On Sunday 1st July I finished the 2012 Gold Coast Airport Marathon. The race marked my 8th marathon and 25th race involving running 42.2km or more (including Ultra's and Ironman races).
I stood on the start line squeezed in with those people aiming for a Sub 3hr marathon. I stood next to Michael who has been in excellent form and has steadily reduced his PB over the years with this race being his 10th consecutive Gold Coast Marathon.
Before the race my goal times were between 2:57 and 3:05. Last year I ran 3:12 which was my worst marathon by 10 minutes so I was eager to make amends. I was feeling quite relaxed but I had a few niggles with my upper right quadricep muscle giving me some discomfort. I think that I had pinched a nerve on my last training run, it didn't really affect my stride but was annoying. My thoughts were that if I had a great race I would achieve my time goal and record my second Sub 3hr marathon, and if I had a bad race I would just try and enjoy myself and as I say to other people, there is always another day and another race.
7:20am - We're off. Somehow there are already a couple of hundred runners ahead of me, many falling off the pace in the first minute. I spend the first couple of minutes trying to weave my way through the throngs trying to find some space and get into my own rhythm.
1km - 4:05 - Too quick. Legs feel okay. Concentrate on breathing. Relax. Catch up to Michael. Say hi. 3hr balloon is already far ahead. Let it go. Run my own race.
2km - 4:07 - Still too quick. Catch up to Aaron. Tell Michael it's a bit quick for me. Move to left of road. Avoid the thick crowd of runners. Need to relax.
3km - 4:11 - Almost at early target pace. Michael and Aaron pulling ahead. Relax. Breathe. Already starting to sweat. Other runners pulling ahead and dropping off. Still trying to find my comfortable rhythm.
4km - 4:15 - Great. On my target pace. Crowds are awesome. GPS watch is out of sync with course markers. So are everyone else’s.
5km - 4:12 - 20:59 official 5km time - Slightly too quick. Feel good. Not working too hard. More relaxed. Breathing in control. Can't see 3hr balloon.
6km - 4:14 - Good. Finding my rhythm. Can see Aaron again. Have had a couple of small drinks of water. Running happy.
7km - 4:09 - Too quick. Feel good. Could push harder. Hold back. Relax. Breathe.
8km - 4:09 - Too quick. Still running happy. In a rhythm. Relax. Breathe. Catch up to Aaron. Give him thumbs up and word of encouragement.
9km - 4:13 - Good pace. Can see 3hr balloon far ahead. Large group of runners with Mona. Leave them alone. Run my own race.
10km - 4:14 - 42:20 official 10km time - 21:21 5km split - Sitting around goal pace. Grab bottle of water. Consume gel. Drink water. Slow to eat and drink.
11km - 4:18 - Within pace range. Relax. Breathe. Try and find rhythm again. Hold onto water bottle. Runners passing me. Let them go. Run my own race.
12km - 4:15 - Bang-on target pace. Right quad starting to tighten. Forget about it. Relax. Breathe. Everything else feels good. Starting to warm up.
13km - 4:18 - Still in range. Pace still good. Don't panic. Concentrate. Watch leading runners heading back to town. Flying. Big crowd on corner.
14km - 4:10 - Too quick. Feel good on slight incline. 3hr balloon has slowed. Seems closer.
15km - 4:13 - 01:03:31 official 15km time - 21:11 5km split - Better. Legs feeling a little tired. Breathing good. Not too laboured. Still relaxed. Right leg feeling tighter.
16km - 4:08 - Too quick. Surged a little. Trying to stretch out right leg. Feels better striding out. Have made turn. Saw Michael. Looking good. 3hr balloon closer.
17km - 4:07 - Too quick. Running strong. Still striding out. Feels good. Hold this pace. Leg still tight. See Jacob. See Leah. See Chris. See Sean. All look good.
18km - 4:09 - Too quick. Have caught the end of the 3hr balloon group. Working hard now. Breathing heavier. Right leg hurts. Need to focus.
19km - 4:12 - On target pace. Still with balloon. Working hard. Getting warmer. Breathing good. Not relaxed.
20km - 4:25 - 1:24:40 official 20km time - 21:08 5km split - Too slow. Not worried. Have consumed a gel. Slowed to eat and drink. Leg sore. Can still maintain pace. Run my own race.
21km - 4:07 - 1:29:12 official half-marathon split - Too quick. Trying to stretch out leg. Working hard. Breathing steady. Within limits. Drifted from balloon. Let them go.
22km - 4:07 - Too quick. Running hard steady pace. Need to focus. Runners dropping off pace. Getting quite warm now. Tightness still in right leg. In hamstring now.
23km - 4:14 - Good. On target pace. Harder to focus. Breathing still good. Not relaxed. Great crowd support.
24km - 4:10 - Too quick. Leg tight. Can still run hard. Catching more runners. Passing more runners. Taking more effort to concentrate.
25km - 4:11 - 1:45:41 official 25km time - 21:01 5km split - Too quick. Starting to struggle. Want to walk. Keep running. Both legs tired. Right hamstring very tight. Making some withdrawals from my running bank.
26km - 4:17 - Upper end of pace range. Unable to maintain earlier pace. Try to focus on relaxing. Try to focus on breathing. Not easy. Begin distance countdown in my head. 16km to go.
27km - 4:16 - Good. Can maintain this pace. Cannot go faster. Legs tired. Right leg in pain. Getting very warm now. 15km to go.
