Hobart Airport Marathon
Arrived in Hobart about two hours later than expected (thanks Jetstar) but getting through the airport was simple and on to the skybus. We found our lodgings and dropped our bags and went for a tour. Down to the docks and Salamanca place. We picked up numbers and pacing singlet and went for a look at the course around Battery point. There is a hill. Not a terribly big hill but it was going to be out and back over it three times so cumulatively could be a challenge.
Saturday we headed down to Salamanca market. This was extremely busy as there was a cruise ship in port and everyone headed to the market. It was interesting but crazy crowded. We found a pie at the bakery truck and sat around doing some people watching. We then popped back to the expo to check how many runners there were in the marathon. About 160 and about 400 in the half which started at the same time. A quiet afternoon and pasta for tea and early to bed. This was the end of daylight savings so we get an extra hour of sleep but the organisers use that to start earlier at 6.00 am.
Sunday rolled around and up before dawn. We gathered to attach balloons and chat amongst the pacers. Then over to the start and away we went. Cool and overcast I was looking at 5.40/km for four hours total. First km was 5.20 but I knew there was the climb up to Queens domain to come. Second km was around 6 min so back on schedule. Went through 10 km about one minute quick and the half about 2 minutes under. We lost the half runners and all of a sudden it became much more solitary. I had a couple of runners to talk to and support but really only about ten or so around at any one time. I chatted and encouraged as I could and we had the 10 km field whoosh through. On Sandy Bay rd for the last time I had a bit of time up my sleeve and had a look behind to see if I could find anyone to push through but there was no runner that I could see behind us. On the last lap we had the 5 km field around us. This was nice for the numbers but made it hard to see who was running the marathon and how they were going. We passed the finish line and completed the loop and finished. I ran 3:56:19. A little under my goal time but as I said there was nobody behind that I could help.
A bit later we headed out for Guinness and chips and then Monday we walked the rivulet about 5 km out to the Cascade brewery. Unfortunately we were too early for the bar to be open. We then had a bit more time about Hobart waiting to head out to the airport. While waiting we received word our flight had been cancelled. Another day in Hobart. We hired a car and drove up Mount Wellington and then out to Richmond to look at the old convict built bridge and the goal. We found a scallop pie at the bakery and an award winning vanilla slice. With a bit of time to kill we went for a walk along seven mile beach. We resisted the temptation to walk all seven miles and adjourned for a Tasmanian beer at the club near the airport.
Dropped off the car in plenty of time. Jetstar had managed to run late again so about an hour late we headed home. Not a bad effort for a quick weekend. Two canceled flights and two each more than an hour late. Fortunately they will compensate us for the extra accommodation and meals. Turned out the extra day had more sightseeing in it than the rest of the time in Hobart itself.
No serious damage done so time for Easter and then on to Canberra.
Canberra Marathon
Shortly after coming back from Hobart I managed to hurt my back. Usually this is an inflammation injury that comes good after a couple of days. This time it remained stiff and sore all the way through to the Canberra Marathon. Added to that was news that cyclone Ilsa had managed landfall just south of Broome and was joining a low pressure system to drop rain across the country. In our case it meant rain and cold wind in Canberra just in time for the marathon. Cold, wet and stiff, not the best start.
Canberra is an early start at 6.15 am. So we were up before 5 and listening to the steady beat of rain. Sometimes this eases with the dawn but not on this occasion. We gathered, we started and off we went. Up around Parliament House and back down. I was looking for the 3.15 pacers but they were way in front of me. I checked my watch and could see they were already well under their goal time. I decided to try and hold my own pace figuring if I could run 3.15 pace they would come back to me. At 21 km I went through in 97 minutes so on 3.15 but working way too hard for what I was achieving. Good news was the rain had paused.
One of the idiosyncrasies of Canberra is that the half marathon starts quite a bit later and the quick half runners come past my part of the field when they have run four km and I have run 26. Some times this can be inspiring, on a cold, wet day not so much.
Lots of runners coming past and getting fatigued. Fortunately the half runners turn before we do so there is a bit of quiet time before we rejoin them for the last part of the run. Unfortunately this also means that runners we rejoin are several minutes slower than the first group and we have to work our way back through them. I’d just about had enough when we hit the last bridge with four km to go. A squall came through with a cold wind and the rain started up again. Sore and cold I buckled down for the second lap of Telopea park. Around the hill and back down, one last hill and finish, again in steady rain. Finished in 3.30.09 in what is my second slowest Canberra. The only slower was when I paced someone else.
Interesting event. I learned again several lessons. 1. The importance of positive thinking. Some others had reasonably good runs and didn’t notice the conditions anywhere as much as I did.
2. The importance of being satisfied with what I can achieve, not what I hope to achieve. I was still third in my age group and only seven seconds behind the second placed runner. My time still qualifies me for Boston by a very comfortable twenty-five minutes. It was a good solid run.
