Canberra Marathon Race Report
I just got home from my first long- ish run since race day (90 minutes at an honest pace, somewhere between easy and steady), so it seems like a good time to look back at The Canberra Times Marathon Festival.
It's been 2 weeks. Theres been a handful of easy jogs since, never on consecutive days, and a couple of rides in the saddle of my often-neglected road bike. Truth-told, I don't really like cross training once the novelty has worn off although it did feel therapeutic for my glutes and hammies.
My journey to the start line at Canberra began so long ago it feels like a different life. In January 2021 I committed to that years' Gold Coast Marathon, and after the last minute cancellation of that race, I feel like I've been in a marathon build ever since.
I'd never registered a sub 3 marathon, despite training and times in other distances suggesting it was probable. 2:59.59 was my C goal and felt like a huge monkey on my back. If it went well, I felt I could shave a few extra minutes off but I'd not gone the full distance since 2018 and there are so many variables.
Standing on the start line, I felt the type of nervous anticipation I'd not felt since the very beginning of my running journey. Back then, the nerves related to being able to actually complete a given distance. Something I remember when I ran my first half and full marathons. I think thats natural as you’ve not run the full distance in training, and there's always a first race for everyone at each distance.
I was with my Progress Running Club long run buddy Dean, who is at least 5 minutes quicker than me, and I knew my first challenge was to let him go over the opening KM's. It was going to require discipline as he'd only be running a few seconds quicker each KM than me, but those few seconds would be the difference between me being comfortable or cooked at 30Ks.
It actually played into my hands, giving me a purpose watching him gradually disappear over the first 5K's which I hit within a few seconds of my 20:30 target. The opening stages wound around Parliament House, Lake Burley Griffin and various official buildings. It was part race/ part High School Politics excursion. Plenty to occupy the mind. There was nothing you’d call an actual hill, but enough elevation to make it bite, as the landscaped avenues wound around the capital. The only times I saw Dean after that was on the out and back sections, each time giving me a bump as we exchanged spirited and assured smiles.
After that first 5, the next 20 went exactly to plan. You don't have to go far before someone will tell you that a marathon starts at 30Ks. The only issue I was feeling was a weakness in my glutes and hammies at around the halfway mark. I silently vowed I'd take strength and conditioning more seriously next time. Nothing else hurt and the pace was comfortable. The relatively small field meant I was on my own and time trialling from around the 18KM mark (not ideal), with the occasional sighting of Inside Running's Bradley Croker providing an incentive to appear like I was covering the ground even more comfortably that I was.
The race got interesting at 25Ks. We crossed the bridge and turned right on to highway for a horrible undulating out and back on the unforgiving and exposed tarmac. For the first time as Dean ran back towards me after a turn, the reassuring nod was replaced with the words, 'save a little, this bit's tough'. And it was. I lost a few seconds on the uphills and every time I tried to consciously speed up for the downhill sections, I'd begin to feel cramp sweeping down my hamstrings. Not the type that spelled immediate disaster, but it meant I had dust off a little pace and alter my gait in order to stave it off. It revealed a vulnerability that flooded my mind for a while, worried that if it happened closer to the end I might not be able to control it.
There was a massive positive just when I needed it: I'd suggested the tight group of friends and family who were in attendance positioned themselves on this out and back so they could see me twice and get to the finish line in time. I'd given them two 150ml bottles of Maurten 320 that, all being well, they'd hand me as I passed on each occasion. I had a plan B if this didn't come off, but we executed the handover like pros (thanks Pat - pictured post handover). The psychological bump from their support and the physical bump from the fuel combined to make the hardest part of the race a little bit easier.
At around that 33K mark, there was an initially unnerving moment. I'd been on my own for 15Ks now, and all of sudden I was getting overtaken by guys running fast and strong. It took a while to orientate myself to what was happening: these were the front runners in the half marathon. I now had company (quick company), and whilst the leaders powered past, I eventually had guys passing me that I could get on the back of and use to maintain my pace or even kick down a little.
And that's what I did for the rest of the race, and I got stronger and picked off one or two of the guys who'd been ahead of me up to this point. I ran the last 2.195Ks at a faster pace than I ran the first 5K. Probably the metric I'm most proud of.
This might sound strange to an elite runner, but there's a moment when you're hunting your first sub 3 marathon, where you realise its in the bag. Thoughts like, 'I can run the last 6K at 5 min pace and I'm still going to be under 3 hours' crossed my mind. Essentially, I realised that even if I hit the wall, I was going to get over the finish line in 2:59 something! The tension released at this point and it became a relative pleasure. My Garmin ticked through marathon distance at 2:54 high, and with roughly 400 glorious metres ahead of me I put in what felt like a sprint finish. Video evidence reveals I was running more like a circus strong man than an athlete, but in my defence it was the gait I found that kept my hammies from cramping.
******
Dean and I shared a beer or two at Capital Brewery (my first in 10 weeks) after the race with our small band of travelling support. I didn't feel any shame in being first at the door as they opened the premises at 11:30am.
We spoke to a couple of guys at the faster end of the field too.
The consensus was that we'd enjoyed perfect conditions but a relatively tough course. I'd come up short of my A goal by less than 90 seconds, but had practically forgotten about that and was totally satisfied with my 2:56 low. Similarly, Dean was a minute or two outside his A goal but had run a very solid 2:51. Others had seemed to have endured tough races.
Makes me think I have a few more minutes in me, and I'm stoked to have that as a motivation. I was worried that with a time in the bag I was proud of, I'd lose motivation... pile on weight, start wearing slacks and playing golf.
******
A few days after writing this and I've ran everyday this week and did my first workout post- marathon. I've committed an 8 week training plan to paper and I'm aiming for a decent HM in late June. Progress Golf Club remains on the back-burner... for now.