Its a well supported event, and a great place for people from the southern states of Australia to go to over our winter to get a little bit of warmth. As a guide, Melbourne (2 hours by plane south of the Gold Coast) has been hovering around 11 degrees C lately, while Gold Coast is closer to 20. And sunny!!
But before the marathon there was the little matter of my girlfriend Jill's first 10km run. She was excited, nervous and unhappy that the run started so early in the morning!!
Despite that, she was still a happy little vegemite in the starting area!
To ease congestion, the 10km event was split into two, a sub 60 min group and an over 60 min group. It was self seeded and we put Jill into the first group.
There was a big mob at the start line!!
And then they were off. The elites raced past and dont they just look fantastic as they run. One of the first 3 leaders ended up winning the 10km event in a race record 28.45. Any guesses which one it was?? Shelley? Troop? Or orange singlet man??
For those who guessed Shelley... congratulations... you are a winner. He was still leaping along right near the finish line.
But not long later, Jill came into view. Her first 10km completed and she was a happy girl. If she hadn't stopped to talk to all the aid station kids and visit half the loo's on the course, she would have been quicker... but its about the experience and the finishers medal... and she got both!!
MARATHON
Then it was onto the marathon.
I wasn't feeling overly confident about this event, but at least I had done two weeks of training to get my body used to running again after Comrades and the unfinished 100km run.
My recent run / walk pacing training was much slower than pre Comrades, with a 20km training run done the week before in 2hrs25. So a sub 5 hour marathon looked doubtful if I followed that racing strategy...
But as I stood on the start line with 3 friends who had all done Comrades five weeks ago... I didnt really have any race strategy. I was kind of hoping to do around 4.30, but hadn't really thought about how that would happen.
As we lined up for the start, those pacing strategies were the furthest thing on my mind! I was just here for the experience and to see what would happen! Oh, and to get out of Melbourne's cold weather!!
The start was a long narrow chute just on one side of the road but, amazingly, we were actually running before we got to the start line!!
I started with the 4 hour pacing group - knowing I wouldn't be able to stay with them - and about 2km down the road, pulled off to the right of the course for my first walk break. My HR was already at about 85% of maximum.... too high this early.
I started my run / walk strategy, but could only run about 400m before my HR hit its usual "walking threshold" and then I would walk for 100m to bring it down again. I didnt fancy doing that for another 40km.... so I said "bugger it". When the 4.30 pacing group came past I just pulled in behind them and trundled along... not even looking at my HR.
By 7km I was feeling much better and by 9km I had pulled ahead of the 4.30 pacing group. This was looking promising... I was feeling comfortable, had no calf, hip or quad soreness ... and was rolling along at about 6 mins per km.
The view down the course as am almost at the 10km timing mat, and the leaders are starting to come back the other way.
The leaders were flying along and had a massive lead.
On a nice sunny day, it really is a nice course. This is about 12km in.
Approaching the 14km marker.
At 25km in I was still running reasonably well.... ok I know the photo shows there isn't a great stride happening here... but I was making my way through the field!
By 35km, I was beginning to slow. My hips were starting to really hurt and my running plan (as it turned out) of running 5km and then stopping for a Gu... was in trouble. I needed a few walks between 30-35km to take the pain out of my hips.
But my splits up to 35km were remarkably event:
5km 32.30 ave HR 148
10km 30.52 ave HR 157
15km 30.13 ave HR 158
20km 29.57 ave HR 159
25km 29.16 ave HR 162
30km 30.21 ave HR 165
35km 31.59 ave HR 164
And then just after 35km the hips just got too painful. It was just like the 100km run all over again. I could barely lift my legs, the hips had a sharp pain in the joints on both sides and even walking was painful.
Running was just not an option... especially as I didnt want to do any damage to myself, so once I hit the 37km mark... it was just a slow walk home.
But the scenery was entertaining... is this what you REALLY want to do just after being married!!?? (they had "just married" signs on their backs!)
After the 37km mark I got passed by a lot of people.... all those that I had passed from 10km to 35km it seemed....
The pelicans were a nice distraction
And finally the 40km sign came up. I was walking at about 12 mins per km (ok we should really call it hobbling rather than walking), and after a nice consistent set of 5km splits... the 35-40km split took 52.51. But the Ave HR was down to 133 for that 5km...
There were lots of bands placed around the course to keep the groove happening!!
Finally I hobbled back down the Gold Coast highway towards the finish line
Under the gantry
Down one more little straight
And FINALLY down to the finish line... to finish in a net time of 4.54.48.
And then it was done. It was a funny old day, awful for a while, wonderful for a while, and then painful for a while. :)
The hobble back to the car was particularly slow.
But now its all about recovery before I head off on holiday to Europe!! Hooray!!
Finally, I will leave with with a photo you dont often get to see, the view back down the finishing chute having just finished.
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