Noosa Half Marathon

Mona finishing in 3rd behind the 2 Tanzanians.

Had a good chance of PBing here, perfect weather, 2 laps of an out & back course, & prior knowledge (last year 84.20).

Started well, settled in behind Mona & the Tanzanians, doing it easy for the first 30 metres. Inexorably they pulled away as did the PCRG triumvirate - Pete, Stef & Dave looking to break 80 mins.



Close to the 2k mark I was looking for my official photographer. Passing the apartment I looked up to see the sliding door opening & a bleary-eyed Cec stepping out. Still, she managed to get some good shots (see above) & one of my elbow as I strode out to the finish...

So things were on track time wise as I went thru' the 5.5k turn-around. 1k splits were slower than I was hoping - 3.55ish. Momentarily confused the HM & 10k signs & thought I'd blown out but delighted to see the correct 10k marker come into view & passed it in 39.27.

The finish was on the main road this year & quite well attended by spectators. Got a little blast of adrenaline here for the first half turn-around but shortly thereafter I was running on my own & heading out for another 10.5. Pyschologically I was a bit spent, physically felt a bit flat - hungry even. Damn, I should've carbo-loaded...

Noticed my ks were suddenly post-4s. Couldn't seem to latch onto anyone & felt unable to go faster. At the 14k mark (2/3rds in) the 1.24 pacer overtook me. And not just gradually but decisively & demoralisingly...Finished 84.49.

Gold Coast Half Marathon 2009

L to R: Marwa 1st; Shelley 2nd; Dent 3rd at the 20k mark. 62.09 for Marwa - 1 sec margin over Shelley.

Drove down to the GC with Cec arriving a little bit late. Jogged towards the start line & then found myself in a crush of other runners all trying to get to the start. Only one narrow pathway. Jumped the barrier in order to get there quicker & found an area near the 1.20 to 1.30 hr self-seeded start. Of course everyone who was late regardless of form just pushed in here. Made the start a walk - took about a minute to get over the line. Then about 2 ks to weave thru' the chaff.

I still had a cough from my 3 week bout of flu so had promised not to over-do it. 1st k took about 4.30. But as the crowd thinned a bit I was able to run 4.10-4.15s comfortably. Was a bit frustrating, I had set my sights on running a PB for this race & had been training well until my illness. The conditions were also perfect: cool, no breeze, fine -alot of folks ended up with PBs.

Saw the leaders, last year's winner Michael Shelley, Martin Dent & Dickson Marwa sprinting for home. Gave me a bit of an adrenalin burst & I picked up the pace.

Eventually caught up with the 1.30 pace group just before half-way - it was huge. Ran with the B pacer, Gary M for a while. The A pacer, David J, kept up a pretty remarkable running commentary & a perfect pace. Spoke to a few PCRG runners who were in this group.

Ran for 5 of the last ks with Luke who also finished the Twilight HM with me. Got a shock at the 20 k mark when I spotted Puntermatt sidelined with a cold. Tough break - you would've blitzed the marathon.

The finish shute was particularly busy with 10k finishers getting in the way. No way you could do the heroic finishing sprint - which suited me. Finished in 87.36 & felt like I could do another one. Caught up with others in my Sunday & Wednesday running group - all had PBs: Pete - 78; Stef - 80; Wayne - 87; Darren - 88. Went on to have brekkie & then watched the marathon. Matty L & Mike H also PBed: 2.55 & 2.56 outstanding efforts. Inspiration for my next goal, the Noosa HM August 2.

Cold/ flu hits

Just when I thought I'd got over the first symptoms of a cold - it appears to have got me. Very disappointing especially as my recent progress had been encouraging. Frustrating timing, with the race only 2 weeks away & I've now had the last 6 days off...

My last run was a good River Loop, managing to slowly increase my speed in the last 5 ks finishing in 84 mins with the last 3ks at sub-4 min pace. However, that extra exertion may've put paid to my plans. Hope to have an easy run tomorrow.

Doomben 10k

Ran my first 10k race since last year's B2B. A 7.20am start outside the Doomben race-course in Ascot in perfect conditions (after overnight rain). Decided to go out reasonably quick, settle into the middle stretch & speed up for the last k. Went pretty much to plan: 1st k in 3.32 then pretty much 3.50s.

Started mingling with the half-marathoners. 5k in the high 18s. Quite a few hair-pin bends up & down a few streets towards the end seemed unnecessary. Should've just run further out & re-traced our route. Kinda lost track of the distance & wasn't too sure as to when I should wind it up. Finally directed back across the rail tracks & thus freeing myself from the HM congestion. 9k @ 34.34, finished strong in 38.21 finishing 28th overall.

So the lack of race practice told. Legs felt ok from the long distance training but just haven't done enough fast stuff.

This is more like it

Have been continuing my long 2 hour Sunday runs. Last week I did a solo effort that included the Green & I'pilly bridges. Found myself heading home a bit early & didn't want to extend it. Had an easy warm-down run with Tenz at the local park to take it to 1.45.

