What better way to stay awake at 4:30 in the morning than by waffling on about what’s to come on the way to training for that event. For the record the training run went well in many regards, not quite running all the way up the hill but it did give me more certainty in the planning for how I’m approaching the run in Hobart. It’s also determined more of the upcoming training schedule.
Apologies for the darkness in this video, but what do you expect when it’s this early in the morning?
OK, enough of keeping everyone in suspense over what happens next. After all, it has been a week and a half since the Melbourne Marathon concluded and about that time since I started drawing out the report from the event for this year. For those who didn’t catch up from last time, I left you on the start line just as the gun was sounded to signal the commencement of the event. So let’s pick up the action as I crossed the start line to officially begin the long trek.
The course this year was slightly different to compensate for not finishing inside the MCG. None of this affected the first 10 kilometres, so it was my plan to reach the 10km marker somewhere near 52-55 minutes which I had been regularly targeting successfully in the last few training runs. I found myself ahead of the pace group I was aiming to stay ahead of, and found myself listening to a conversation involving one of the many spartans (those that have run 10 or more of these events). I figured that they were running to a similar tempo, so sticking to their pace for a while would help my legs later on in the day.
The new part of the course was after the Grand Prix pit lane exit. Last year there was a turning point about half way between the pit exit and the “esses” that comprise turns one and two of the Albert Park GP track. This time however we had to negotiate the first couple of corners before the channel narrowed to accommodate the turn back onto the straight. Fortunately I was able to get some clear running the swing a little wider to take the apex of the corner before running wider upon the exit as is my preference. I’m sure many others would have found this part of the course a squeeze, particularly in the well populated pace groupings. The 10km marker also was my first chance to take on board fluid, which even though I had trained not to take on board drinks early in the race was later than I had wanted or expected. My training was geared to run for about 40 minutes or 8km before I would start utilising the drinks stations, and considering there was a water only station at that point this may have been a mistake to wait so long.
Reasonably comfy at the half way mark (CREDIT: Marathon Photos)
The hardest part of the course for me was the long stretch on the beach side of the course, down Beaconsfield Parade for a seemingly endless yet relatively short (in distance terms) short run to the turn onto the Esplanade side of the road. At the half way marker things were still on track, and my plan at that stage was to increase the tempo to get some sort of cushion heading into the final part of the course which I figured was where the mental fatigue would set in. I was able to pass a number of runners….and a person who was attempting to RACE WALK the entire course! I’m sure I passed him 2 or 3 times throughout the day but I had to do a double take to ensure that he indeed was race walking. I’m sure he could have used the dodgiest technique imaginable during the day, for there were no race judges trying to find minuscule faults to toss the poor souls from the race.
If pressed to nominate the highlight of the morning, that would come at approximately 27.5 kilometres. No it wasn’t the fact that I was able to find the bottle of Lucozade I had organised to be left at the personal drinks station (which I must admit was a concern but when I arrived there were 2 drinks left in the area with my number on it, the other was a bottle of Mount Franklin water from memory). It was about this time where I had caught arguably THE living legend of all the Spartan Legends that remain active. Perhaps I was too in awe of Bruce “Digger” Hargreaves to speak that much, or to actually pass him. I was hoping to find a camera on the day (or a facebook shot later on) with both of us in it but alas efforts have proven fruitless. I did however manage to ask a question to him, querying if all 10 of the legends made the start line. The answer was in the affirmative, with one of them even delaying chemotherapy just to make it 37 from 37. Certainly that’s something that I wouldn’t dare of doing, indeed I remarked to work colleagues that this was the new definition of madness.
By the time I had reached the Southbank precinct leaving behind the 33km marker in a time close to the 3 hour mark (which was again a major goal), the left hamstring started to cause trouble. Ever since the Canberra Marathon in April where both hamstrings cramped simultaneously, I had been wearing a bandage to keep the left hamstring warm (for the next event I am planning to wear proper compression garments) for both football and running commitments. In an effort to make the finish line I tried to shift the bandage to my calf which to my pleasant surprise was holding up without any pain. There was a slight delay as I saw a fellow struggler battling to cope with cramping, the temperature having risen by this stage to over 26 degrees. I myself was starting to slow in my tempo, even starting to take multiple drinks on board at the latter drink stations. At least the temperature provided a decent excuse, and certainly there were several others in the same predicament.
