I had a pretty good training block leading up to Canberra marathon this year but there has been a dearth of lead up races, the last of which was Two Bays, a 28 km trail race back in January. It’s also been a busy time personally as I transition from work to long service to retirement. So things were a bit unsettled as we contemplated aims and desires.

The easiest way to look at these is to set some parameters. What would I consider a par score, below par or above par? Curiously, when we consider that par is a golfing term, below par in common usage would an undesirable outcome whereas in golf below par is a good thing. Anyway, my aims for this year look a bit like this.
Same as last year 3.13? I had a really good run last year so this would exceptional if I could do that again. Above par.

I well know that it is easy to drop 10-15 minutes over the last couple of kms if we hit the wall (the subject for another blog) so I think below par would suggest an unexpectedly poor run. 3.30 plus a poor finish. I paced 3.40 in Melbourne and ran it fairly comfortably so I reckon not being able to race it in time would be below par for me. So there’s top and bottom.
Average of that is about 3.25 so hoping to do a little better I’ll call 3.22 as par.

The course is not an easy one with lots of rolling ups and downs but it is quite scenic running up around parliament house and then around Lake Burley Griffin.

We gathered for a 6.15 am start, right on dawn 15 degree C and after a rev up from Rob DeCastella, the marathon legend we were off. First km too fast, settle a little around parliament house, charge down to the lake. Through 5 km still a bit quick but rolling, probably working a bit more than desirable. Up the hill at 12 km and then we head down one of the peninsulas that jut out into the lake. This was as comfortable as I managed for the whole event. Unfortunately there was still another half to go. Went through the half in 93.48 so still on 3.10-3.12 pace. There will be payback somewhere in the future.

As we crossed over the Commonwealth Ave bridge at 24 km we were caught by the leaders in the half marathon. Having them blow by took a bit of wind out me. I thought I was going ok and having them race by while I was starting to fatigue was a mental blow. Suck it up sunshine, there’s still plenty of running to do. On to the long and winding road that is Parkes Way. It is a slog out to the interchange and back. There is the lake on the left on the way out and the right on the way back so it might be scenic but by now it is really starting to be head down, bum up and get this done. The half runners have a turnaround about a kilometre and a half before ours so we get a bit of quiet time before joining them again. By the time we rejoin them the half runners are relatively slower than us so there is a more positive vibe working through them.
So to the Kings Ave bridge. 37 km down, definitely slowing, the 3.15 pacer came past and I was getting tired and sore. 5 km to go, a spot where the course designers play one of those nasty little tricks and run us away from the finish and around a loop with a little hill in it. Ouch. Fortunately around here Anne and the family had gathered to cheer. Every bit helps at this point. Push, push, try to maintain 5 min/km or better, keep the 3.15 pacer in sight, consider whether 3.20 is possible, acceptable, desirable. Up the pinch and see the finish kite. There’s no sprint in the legs but maybe we can run through.

Finished in 3.17.09.

Today is Monday. I’m a bit sore but not as bad as I thought I would be considering how I felt at the finish. I was pretty spent and had several beers and a debrief with the others from our training group and then was in bed by 9.00 pm. It was a 4.45 am start.

Looking back am I happy? I think so. This was my seventh Canberra marathon and was smack in the middle regarding time. I have three quicker and three slower. I’m older by another year and these things aren’t getting any shorter. My preparation was patchy with a lack of racing and hard, long runs. on the other hand I am only four minutes slower than last year and that falls well within the error limits for marathon running. I don’t know where I finished relative to my age group, the results don’t give that detail but 3.13 was enough to win the age group last year so 3.17 must be competitive. Finally 3.17 qualifies me on time for both the Boston and New York marathons which have fairly stringent conditions. Many marathoners spend their entire careers trying to qualify for these events and never do. So I think satisfied will sum it up. I reckon there is still some life in the legs yet and a good cross country season and consistent winter will see Berlin, London, Chicago as achievable.

Easy week this week and then we evaluate the next block. I think I need one more marathon before September. We’ll check the running calendar and see what fits. Thanks for reading.