I arrived early today so I get to
cheer on my club friends at the start of their race. Blondie me - turns out I
just made it in the nick of time. I made it just a few minutes before the start
gun went off and the roar of Eye of the Tiger off the PA. Apparently it is the
tradition to play that song in this race.
The marathon consists of a small
(think 200 people) but very high quality runners. From what I hear the
route is very undulating and boring...no crowds or music. The only cheers are
from the dedicated volunteers on the course. I guess you have to be of pretty
high calibre to put up with such boredom.
Anyway the half normally starts in
an hour after the full started. Once I saw the guys off I decided to find the
loo and then warm up around the oval. It was such a cold morning and being
situated so far inland made the temperature drop even further. I went for a jog
around the athletic track and caught up with my friend Simon. After quick
exchanges of how are yous he revealed he had forgotten his bib! I told him to
get a replacement but he said its ok..."it's not a serious race so I plan just to run it. How about I pace you
at 1:45?"
I took on his offer.
And we are off!
He then proceeded in explaining the route.
According to him the route is narrow and very undulating. The main relief is
the last 500m where it's all downhill then flat along the athletes track.
Luckily he told me all of that or I would be been surprised (in a bad way).
Anyhoo so I ran. The pace of 4:45min/k was
ok for the first 14km but afterward I started to struggled. My stride was
laborious and my breathing was out of whack. I think the run at GC has left a
massive hole in my energy reserve and it's still not a full tank. After 17km my
pace has dropped to 5min/km. I also felt stomach cramp after drinking blue
Powerade. I had to slow down even further to relieve my cramp. Simon tried to
encourage me to continue but I simply cannot hold on. He felt my pain and slow
down and kept on encouraging me. The cramp slowly subsided after dropping my
pace further to 5:15min/km. The route was indeed, super undulating and super
boring. One really needed to hold onto every mental cell just to stay
sane.
Around 19km Simon hopped off the track and
said see you at the finish. Being bib-less he was almost caught around 15km
mark but obviously ran off pretending to be oblivious to the obvious issue...
Long story short - I picked up my speed
again and ended up with a 1:46. It wasn't the time I was striving for, but then
again I didn't train specifically for a half, nor have I fully recovered from
GC. So I am fairly happy with my result.
I think the M7 races really take someone
special to race it. It is particularly taxing in the head as there is no crowd
or entertainment on the course. The undulating and narrow route has made the
race super challenging. I don't think I would ever want to do the full there.
The half...maybe! It's small enough for the announcer to call your name out at
the finish :-)
Here's the medal!
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