Some of the last of the runners starting that 2-5hr trek over 42km along the banks of the Swan...with Burswood Casino behind the trees in the background.
Probably mainly the 4-5 hrs crew in this photo, although you can see the Swiss flag that followed one bloke the whole way, apparently he ran it last year with bells on his shoes *LOL*, I think this year he had a support cyclist carry the cowbells.....:-).
Only mishap was that I forgot my hat, which would have been nice in the last hour or so, but the temperature was not that hot, and during the race I did the old throw a cup of water over the face routine to keep body temperature down, which was NOT an issue in the first hour of the race.My "ryders eyewear" glasses (like Oakleys etc), came in very handy on the way back when we we were running into the sunlight a bit. Used a bag from them to carry my carboshotz bottle, which was small enough to fit in my fist almost, worked very well, and my carboshotz were crucial at 18km and 28km, although I think I would have been better off without it at 39km, where I think too much fluid at once WITH carboshotz (plus the coke back at 33km?) made me a bit sick from 39km to 41km, which cost me about 1min 30 in time I reckon. Dad did an excellent job as my drinks support crew, so that my coke was ready at the 33km mark, and the leftover gatorade was available along with the killer pythons after the race. Stacks of bananas there too which is a good think to have 'cos of their high potassium content for one thing, although I dont eat bananas. Another good thing at race control was the list of all results of everyone who has run the Perth Marathon 1979-2003, which is also on the internet at the WAMC site.
Started a bit fast in the first few km, made the mistake of trying to stay with a bunch doing low 4min km's, so backed off a bit just before my first Gatorade drink pickup at the 7km mark. [Saw some signs on the trees saying that Evan Kolbe was going to win, (I remember him getting bronze in the 1991 U/19 state cross-country race that I got 16th for Willetton SHS in.), which didnt happen this time. Evan did 3.02....]
Went through 10km at the Narrows in 47.13. Probably would have been better off going through 10km in about 48min-48.30. (10k splits for first 40km; 47.13/49.38/59.09/65.22) A little too fast a start. One good thing though was that I was able to tack onto a bunch of about 4-5 others that caught me along the South Perth foreshore.
I am just tacking onto the bunch here somewhere near Coode st drink point. There was only about 4-5 runners in this group then,
but by the time we got to Canning Hwy Bridge, about 8km later, the group had swelled to about 10-15 runners.
Second Gatorade pickup at the 13km mark, had a little trouble trying to find my drink at that table, a bit tricky, lots of things to be aware of at the drinks tables, especially when you are trying to avoid the people with water and stay with the bunch (some of which were not getting drinks at that table).
Mini "breakaway" from the bunch I was sitting on to get into drinks station first, [and go for my 2nd of 5 gatorade refuels for the race(about 200-400mls per time)]
so I didn't lose touch with this bunch here at the 13km mark at Como Jetty...
(this is the one I had trouble finding my drink on the table, and I really needed that breakaway to stay in touch with the bunch).
larger photo here
So running alongside the Swan on one side and the Freeway on the other, with a great group of runners at a pace I was finding challenging but not too demanding;
I was thinking "how good is this!!!" :-) Very happy at that stage of the race, really enjoying it, and remembering Nationals races.....
From 14km to 16km they started to dip to 4.45's which I found tough going (which makes sense as that was what my 4km reps averaged in training the week before.), and when this bunch threw in a 4.04 from 16km to 17km, I decided it was time to let them go......
...talking to one of the leaders of that bunch after the race, they said they had run the Comrades (87km) in South Africa a few weeks ago... If I had stayed with them, I would have gone under 3hours 30min, but I dont think my training was good enough to go with them......
You have some interesting conversations with some of the runners out there; some I remember were;
1. About 7km into race; One guy telling me my running style sucked (which it probably does a bit technique wise), and that I wouldnt make it to the finish running the way I was...
I asked him what he was going to run and he said; "under 3hr15"...and I said; "oh I will be happy to go under 4 hours"....
Outcome; I beat him by a minute or two with my 3hr55.......:-)
2. Another one on a small hill about 17-19km into the race one guy said to me; "hills are your friend!"...to which I replied; "as long as you are going up them"...(cos my torn ACL knee doesnt handle downhill too well, and of course cos they are an opportunity for an UTG "hill-sprint", aint that true S,R, and M?!).....
Anyway I knew I was getting close to my half-marathon P.B. in the first half, which I did manage to beat by 36 seconds, and was enjoying the glorious views of the Swan River and the city.
Got stuck into the Gatorade at the 23km mark at Troy Park, where we made our turnaround and started heading back towards Canning Highway Bridge, the Narrows Bridge, the Causeway and the finish at Burswood. Didn't see anyone I know, but got a lot of encouragement from spectators pretty much all the way, which is great! much appreciated, especially in the last 10-15km where one gets into "zombie-land" a bit. From Troy Park to Canning Hwy (where the RAFFLES Hotel was?), had a bit of a seesawing battle with a bloke in a yellow top, and another one wearing a "hawthorn?" top. From 22km to 27km I backed off drank heaps of Gatorade at 23km mark, and kinda seized up a bit (muscle fatigue I think), just struggled with finding good rhythm a lot through that section, but then got going again and started hitting some 5.30's and 5.40's consistently along this boardwalk section, which allowed me to pick up the people who had passed me, and get going good again for a few km.