Tuesday @ 5am it was pouring & I'd had a bad night's sleep so took the 'soft option' & missed training. Wednesday morning it was still pouring but couldn't afford not to run. Did the river loop with the others but started to stiffen up after 1 hr & couldn't go any quicker than 5min ks.

By Friday I was feeling better & ran quick at training. 2x 3mins with a 30sec SR & then a 1min SR before 6 mins back. Finished with 3 reps of the 'Gold Coast' hill.

This morning had a 6am start with the 2.40 fellas meeting back up at the Ship Inn for the rest of us - 9 all up. New start saw us heading back up Annerley Rd & over to the Green Bridge. Then thru I'pilly to the next bridge & round the river at Chelmer to Tennyson. Matty L picked up the pace here & I responded leading the pack thru' Yeronga to the top of the hill. On the corso Pete & Matty decided to surge & Mike, Darren & I followed suit. Ran 3.50, then 3.49 for the next k, the 3rd one we headed up the South Brisbane cemetery hill which slowed me down alot. Thankfully had a drink stop & took it a bit easier. As usual the pace started to quicken & I got dropped around Hardgreave St even tho' I was probably doing 4.20s. Once I'd lost contact I slowed even more & the last k along Southbank was 4.50. Finished in 2.05, my longest run for quite a while.

Twilight HM: 91.43

Not the best preparation for a half marathon. Spent 4 days landscaping our place at Caloundra last weekend, Mon & Tues & then again this weekend. During the week I had a run at PCRG on Thursday & an easy 45 mins Friday evening along the corso with T.

Sunday morning had us in a local bush patch (condemned to development) salvaging a few plants for our yard. Planted them out but not sure how some will do - looking pretty wilted. Speaking of which, after cleaning the house & calling in for the obligatory Bunnings appointment we left Caloundra right on 3pm. Weather was looking decidedly ominous, the radio was issuing a warning for severe rainfall. High-tailed it back to Annerley in 1 hour 20: pretty good conditions - traffic wasn't too bad & only light showers. Swapped into my running gear & got Cec to drive me to the Green Bridge where I had 23 mins to register for the race.

A brisk jog to UQ athletics track & then a huge queue to register. Fortunately someone mentioned that HMers could barge up front so I did & got my number. Heaps of familiar faces buzzing around. Relaxed & started to feel tired, hungry & thirsty - bugger...

This was the inaugral Twilight HM, organised by the InTraining crew who usually do the Easter 10k race. With the days rapidly getting shorter the sun was practically setting near the start of the race & for most of the run it was dark with only street-lights vaguely illuminating the Brisbane Corso. Sensibly I decided to treat the run as a tempo Sunday training run. Felt a bit flat & couldn't keep a good rhythm early on. Surprised when the 1.30 pacer & hangers-on overtook me & kept increasing their distance from me. I didn't think I was going that slowly, but running in the dark can prove deceptive. I usually feel I'm running quicker, but there's no reference points & it was particularly difficult in this race because there was no km markers to indicate the distance.Spoke to Steve from PCRG around the 49 min mark & he told me we had done 12 ks.

The course was pretty good, basically 2 laps of a 10k circuit & a 1.1k thrown in. Got to see everyone in front of me several times as the course turned & came back on itself but the separation distance from me to them was dispiriting... Organisers did well separating competitors going over the Green Bridge with folks going over on the cycle path & coming back on the other (pedestrian) side. Only 2 drinks stations the second of which I didn't collect. Got a little alarmed after that as the ks kept going by with no sight of another drink station. Actually stopped on the G Bridge at a water fountain.

2nd lap once back into Fairfield was a psychological boost. Tried to pick up the pace without over-doing the breathing. Unfortunately my chronic right knee injury (or is it arthritis) began to flare. Haven't felt that since last year. Could feel my gait alter as I tried to favour the other leg. Stubborn pride saw me try to come under 1.30 with a quick last 5k. Local knowledge predicted about 20mins left at the 1.12 mark & I was dead on - finishing in my slowest HM time of 1.31.43.

Committment Plus

Cecile was bridesmaid at Saturday's wedding. Managed to drive home from Scarborough & catch nearly 5 hours sleep before fronting up for the long run. Did the River Loop & added extra out to Story Bridge & back. Had hoped to run 1 hr 45 but felt like I could go on so pushed on another 10 mins. Finished off in the Southbank pool.

So the running is back on track. Have attended the last 4 sessions @ PCRG (i.e. Tues & Fri). Have felt pretty flat, no real kick yet - leg heavy, but should come good. Also fronted up to last Wednesday's longer tempo run & did the same shorter course but 4 mins faster. Checked the 1 k marks along the Coro Dve pathway & we were running 4.15.

Slept in for this week's Wed run but headed out this morning (Thurs) with Tenz. Took it pretty easy with a 27 min Yeronga/ Yerongpilly loop before dropping T back home. Then headed to the Green Bridge but turned around under the bridge & headed back along the Corso. Started to get progressively quicker but didn't want to go too quickly. However, the last k was fast (but controlled) & felt pretty effortless - the way it should always be, alas.