news and what she did next to capitalize on all her training.
What was your initial reaction when you heard GC Marathon might be cancelled?
The lead-up to the marathon was a rollercoaster of emotions and I was never particularly confident the event would be a ‘go’. During Victoria’s fourth lockdown, I started to think through what an alternative marathon could look like. It was 5 weeks out from the Gold Coast event and the thought of giving up hope and training definitely crossed my mind. At this point, I started looking at other marathon events in Victoria, in case interstate borders meant we couldn’t get to the event.
When Queensland opened their borders a week and a half out from the event, I finally let myself get excited. I started researching the course and drink station locations and checking the weather forecast. I’d just completed my biggest week of running and felt stronger than I had anticipated, so I was pretty stoked!
As we all know, COVID can change plans very quickly and after my Tuesday taper run on race week I found myself texting Wooly to ask what delaying my marathon by a week would do to my training plan. The event was officially cancelled that afternoon and at that point, I actioned my backup plan and signed up for the Traralgon Marathon. The worst part about this was that it meant I could no longer sleep in the next day!
When the event was officially cancelled there was a lot of disappointment and also a little bit of relief. I realised the build-up and doubt of getting to the race had been really exhausting and it was somewhat of a relief to have a clear path forward and race to focus on. I was shattered to not be having a holiday and post-run celebrations in the sun though!
2. Tell us about your training for the marathon and what happened on the day?
My training for the marathon was very uneventful (thankfully)! After my first marathon in 2018 where I experienced significant knee pain restricting my training load, I was very cautious about injuring myself. Wooly guided me through my program in 4-week blocks, managing a quick build-up and my biggest ever training loads.
During a time where all plans were uncertain, I found running and sticking to the program one of the few things I could control. During lockdown, my runs became the highlight of my day, often a chance to catch up with my sister and give my day some purpose outside of work. Having something to focus on and the sense of achievement after long runs and tough interval sessions definitely got me through lockdown.
The extended taper was when I found things the most challenging in the lead up. After the cancellation of GC my motivation dropped off and I suddenly felt underprepared with my long runs getting further from race day. It was a matter of just ticking the runs off that week to get to the start line.
During the race, I had a great first 28km. I was lucky to start off running with two friends as we all shared the same goal time, making the start of the race go very quickly. At around the 27km mark, my support crew met me with some electrolytes and unfortunately, things went downhill from there. By 28km my gut was feeling quite unwell and I had to push through some illness and then declining energy as I could not stomach any more gels. It was a challenging last 10kms to the end, but I was very happy to still walk away with a new PB and am confident there’s another one in me for GC 2022 if everything goes to plan!
3. Did you change your GC expectations/approach to Taralgon?
With my motivation for the marathon dropping off after GC, I definitely lowered my expectations for the run. I still went into the run with the same race plan and overall goal, however I subconsciously lowered the amount of pressure I put on myself to achieve a certain result. It was important for me to put my hard work and training into an official event and I was just happy to be at a start line for the first time in 18 months!
4. What would you do differently next time?
Next time I will practice taking more electrolyte on long training runs, or stick to water during the event!
5. What has this recent experience taught you about yourself?
Finally getting to the start and finish line of an event reminded me how much I thrive on working to achieve a personal goal. I am a typical ‘Type A’ personality type and like to be organised and in control of every aspect of my life. Whilst the event itself going ahead was well outside my control, I was able to focus my energy on each individual run and followed my training plan by the book, ticking off every session as it rolled around.
In the second lockdown of 2020, I turned to running as a way to get out of the house every day. I ticked off a run most days of the week, but stopped completing quality runs. The endorphins I have received from running in 2021 by pushing myself to my limit, far exceed 2020 and I am looking forward to continuing to push myself and work towards a new goal!
