3hrs 50mins Exactly!!
I made it!! Not only did I beat the 4 hour mark, I completed my race plan down to the minute and managed a 80 metre “sprint” across the finish line.
Distance: 42km
Time: 3hr 50min 50sec
Course: Blackmores Sydney Marathon
Target Heart rate: 160-175bpm
Average heart rate: 170bpm
Weekly total Km’s: 52km
Notes:
The race was good but the wind was pretty strong. In fact as we came across the Harbour Bridge for just after the start the wind was freezing and not working in our favour. The run through the city and out to centennial park was quite comfortable and I was quite happy running at the top of my heart rate range. By the 5km mark I was 3 minutes ahead of my plan and was feeling pretty good. On the way back from Randwick I started to get a hint of cramping in my left quad that was around the 18km mark.
There was a fair bit of nice downhill as we passed through the city and this helped me relax and stretch out my legs. Throughout this time I had held onto my 3 minute buffer. I was still feeling pretty fresh as I went through the 21km mark giving me a 1/2 marathon time of 106min which was the same time that I ran the SMH 1/2 marathon in during May this year.
I really started to feel the run over the next 4km. This was the stretch from the city to the old Glebe island bridge. It was just amazing to see the race leaders sprinting back in the other direction having already covered an additional 10-12km. As I crossed under the Anzac Bridge to the entrance to the old Glebe Island bridge, I can remember thinking about having to return up the same hill and being filled with dread. Then the cramping started again.
Every drink station since I first started to feel this cramping in the leg I had been grabbing water and sports drinks at alternating stations. Usually the twinges would back off for a bit after each aid station but as I move off the bridge and onto the freeway to Haberfield it was having less and less effect. On top of that the wind was blowing in everyone’s face. Blowing hard, so the air itself was a significant obstacle. I managed to keep my pace up to 163-167bpm but couldn’t get it back up over 170.
This was the hard part. Psychologically I was still travelling in the wrong direction, while the wind was going the way I wanted to be going. Back to the city. More than once I considered what it would feel like to stop and let the cramps take me. Each time I had to remind myself of the frozen moment of crossing the line that made it all worth while.
Finally I was at the end. The wrong end but an end none the less. A tight u-turn and I was on my way home, with the wind on my back. I seriously nearly cried with relief. For the next few km I felt like I was relaxed, at least until I hit the slow and gradual climb to Leichardt, a hill that had been a friend about half an hour before. By now though I could count the k’s to go on my fingers and that with each step I was getting closer. There were a few folks who I was running near that were able to offer encouragement to me and vice versa.
As I came back across Old Glebe Island Bridge for the second time, with about 5 km to go I was telling myself “5km. You can run 5km any time. This is the easy bit.” My head was willing but my legs took al lot more convincing. Checking my times I was still holding my 3 min buffer.
It was just as well to because the next 2-3 km was really hard. From basically sea level at the OGI bridge to the on ramp of the Harbour bridge was all uphill and steep uphill at that. Bye bye buffer. Along the way I did thing that I could relax a bit here because I now knew that I would beat 4 hours but maybe not by much. Then I passed the guy on crutches. I am not sure if he was doing the 1/2 or full marathon but either way it was an inspiration.
I picked up the pace a little and got energised for the last stretch home. I am a sucker for a crowd and as I approached Macquarie Street there were people cheering all the runners. And the rest was all downhill. I let the hill take me an stretched out as best I could. Then as I approached the Opera House entrance I cheered for the crowd and they cheered for me! Suddenly there was no pain, no cramps, and no fatigue. I was alive with energy and I sprinted the last 80-100 meters to the line. I think I managed to smile at the camera as I passed through the gate. I’ll have to wait and see just what sort of smile it is.
I was spent but my time was exactly what I had aimed for and I was overjoyed. This was hard to express at the time but I was.
Monday, September 13th, 2004