28km - 4:16 - Good. Still on target for Sub 3hrs. Cannot see balloon. Don't care. Running steady with others. Still want to walk. Getting hungry. Taking water at drink stops. Right leg very sore.
29km - 4:20 - Too slow. Still on target. Don't need to panic. Getting quite hot. Still passing runners. Really want to walk. Keep running.
30km - 4:17 - 2:07:14 official 30km time - 21:32 5km split - Good pace. Running over bridge. Feel good on slight incline. Slow down on other side. Consume gel. Need water.
31km - 4:22 - Too slow. Still have time. Slowed to get lots of water. Drink. Pour water over head. Getting very hot. Feel sluggish after aid station. Stride is much shorter. Pace is much slower. Tightness preventing an increase in stride. Tightness preventing an increase in pace.
32km - 4:23 - Too slow. Run past accommodation. Huge crowd. Awesome buzz. Cannot run faster. Focus on maintaining pace. Can still make a Sub 3. 10km to go. 44mins. I can do this. Only a steady training run left.
33km - 4:27 - Too slow. Struggling. Tightness moved to inner thigh of right leg. Hot. No shade. Still passing other runners. Push. Focus. 9km to go.
34km - 4:28 - Too slow. Same pace. Still on target time. Right leg so sore. Hot. Other runners dropping like flies. Carnage out there. Keep pushing. 8km to go.
35km - 4:33 - 2:29:34 official 35km time - 22:20 5km split - Bleeding time now. Unable to go faster. Grab lots of water. Drink. Pour over my head. Catch Pete on over-bridge. He's injured. Keep pushing. 7km to go.
36km - 4:41 - Dangerously slow. Struggling a lot. Still running. Still pushing. See Michael. Looking strong and relaxed. See Mona and balloon. Mona yells "you can still make a Sub 3". Last turn-around point. Keep pushing. 6km to go.
37km - 4:35 - Still too slow. See Pete. See Gavin. Over-bridge. Drink stop. More water to drink and pour. Can't do maths in my head. Keep pushing. 5km to go.
38km - 4:35 - Maintaining pace. Legs very tired. Right leg very sore. Trying to hold it all together. Passing more runners. Keep pushing. 4km to go.
39km - 4:35 - Still same pace. Too slow. Cannot go faster. See Leah. See Jacob. See Chris. So hot. Feel hungry. Legs sore. 3.2km to go, 12 minutes to go Sub 3. Won’t make it. That's okay. Keep pushing.
40km - 4:37 - 2:52:45 official 40km time - 23:10 5km split - Pace doesn't matter now. Try to hold on. Don't want to fall apart. Keep pushing. Grab water at aid station. Feel like I'm going to vomit. Stop. Grab railing. Head down. Under control again. Continue running. Damage control mode. 2km to go.
41km - 5:11 - Long straight. Stomach is settling. So hot. Legs smashed. Right leg in pain. Keep running.
42km - 4:43 - Recovering a little. Trying to hold it together. Crowd is huge. Crowd is awesome. Left turn. 200m to go. Feels longer. Smile on my face. Arms raised. Finish.
42.2km - 3:03:33 official net time - 223rd place - 5,109 finishers - 200th male - 53rd place in M35-39 age-group.
After the finish I was met by Michael. He handed me a bottle of water and told me his great news, that he had finished in an incredible 2:57:28 for a new PB. We waited for a few of the other Rocky runners and handed out bottles of water. I missed Pete coming in but saw Gavin (3:07:59), Leah who was ecstatic with an 11 minute PB in 3:17:11, Jacob likewise with a double-digit PB in 3:17:51, and Chris with a great debut marathon in 3:21:29. We were all hot and everyone was lying in the shade trying to cool down and rest their weary bodies. My legs were sore and uncomfortable and I just wanted to remain horizontal.
After a few minutes I had recovered a little and was walking around trying to ease my aching muscles. Michael and I grabbed some food and drink and brought more bottles of water to the finish while we waited for more runners. Aaron came in looking pale, followed by Luke who looked pretty spent. Sean came flying down the finish shute roaring like 'The Hulk' leapt in the air to high-five the timing clock finishing in 3:45:37, a massive 20 minute PB. A short time later I met Andy who finished in a PB of 3:52:04.
It was getting increasingly hotter, I was tired, hungry and needed to get my bag from the gear tent. I grabbed some more food and drink, collected my finishers t-shirt and medal and joined the throng of people outside the finishers area. We met Sean's sister and cousin outside who both had great runs in the half. Monica showed great courage and determination to finish the half-marathon with a cast having broken her arm just before the marathon. After grabbing my bag we met Greg who had finished his debut marathon in a time of 4:23:45 despite carrying a knee injury.
There were so many stand-out performances on the day with many Rocky runners finishing their first half (Renee) or full marathon (Chris, Greg, David), or posting PB's. Paul Tucker was the quickest of Rockhamptons runners finishing with a fast 2:42:12 for 34th overall. My crazy barefoot runner friend Mat finished the marathon running with a friend in 4:06:31 completely barefoot. I don't know how he does it but am very impressed with his dedication and spirit.
I am very pleased with my race. Even though I was 5 minutes short of my PB, I improved 9 minutes from last year. I am proud of myself for continuing to push myself when all I wanted to do was stop. Mainly I am just happy to be running and to be a part of such a huge event.
Stay tuned for the second half of 2012, it is going to bigger, better and longer. Love life, live, be happy, be healthy, have adventures and.......
Keep running.