With the leg problem temporarily sorted, it was onward to the finish line in a substantially increased state of mind compared to 12 months ago where I just wanted it to end. The last drink station was passed at a reasonable tempo, but the little rise just before the finish line just made me want to wander to the finish rather than to charge across the line. Yet seeing another Spartan combined with the odd come on from the crowd and the timing clock on top of a BMW at least saw me home under my goal time. Some may say the pain is all worth it, and 3 hours 56 minutes and 50 seconds later confirmed my views. Sure I could have shown a little more emotion as opposed to clapping the crowd and casually crossing the line, but I probably made up for it when I gave a lady handing out the prized finishing medals a sloppy kiss on her cheek.
Really felt for these guys, battling to finish in hot conditions.
The heat did take a toll, post race recovery didn’t see me get up for about 20 minutes despite the post race consumption of 2 bananas and a couple of cups of fluid. Yet after staggering to the massage tables post event (they seemed to massage the calves more than the dodgy hamstring, strange considering the calves felt fantastic beforehand), I made a point of going to the fence to at least be there for the slower finishers who were completing their event. The road closures and re opening times had meant that runners who hadn’t reached a certain point had to complete a loop of 8km near the finishing area. At this stage the temperature was closer to 30 degrees than 13, and I felt sympathy for each and every person on that course, many of whom could barely raise a walk. Hopefully for next year the organisers could get some water to help a lot of these guys out, it looked as though they needed it.
So apart from a new personal best time, what could I take from this event? It was certainly the closest I have ran to a pre-race plan that I had done in previous runs let alone marathons. I hit the majority of target times and made the finish line in less than 4 hours as I had desired. I probably will need to rethink the hydration strategy for next year, perhaps using two personal drink stations as opposed to one (the others were at 11 and 36km, not that I took a lot of notice) or maybe either adjusting the training to train myself to only drink at 10km or actually telling myself physically to take fluids earlier.
Next on the agenda is the final part of the 2014 puzzle, a trip to Hobart for the Point to Pinnacle which is promoted as the world’s toughest half marathon. Unless you want to do research yourself, I won’t expose why except to say that there’s going to be substantial hills training over the next 2 and a half weeks. After that, it’s on with the 2015 plans which could involve up to 5 Marathons, but I’m not going to reveal too much here, that’s certainly for another time.
So we’ve come full circle, 12 months ago was the first crack at the distance and the first attempt at a hometown event. After finishing in just under 4:20 with limited preparation not knowing what to expect was an achievement in itself. Now it was time for the encore performance, with more defined goals established and knowledge of the course which was further enhanced by the City2Sea experience a month later.
Last year was a rushed job, with the flights split over a couple of days, training rather haphazard and the plan not determined until the morning of the event. This year it was a relief to have the flights booked and accommodation sorted well in advance, so much that whilst this event was taking place planning for the next event was underway (more on that later). Getting into Melbourne on Friday Afternoon was such a relief in many ways. There was no need to panic, rush or hustle and of course it’s reassuring to be back on home turf. I slept very well that night, even after getting a few hours on the flights as I usually try to get when I’m booked on the early flight from home.
Saturday for many runners is usually just a day to put the feet up and relax, but for me I find it better to keep myself reasonably busy. First task was to collect the race bib and drop off my personal drink at the MCG. Some people may well have preferred to have their entry lodged early enough to have their bib mailed to them, but the only event I’d dare try to do this is the City2Surf in Sydney because of the sheer number of entries in that event. The fact that I decided to use a personal drink at the 2nd station this year sealed the deal. This was an option not available at all in Canberra and only available to the elite runners on the Gold Coast and it was something I had experimented with in training. The hardest part of Saturday was in fact finding where to drop off the drink, but a little guidance from the (as usual) always helpful volunteers saw me in the right direction.
After that it was filling in time with what I felt needed to be done. Next stop was to put on the bets for that afternoon at Caulfield (never struck me why I should go to the races when I’d go to punt rather than to pick up or get comatose), then a bite to eat prior to what many describe as an exercise in bravery….a trip via the train to Broadmeadows. I probably could have purchased what I needed to buy in the CBD (which turned out to be a Gone in 60 Seconds DVD in the $7 bin at JB Hi-Fi and a $10 pair of socks from Sportsco) but I also felt I needed to kill some time and this was as good a place as I thought.
Pre-Race dinner was the biggest Lasagne I could get my hands on from the supermarket with some potato gems. I was glad I was able to use the oven for the task given the troubles I usually have with using the microwave to cook similar packaged food at work. The other option was to order a Pizza which is what I did before the Gold Coast, but my mind was made up waiting for the train at Broadmeadows, plus I felt that buying the fluids for the pre-race buildup would be cheaper and better if I purchased them earlier as opposed to a dash in the morning to 7-Eleven. Despite misgivings with Daylight Savings, I retired to bed about 9PM falling asleep an hour later.
