Warning: this could be a very long post!
The day started very early when I woke at 1.00am, looked at the clock and
thought six and a half hours till the race starts. I
immediately kicked myself because I then started to think about it and didn't really get back into a good sleep for the rest of the night. In fact at about 4.00am I just decided to stay awake as I was getting up at 4.45 anyway.
Got up and had a very early breakfast as I have been having tummy problems in the morning lately (not sure if it's the medication or something else) and I wanted to be certain that my breakfast was well digested. It was good to have a relaxed start to the day with plenty of time to eat, shower, organise drinks and snacks for the boys, go to the toilet about 6 times (no exaggeration), etc. Got the kids up at 6.00am and we headed off at 6.15.
Got to Trial Bay just in time to see the marathon start. It looked like a smallish field and I think they said there were 53. Apparently numbers were down due to the crazy weather down South. I got my number, collected my shirt, had two more trips to the toilet and then caught up with my friends from work who were also running the half. One of my friends S had forgotten her watch but was not at all fazed about it. We saw another workmate whose wife was running the 10ks and she borrowed his watch with a few minutes to spare.
I lined up toward the back. It wasn't that big a field and looking around me they all looked like serious runners (but of course looks can be deceiving). The weather was cool and a bit windy but not too bad.
And then we were off. A little
maneuvering around slower runners and trying to get into a rhythm saw the first km go in 5.48. Not quite the pace of 5.40 that I wanted but it probably took a while to get through the start.
Over the first few
kilometres I made up the pace and got to the 5k mark in about 28 minutes. My plan had been to stick behind K (a workmate who runs at about my pace) and to see what happened. I tried to drink water at each of the water stations that I passed as I decided not to run with the fuel belt as it's too cumbersome.
K was running with a group of 3 other women and I was sitting roughly 200 metres behind them. I was a little confused to realise that there were no markers for the next part of the course so I had no idea how I was going. I was relying on K's group to set the pace for a 2 hour (maybe under) finish. I realised on the way back that there actually were markers painted on the footpath (bugger). So basically I ran from 5ks to 10 1/2 ks with no idea and I only checked my watch at the turnaround - 1hr 26seconds. I figured that I could still manage under 2 hours by upping the pace a little, but
wasn't sure if that was possible.
Apart from the
Jerseyville Bridge the section from 5-10 1/2 and back was the most boring part of the race. Basically South West Rocks has turned into a sprawling suburbia in this area and it is just running past houses, shops and service
stations most of the way. The other hard part of this section is that there was no water between 5 and 10 ks. I didn't realise that this would be the case and I was wishing I had carried some with me.
It was great before the turn-around to see the front of the pack coming back. I noticed two women and started to wonder where S was as I knew she would be doing a fast one. Just as I decided to think about her I saw her, she was coming third (out of the women ) and I was really excited for her as the next woman was a long way back.
At about the 13k mark I looked down and saw that someone had dropped a
jellybaby. It looked so
tasty and I was
fantasising about eating it. I remembered that I had put some jellybeans (tiny little
Starburst ones) in my pocket so I had two. I was reluctant to eat any more without water but I needed a little sugar hit. I hadn't really practised eating while running so I didn't want to do anything too radical.
Although I had discovered the kilometre markers at this stage I wasn't too sure of my pace. I was starting to think that under 2 hours was out of reach but I wasn't too bothered as I still had K in my sights, although she was now lagging behind her group and running on her own. My initial plan had been to try and run each 7ks in just under 40 minutes which I probably did for the first one but as I missed the markers I wasn't sure of my pace after that.
At around the 16k mark I managed a vanity
fartlek past the sidewalk cafes which really helped ( I think it helps that I am not used to having anyone watch me run) and I overtook about 4 people which was a great confidence booster. One was a woman who had been just in front of me the whole way with her husband on a bike giving her drinks and chatting to her. K was still ahead and I decided that I would try and bridge the gap and then maybe go past if I had it in me at the 19k mark. My time at 16k was about an hour and 35 minutes. I started to think that under 2 hours was definitely out as this section had taken 28 minutes at the start.
This part of the run was a lot prettier and there were plenty of water stations, although I very nearly got water up my nose (need to practice that a bit more). I was working hard to keep the runners that I overtook from getting past again. I would just speed up a bit when I heard their footsteps coming up and they seemed to drop off again.
At around the 17k mark I was starting to close the gap on K. I remember thinking that 4ks wasn't far (but it's amazing how long that 4 ks seemed) and also realising that this was the furthest that I had ever run. The next section was on a walking/bike track behind the sand dunes and I couldn't see K as it was quite a windy path so I wasn't sure how far ahead she was. It was great to come out of this section to see that she wasn't that far ahead.
At about the 18 1/2 k point I decided to go past as she seemed to be struggling and I could also see that the woman ahead of her was walking. I said hi and she was so fantastic, she told me that I was looking strong and could make it in under 2 hours and to go for it. It was a great boost and I felt that I had to try and run strongly for a while, not just overtake and then die off. The next woman was running again but I had seen her walking so I knew she must be struggling. As soon as I came up behind her she pulled to one side to let me go past. At the 19k mark the time was 1hr 51.44 and I knew there was no way I could get in under 2 hours but I just wanted to finish strongly.
With just over a kilometre to go there was the
biggest hill on the course (which of course is nothing compared to the hills around here). A man was just ahead and running very awkwardly, he looked like he was injured. I felt bad going past him, but I wanted to get up that hill at a steady pace. I was just crossing over the road when there was the woman that I overtook earlier(with the bike husband) right there. "No you don't" I thought and managed to speed up slightly for the last part of the hill, leaving her a little way behind.
Cresting the hill I saw G and started to get quite emotional. I had tears in my eyes (and have them as I write this) and this was the only time that my breathing became quite ragged all day. J ran alongside me for a few metres till G called him down the bank. I wished I could follow but had to follow the road up for a hundred metres and then back for a
hundred metres (how cruel at this point). J and D were running along with me and I heard them calling my name over the PA.
Finally. I finished in 2hrs 3.32 (by my watch). So close. But I am not disappointed. I did it. I ran the whole way. I learnt a lot. I finished strongly and most importantly I had fun.
Will I do it again? Definitely.
BTW - S did come 3rd and she didn't use a watch as she couldn't work the one she borrowed. How good is that?
Scott - I wrote this this morning but didn't have time to read over it (had to go fishing on the river, Queens Birthday holiday). Sorry to keep you waiting (and thanks for your interest).
