It was another wonderful event on the wonderful Melbourne half marathon course. As you might remember, I was only intending for it to be a training run, with the goal Auckland half marathon race coming up in a couple of weeks. I finished in a time of 2:13:32, and as it happened, I’ve probably never felt in better shape running a half marathon.
That said, sharp-eyed readers will remember me writing, very sincerely, only a few days back that “my plan is simply to lock onto the 2 hour 20 minute pacers and follow them to the end. No heroics. No surges. No final lap sprint around the famed Melbourne Cricket Ground. It’s all about staying disciplined and focussed and just seeing out the distance”.
So how did I end up finishing over 6 minutes - almost a kilometre - in front of them? Well, I’m glad you asked. But before I explain, I need to briefly fill you in on the lead-up to the run - which almost didn’t happen for me.
I mentioned in a throwaway comment in the last blog entry that - “I’m a bit nervous now, actually, although it probably has more to do with making sure I get to the airport early enough in time for tomorrow’s (Saturday’s) 7:00am flight to Melbourne than anything else.”
Well, as it turns out, I did miss that flight. For some reason, my iPad ran out of battery power during the night, and so the iPad alarm clock that I had carefully set the night before didn’t go off. When I did wake up, I was shocked to see sunlight out the window. A quick check of the clock on my phone showed it was just after 6:30am. After a silent expletive, I started running through some options about how to get to Melbourne and the consequences of not going. Then the phone rang. It was the airline’s boarding people chasing up late passengers. When I told them I’d slept in and wasn’t going to make it, they sounded quite happy to hear it. I assumed (or hoped) it had more to do with them not having to wait for someone who was at that moment running frantically from the airport carpark than taking some pleasure in my simple misfortune.
I don’t have a habit of missing planes - this was my first. So I didn’t have a plan B. I quickly dismissed the driving option - I simply wasn’t going to make it by the 3:00pm cut-off time to collect my race bib. The ‘abort’ option was also discounted. I'd end up losing both my airfares, one night of my accommodation, my race entry fee and, significantly, miss a medal. The only realistic option was to find another flight. Which I eventually did, although I still don’t want to think about the price I had to pay for it - even if it did include a free in-flight snack and cup of tea.
I eventually made it to the race bib collection point with plenty of time to spare and, after a short wander around some inner city streets afterwards, retired early to my Melbourne CBD hotel.
After a solid night’s sleep, I woke in plenty of time to get ready for the run. The forecast, which was accurate, was for a windy and mild (c.19 degrees) morning and I arrived at the start area about 40 minutes before the 8:00am gun. As with the Gold Coast, my strategy was to join the corral close to the front so I couldn’t possibly miss the 2 hour 20 minute pacers with their balloons and signs going past. And as with the Gold Coast, it worked beautifully.
There were two pacers - an older gentleman (who carried a flag and sign and who seemed to love a chat, even if it meant he had to slow a little and then increase the pace when the conversation was over), and a younger women who carried the balloon and who kept pretty much to herself while running very steadily. I started out locked on to the older guy, but his slightly erratic running style caused me to follow the other pacer. I stayed with her, and the little group which had formed around her, until shortly after the drink station at the 12-13 kilometre point. I moved ahead slightly then to run in some clearer space, but still maintaining the 2 hour 20 minute pace - or so I thought.
After a while, I started turning around to see if I could see the pacers, but without success. I thought for a moment they must have passed me somehow, but I knew I would have seen them if they had. I was also running very slowly thinking they would have to catch up soon enough when I could lock back on. As it happened, I was starting to feel stronger and stronger and the slow pace was getting a little uncomfortable, so I made the decision at about 14 kilometres just to run easily and not bother any longer with the pacing.
By this time, the course was heading back into the city on a long, tree-lined boulevard and as I ran, I noticed I was passing lots of runners who seemed to be struggling in the windy conditions. I felt particularly strong over the last five kilometres, especially over the steeper foot bridges, which I remember being a real problem last year.
I finally cruised into the famed MCG, with the lap of the ground just an incredible experience. I was trying to imagine what it must feel like for the sportspeople who run onto this ground when there’s an 80,000-plus crowd, when I found myself coming into the final straight. For some reason, I decided to sprint the last 100 metres, passing several more runners, and then crossed the finish line feeling remarkably fresh. I remember last year I was absolutely exhausted and need to spend quite some time sitting in the grandstands to recover. This year, I crossed the line, easily ascended the stairs to collect my medal (after I realised I wasn’t going to be able to hang around to thank my pacers for their diligence), and then walked back to the hotel.
Officially, I finished the race in 6,018th place from 9,420 finishers. The word at the start was that there were around 11,500 starters so obviously the race took its toll on quite a few people. The St John’s ambulance people tending to various fallen runners at several spots in the final few kilometres was testament to that.
The pacing results showed that my first 5 kilometres was run at a speed of 9.53km/h, the second at 9.23km/h, the next 8 kilometres at 9.67km/h (this is where I moved ahead of the pacers) and the final 3.1 kilometres at a speed of 9.35km/h (when I was cruising to the finish).
Overall, I was very happy with the race and especially the way I felt so strong throughout. But it was only a training run, and I was a bit disappointed in myself for not showing the discipline to stick with the pacers come what may.
Next up - Auckland. A preview of that one is coming soon.
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