Thankfully I didn’t sleep through the alarm which is always a concern, and after a shower at 4AM I managed to get my gear together. Amongst the checklist was
– pinning the bib to the singlet acquired at the Twilight Bay Run to the front only (as opposed to my first effort at Wynnum where I pinned both front and back together)
– applying all the bandaging in the right areas in an attempt to prevent the nipples and underarms rubbing against the singlet (I had problems with this in Canberra in particular)
– packing the remainder of the leg supports in the gear bag (hamstring and calves)
– loosely putting on the race shoes that I hadn’t worn since Monday (fearful of the shoes falling apart in the last week, so I use older clogs to complete the training program)
– gathering all the fluids from the fridge
– Leaving it until the last minute to take both iPod and phone off their chargers.
– A final check of when the transport would pass through the area (which I made with a couple of minutes to spare).
I arrived in the CBD at approximately 5:15AM, with a short walk to the start area enabling me to scout the first kilometre, albeit under street lighting with the course still being setup. Fortunately I was able to walk in with another competitor to converse with which calmed me. I never like to enter alone and I sometimes feel uneasy following others in case they go in a direction where I didn’t intend to go. He apparently had problems in training with illness laying him low just when his training cycle began to peak, so at least it was reassuring that my training, as interrupted as it may have been, was better than someone’s.
After sitting in the bowels of the MCG after arriving a little early to take advantage of bag drop, there was plenty of time to get stuck into the playlist I described in the previous post. Soon enough it was time to apply the bandaging to the legs and strap the shoes on to the tightness required. One last gulp of drink later, it was time to strip to race gear, drop the bag off, and wait in the long line for a final toilet break. I guess everyone wanted desperately to find one of the limited cubicles rather than take their chances at a urinal or a porta-loo. After my quick trip (rapid compared to several others), there was enough time to apply the zinc to the nose as is my custom before the march across the footbridge to Batman Avenue and the start area.
It was a truncated dynamic warm up due to the toilet delay, followed by a 15 minute wait in the start zone trying to take note of the pace runners representing 4 hours. These were the people I would be aiming to stay in front of, particularly the 2nd runner (there was always a pair of pacers in each group). A final adjustment of the visor after the national anthem and making sure my timing device (an app on my iPod which by that stage was silent, the earphones having being removed and placed in the armband) was active was all that remained before the final countdown. At a time close to 7AM on Sunday the 12th of October, the shotgun was fired and the start of the journey was upon us.
COMING UP: The 42km itself, and the aftermath.
Preparation is key to attaining peak performance when it comes to goal events such as the Melbourne Marathon. Much of it is physical incorporating all the training and recovery which many have found inadequate despite the best intentions and endeavours. What often goes unnoticed though is the mental side, for being physically able to do something as demanding as a marathon means nothing if the mind isn’t willing to co-operate.
The songs in this list are found here!
With this in mind I’m willing to share my pre-race preparation with you before going into detail of what happened on the course on Sunday Morning. In the past and for training sessions I have often just found a radio station, either music or talk, and tuned in as the legs kept pumping and the kilometres kept ticking over. For the marathon however I dipped into my vast array of music spanning 6 decades and many of which you’ll never hear on commercial radio (and much of which the kids of today wouldn’t understand, they tend to have their minds destroyed by dumb songs from talent less hacks singing about bass which makes me want to flush my head down the toilet).
So below is a list of songs that I had played on my iPod Nano 5th generation (for those that want to know, $160 well spent) on the morning of the 12th of October 2014. First song was played at 4:35AM, the last concluded approximately 7:45AM. Many of these songs were repeated, so if a number appears after the song this indicates how many times I played the song that morning. The order which these songs appear doesn’t necessarily indicate the order which I played them in.
- Moby – Lift Me Up (8 times, the most played song in my collection. Also played this song multiple times last year)
- Van Halen – Dreams (3 times, played this song at least 5 times prior to City2Surf this year)
- Kelly Clarkson – Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) (3 times, strange choice perhaps given the artist but I’m sure many others may have listened to this plenty of times. Song title often appears as What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger))
- Police – King of Pain (twice, played this 5 times before Canberra. I’m sure others would lay claim to this title the morning after)
- Dropkick Murphy’s – The Boys Are Back (twice, probably the hardest song, beats not actual content, listened to)
- Tinie Temper (feat. Eric Turner) – Written In The Stars (twice, best remembered by British readers as the song to introduce Sky Sports Super Sunday)
- Tom Petty – I Won’t Back Down (often chosen other songs from this artist)
- INXS – Baby Don’t Cry (Unsure why I chose this one, probably so I could cross the footbridge without the need to stop)
- Queen – I Want It All (Was planning this to be the last song prior to the start, turned out I played it earlier than anticipated)
- John Mellencamp – Authority Song (last song played as I entered the start area)
I’m certainly not saying this playlist or the number of times each song is played is for you, personal preferences come into play for this sort of thing. But these songs were what drove me to achieve something pretty special in the Melbourne Marathon this year. Stay tuned this week and I’ll tell you all about the on course activities on Sunday.