So when I went through 30km in 2hr 36 flat, I was thinking hey, 12km to go, I might be able to get under 3hr 50min here if I really show some guts and push hard to the finish, and just hold onto sub 6min km's. But by 32km-33km, I hit another "bad patch" where "zombie-land" just took over, and I seized up a bit. Was very happy to see the drinks station at the Como Jetty at 33km, where I used the coca-cola trick (learnt that one for the 1998 world cup 50km walk trial), and as much gatorade as I could cope with.
Photo 1; Coming into the 33km drinks station at Como Beach Jetty...really keen for the coke and gatorade at this drink station....
Photo 2; Passing one of the relay runners (they did about 10k for each relay leg)alongside the Swan River, the finish at Burswood Water Park is in sight, its the final 1km.
Got to the Narrows Bridge which was a huge psychological boost, and as I ran under that I was thinking; "36km done,wristwatch says 3hr 14min 34secs, just over 6km to go, I can nail this sub 4hr thing if I just hold it together from here, and maybe still have a go at 3hr 55 or 3hr 50 even, if I could get sub 6min km's along the South Perth foreshore". By this stage was really in my own world, that U2 "numb" song is a good metaphor. Beautiful views of the city there, but just concentrating on trying to pick up the pace, thinking (like Hewitt)"C'MON!!!!". So; 36km to 37km was a 6.15, which was almost what I wanted, but then I felt like I needed more fluid/energy, so I went for my carboshotz bottle, which was a bad move cos I started to feel sick, and I should have waited for the last drink stop at 39k. So when I got to 39k in about 3hr 34 I thought; "3hr 50 is probably out of the question, but maybe 3hr 55???". Drank way too much Gatorade at 39km mark, and spent the next 2km feeling a bit bloated, watching people going past me, and running over 7min per km. By 40km I am now thinking "heck gotta hold it together here or I am going to be getting a bit too close to the 4hr mark for comfort". Tried to get going with one of the people that went past me, but just couldnt stay with them.
However I noticed that none of the people going past me were the ones I had passed, which was pleasing. Then thinking; "at 41km I am going to get going no matter what", just push through the fatigue and finish this thing!"......So just before the Causeway, got going passed someone going under that bridge, and finally managed a 5.40 for 41km-42km, threw in a "C'MON!"and did my usual "blockout any barriers" thing over the last few hundred metres, to go UTG through the last 200m in 50 seconds. Could see the clock at the finish counting up to 3hr 55, and thought I might just get under the 3.55, but just missed, to finish my first Marathon in 3hours 55min and 2 seconds.
I bought this excellent! photo from Fuse photographyshowing me going UTG through the finish line!!!
really stoked,pumped etc re nailing this one...
Back to Jon's Marathon 2004 Assault BLOG
Although I could have just about racewalked faster than this when I was a fit young junior, for where I am at now I am Very happy!!! to go sub 4hrs which was my main goal all along.
I think with a few more reps sessions, a little more sleep, and one extra long run, I might have cracked 3hr 45. To get anywhere near 3hr 30, I would have to have (a) injury free shins (this stopped me running anymore than twice a week for most of the weeks of my training for this race, (b) consistent 2-3 reps sessions for the 11 weeks/combined with a higher level of fitness (they sort of feed off each other)..., and (c) slight improvements in race/pace tactics etc on the day.
The injury report; My left knee has remained very!!! sore for over 24 hours after the race. I think this has a lot to do with the concrete I had to run on for much of the course from Canning Bridge to Troy Park and back. Although I did run on the grass a lot of the way, the amount of pounding even on the bitumen (which has a lot more "give" in it than the concrete, and is therefore nicer to my knee), was more than enough to flare-up and inflame my torn ACL....Have the usual stiffness for several days you expect from a race this long. Remember that from the 50km walk races I did in Melbourne in 1998 and 1999. Back is fine, no problems during or after the race. Two very tiny blisters on the feet, but very minor, and a lot better than I expected in that department. Vaseline and taping took care of the chafing apart from very minor irritation under the arms, forgot to use the vaseline there, but probably not necessary. Biggest and best surprise is that the shins seem pretty much ok, I had my Dad ready with the Voltaren in case they did flare-up, but they seem to have come through pretty well. Hopefully icing the knee will sort that out, and I will be "good to go again" ASAP!
Plan on doing NIL! running in the next three weeks, apart from maybe one 5km or 10km race.
Rottnest marathon in October might be a possibility, but at this stage I'd be happy to say "mission accomplished" via the Perth Marathon 2004, and I probably wont do another one this year,happy! to get my first one on the board for 2004. There is still the City to Surf and the Perth HALF-marathon, etc to have fun with this year, and might do the Rottnest 5k or 10k, would be a good chance to have a look at the Marathon course there, and do that some other year.
STOP PRESS 24/10/04; Decided 3 weeks before to take the opportunity to enter the 2004 Rottnest marathon, and relied on my daily cycling, one 30km training run, a 2km reps session and not much else, which was enough to get me through in 4 hrs 32 min on a demanding!/challenging course. See here.