Move on. McLarenvale in two weeks.
McLarenvale marathon.
One of the nicest things about visiting new events is we get to see diverse parts of the country and some of the amazing works. In the case of Canberra we have been going for several years and the biggest feature is the camaraderie that is built up. For McLarenvale we decided to spend some time on the way looking at the silo art in parts of the state that we hadn’t been to. Silo art is exactly as it says on the label. Huge wheat silos have been built around Victoria to hold grain. With modern techniques to store wheat they have become outdated and in most cases have shut down. They are still a feature of many small towns and localities and to encourage tourism many have been used as a blank canvas for amazing murals that reflect the local community.
We started at the silo in Rapunyap and did a loop up to Hopetoun and then back around through Rainbow and Jeparit and stayed the night at the Victoria hotel in Dimboola. Saturday morning we continued on to McLarenvale via Kaniva and Murray Bridge.
McLarenvale marathon
Arriving Saturday afternoon there was not too much time to get nervous. Most of the initial time was spent finding the start at Richard Hamilton wines and then our accommodation which was an Airbnb organised by George. After a carbo load dinner it was a suitably restless night before we lined up in the field of around 140 starters. I started out comfortably with a bunch just in front that I resisted the urge to chase. First km was 4.25 so any quicker I knew could be disastrous later. A young woman came past who I found out later was the first woman overall. Again, do not chase. The course passes lots of vineyards and has a couple of long but not severe hills. I was pretty happy with how the kms were ticking over and when we hit the shared path at 15km I could feel that this was a completely different day to that of a fortnight earlier. Curiously the conditions were not that different. Less rain and wind but still some rain but a touch warmer.
Around to the winery and back out for the second lap. It was good to see the leaders heading out as I headed in and then to see George as I headed out again. A nice young man from Kangaroo island joined me and we ran together for a km or two but he broke away up the long incline as I tried to maintain a steady tempo.
At about35 km and back onto the shared path. This is the time to start talking to the legs about whether we can manage to keep pace for the remainder “it means less running time if you keep going” . A bit of an uphill out the back and a km to go. Time was looking really good so try and keep going. Up the driveway and into the finish chute.
Finished in 3.13.26. Fourteenth overall and first in my age group. Sixteen minutes quicker than Canberra. This was my 50th marathon and I worked out later it was my twelfth quickest. I felt stronger and recovered better than in Canberra. Who knows?
We set off for the return journey early on Monday and traveled through Kooinda in South Australia which has another silo mural and spent the night in Mildura before the final leg and the final silo in Sea Lake and thence home.
Images by marathon photos. Free with McLarenvale registration
Three marathons in four weeks. Lat year we did three in three in Berlin,London and Chicago. The last one was difficult with a bronchial illness. This time the middle one was difficult with inclement weather conditions. Obviously it’s doable but is there an advantage to doing so many close together? In both cases the first event was intended as a warmup, pacing down in Hobart was effectively a long training run. Berlin was quicker but again was to set up for the Age Group Championship in London.
Second events were completely different. London was good conditions and a huge field and crowds. As it was the Championship it was the focus where Canberra was not. The results in London were good as I ran as hard as I could for as long as I could. Hurt at the end. I think this led to the illness that marred the third event in Chicago. Canberra was slower than I expected and left me with doubts about where I was at. Sure, it was cold and wet but I am mindful that, at sixty four, there may come a time when I have to accept slower times are just where I’m at. Wee niggly, naggly doubts.
The third marathons were again complete opposites. Chicago fell apart at 23 km and was a struggle from there on. At least the weather was nice. A complete lack of energy. McLarenvale on the other hand was comfortable for nearly all 42 km. It is a beautiful feeling to reel off km after km almost without effort and to see km markers count down and know there is a good result just around the corner.
What have we learned?
1. Don’t be too hard on yourself for one run. There’s another on the way and things will get better
2. Back to back marathon races are not only possible but doable.
3. Some times it is desirable to have a backup. Not every plan goes accordingly.
Where to from here?
Next events are winter cross country and then pacing 3.45 in Brisbane with a friend, Adam. A break of a month (still running but) and then pacing four hours in Cairns. Build up to my tenth Melbourne marathon in October becoming a Spartan. Then off to Auckland and Queenstown to round out the year. Longer term 2024 is a return to Boston. I now have three qualifying times with forty minutes buffer. I’m thinking Boston-Big Sur double and then maybe Rotorua on the way home seeing as we’ll be using flight credits with Air NZ.
How do I feel about all that?
Excited, maybe. I think I’m going ok. I can see the difference between my good and not so good events. I’m still finishing and that’s important. I think if I wasn’t completing events or everything was hurting too much then much of the satisfaction would wane and I would have to rethink. I’m competitive still and that helps. I’m enjoying running most of the time and the really good times outweigh the not so good. I still don’t like running in the rain. We keep running.