I set off to Melbourne about 3 weeks underdone and struggling to get down to race weight, which saw me losing 2kg in the last week prior to the race. My late start at training didn't allow very much taper either. Despite feeling underdone I set my focus on a 1:25 at best and at worst beating my last time at the Half in Brissy this year: 1:26:34. The Gold Coast Marathon had taken its toll, and City 2 Surf was a fairly average performance from my tired legs and flu ridden body.
Having vowed never to return after my arctic experiences at the MM in 2005 I was reminded at the start of this year's [albeit Half] why sticking to your threats is wise. Saturday in Melbourne was positively balmy. I'm talking T-shirt and shorts weather, blue sky, gentle puffs of wind. We are talking Darwin Dry Season here. Cut to early Sunday morning. I am awoken in the early hours by my window rattling. What makes windows rattle? Icy cold rain soaked gale force winds make windows shake and rattle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was deposited at the start after being driven most of the route [and thinking to myself how incredibly long 20+km seemed!]. I decided to keep my tracky dack bottom & top on, in order to counteract the onset of hypothermia. I lined up for the obligatory pre-race loo stop and got so cold my system virtually shut down. The cubicle, normally the last place you want to spend time in was bliss compared the arctic blast of the wind coming of the Bay only meters away.
15min before the start I decided to disrobe and attempt to hand my clothes bag in. The clothes-bag-handing-in-table was besieged by a human traffic jam. In the end I lobbed my bag over the heads of the panicking masses and tried to make my way to the start only to find that I had been sardined out of the front section. It took ages to get across the line, with the clock ticking, each precious second seemed like a minute.
After eventually breaking free I found myself in the 1:30 pacing group. I was intending a 1:25 which works out at 4:02per/km so tried to hurry up a bit. At about the 3km mark the 1:30 bus ran past me again. The Half only had markers every 5km which made getting your pace right in the first 5km very difficult. The first km is always false, either too slow due to the start, or too fast cos you are compensating too much for all the dodging and weaving you had to do in the first km.
Once I got to the 5km mark I was able to work out how I was going. Too slow was the verdict. This slow first 5km was to come in handy at the end I feel, as I felt very strong.
My splits worked out well after making up lost time in the second 5km. Pacing carefully was important in this race due to bad start I had, and my questionable form.
The goal time per km was 4min2sec. My splits worked out as:
first 5km: 20:57 [47 seconds over the target]
I knew I had to pull things together smartly, even though my time was over due to the long wait to get over the start line.
second 5km: 19:52 [I had made up 1min6sec]
Getting to the 10km mark and feeling so good was a relief. I must mention the wind, which although nearly accounted for me succumbing to exposure at the start became our firend and it was up our rear most of the way. I think I felt so strong thanks to the wind and having lots left in the energy bank after a slower first half
third 5km: 20:11 [1 second off the target of 4min02sec] and still feeling ready for a big push up St Kilda Road and a fast last 1.1km
4th 5km: 19:49 [the wind at the start of St. Kilda Rd just seemed to lift me up from the backside and put me into another gear] The crowds were great from here on in with lots of encouragement.
I divide the race into 4 main sections [as above] and then the last 1.1km which hopefully you've got enough left to let it all hang out. The splits above show a rare negative split for a race. I am stoked about that.
Last 1.1km: 4min7sec. [my Kayano's were smoking at the finish line, and I'm thankful they had a fire extinguisher on hand to save them!] Well not quite, but it was a good strong finish.
Gun time was 1:25:05 , my start line to finish line chip time was 1:24:18. Anyway, a pb of a over minute and a half.
The bag collection at the end was absolute chaos, with human traffic jams and then only to find the bags strewn all over the floor with little order. I spent ages in the freezing wind searching for my bag, like looking for an interesting paper at an accountants convention. The post race massage was heaven, as always.
Apart from the bag chaos this was another brilliantly organised event, and a pleasure to have run in. Most of the water stops had water bags whcih was excellent. Hopefully this will become a standard feature at major Australian events. The days of trying to get the contents of a cup of water in your gob instead of all over your face are well and truly over [or they should be!].
I think that's it for me in terms of long races this year. From here on in after a break I'll hit the Masters Athletics scene and hone my racing skills again at 3,5 & 10km. Next official race will be the Pacific Mastes Games in November [5km].
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