In my last blog I managed to provide some sort of outline that I was hoping to follow prior to the Melbourne Marathon. Sadly (but not surprisingly) these plans were interrupted by illness a weekend ago, subsequently meaning that preparations are now well behind. But there’s no point in altering the plan now, not only is it too close to the event for rash decisions, it also didn’t affect me too much to prevent me from racing yesterday in Brisbane which was always in my original planning.
You may remember in March that I combined football and running to compete in the Twilight Run at St.Lucia (https://mhjeffrey027running.com/2014/03/28/this-guns-for-hire-even-if-its-just-running-in-the-dark/). The event this time is a sister event, located in the Brisbane Bayside suburb of Wynnum. Timing for the event was similar, with the Half Marathon commencing at 5PM and finishing at night, and the similarities continued with the course format comprising of 2 loops plus an additional loop on lap 2 to make up the 21km.
Getting to the race though was an exercise in patience. In their infinite wisdom Queensland Rail scheduled track works for that weekend, so shuttle buses ferried passengers and runners for part of the journey. Everything was going alright on the bus, I even managed a little shut eye on the back seat, until we met our connecting train at of all places Murarrie. The last time I arrived at Murarrie was for last year’s Bridge to Brisbane, where the train filled to the brim almost caused everyone to miss the start of the race. This time it was the fact that the train was stationary for close to 20 minutes having to wait for an extra 6-7 passengers from another 2 buses before departing for Wynnum Central station. It still was a kilometre until we reached the race precinct, which was bad luck for those wanting to do the 5km race and caused much disruption to the routine.
At least those at the race precinct were fantastically prepared for rapid movement of the line to get preparations on track. Sometimes line waiting could take forever, but within 5 minutes I had what I needed (including the singlet that I was going to run in, an attraction to the event as it’s not every day a good quality item of training gear is included in the price). Even the toilet queue moved at a rapid rate, leaving me long enough to get into the start area.
Once again the 10km racers and the half marathoners started at the same time, which was more of an annoyance than anything. I understand that the timetable is relatively short and that other events need to get started as well, but maybe they could find a way to separate the runners at the start line so that the squeeze in the start area (let alone at the start line) would be eased. Apart from that it was rather smooth sailing, the walkers on the road giving room for the runners and the marshals and volunteers around the course providing clear direction. Kudos especially to one fellow on a narrow corner before/after the bridge over Wynnum Creek where it would have been easy for runners from opposite directions to cannon into each other, and also to another worker at the top end of the course for having the radio cranked with the footy (AFL, Australian Rules Football for those wondering) so at least I knew the scores.
I may have finished the race in 1:51, but to me that wasn’t as important as it might have otherwise been. Any thoughts of a rapid time for me were virtually gone after the illness (I still struggle with coughing fits occasionally, although this to me is at least manageable), and were 100% eliminated with the head winds dominating the return parts of the loop. There’s not much that can be done to eliminate this, you can’t complain about something you can’t control. At least I did manage 2 goals, which were to go at a pace that would compliment my Melbourne Marathon plan of covering 11km per hour, and to make it back prior to the 7PM fireworks display, which can also be an advantage of starting events in the afternoon as opposed to the usual morning starts.
The whole point of the exercise in any case was to test out race plans and preparation in race conditions before taking on the challenge of the Melbourne Marathon in 3 weeks time. Arguably the hardest part of training for long distance events is running long distances, it does bring an intimidation factor that many cannot overcome. So what better way to train for events than to do an event with decent distances to mix training up? That’s not to say that the event would be a target in itself, many would have set themselves to go the distance or to get a decent time. All that I’m pointing out is that there are other goals on the agenda for me later on, and this is a stepping stone for those goals.
There are now 21 days before I hit the start line on home turf in Melbourne. After getting home this evening another training run is scheduled a few hours later, and the grind of the next week and a half is as important now as it was before hearing the starting command for the run this weekend.
MHJeffrey027 Running 