Hannah Law

Last September I participated in the Blackmores Sydney Running Festival Half Marathon. Crazy, I know.

We ran all from Kirribilli to the Opera House, and everywhere else in between. I found the first 9km pretty smooth (probably because that’s how far I’ve been running when I train), had a lull between 9 and 14km but when I hit the 2/3 mark I got a psychological boost. It didn’t last long though and I was struggling again between 16 and 18km but then I was on the home stretch!

I just kept telling myself it was a “really long run” and I think that’s what got me through. Although, I also made several mental notes that no matter how satisfied I felt after the run, I never wanted to do one again. Never. Anyway, I finished the half marathon in 1hr 48m and really impressed myself because I was just hoping to break the 2 hr mark!

Now, in the same way mums apparently forget how painful childbirth is, I seem to have forgotten how bad the half marathon really was. So I’m contemplating doing another one!

What do you reckon: are marathons worth enduring the pain for the satisfaction or am I better off being comfortable on the couch?

The other week the Switched on Media team made the 1.5 hours trek out to Eastern Creek Go Karting track to get our adrenalin pumping. I’m not going to lie, I was freaking out on the bus and felt like fainting when I watched the so-called safety video that just showed all the terrible things that could happen, like rolling your go kart ten times and having a massive crash. Awesome, great video guys.
We got suited up and allocated go-karts. A special ‘extension’ was screwed onto my accelerator because I’m a little vertically challenged but I was too busy thinking about what all the different coloured flags meant. Is black slow down and red pull over?! Aah, I’d forgotten before we had even begun.

What I noticed before we all left was everyone was mentally preparing themselves in different ways:

- All the boys were talking themselves up. A lot.

- Some even looked up the track route beforehand, printed it off and studied it on the bus trip

- The girls were comparing notes on why we would be the aboslutely worst driver. Ever.

- I emailed a friend who was a go-karter for some ‘hot tips’ – they mostly consisted of when to turn in a corner and how my ’secret weapon’ is the fact that I’m light.

Mental preparation seems to be essential for all ‘athletes’ – elite or beginners. How do you mentally prepare before a competition or sporting event? Do you wear ‘lucky’ undies,  have a cheeky spew before the big game or enlist the help of a sports psychologist? Go on, spill your secrets.