The middle part of the year : Get out of Melbourne.
In the middle of the year in Melbourne it can get very depressing. Weeks and weeks of cold, wet and dark eventually take their toll. We don’t have snow but continual days of enough rain to make everything sodden and tops below sixteen degrees C. This year we thought we’d give back to marathon running by pacing a couple of events. The Atlas group run the Hobart, Brisbane, Cairns and Sunshine Coast marathons. A friend Adam with whom I paced the 2019 Melbourne Marathon suggested we pace Brisbane which led to the idea of heading somewhere warm in July and pacing in Cairns. Hobart was a later inclusion to gain some marathon conditioning for Canberra. (See earlier blog).
Brisbane
This was my second time running this marathon and one secret I can let you in on. The Storey bridge doesn’t get any easier the second time around. Actually, we run up and down it twice over the two by 21km loops so really it’s the third and fourth time. The organisers were a bit more forgiving this year and took out a hill at the 8 and 30 km marks (two laps, remember).
Adam and I were pacing 3.45 which works out to roughly 5.17 / km. This is pretty easy for us on the first lap but does get a bit more challenging later on. They don’t let pacers cut corners any more than real runners.
Early start just on sunrise and away. Conditions were good, with a cool start and we headed off from the Botanical Gardens and around to the approach for the bridge. First couple of kms were a touch quick as we chatted with those around us and I caught up with Adam’s news. We settled down and ticked off the first lap.
One of the characteristics of this and Hobart is that half and full marathons start at the same time. What that means is, at the end of the first lap 2/3 -3/4 of the field disappear. It becomes an entirely different event with many less runners around. The drink stations are less crowded and the cheering becomes more personal. There’s plenty of room to move if only we hadn’t already run 21km it would be a breeze. Back over the bridge and out along the river. This is a beautiful part of the course with views down and across the Brisbane river. Coming off the river is a bit of a climb and then a bit of running in the suburbs out to the furthest turnaround at Newfarm. Adam dashed off ahead needing a nature stop which perplexed a couple of our accompanying runners but he was soon back and more comfortable.
We headed back along the river under the bridge safe in the knowledge we didn’t have to climb it again. Adam was feeling chipper so he decided to run 3.45 to gun time while I ran it to net time. We finished within a minute of our aim time so pretty happy with that. A bit of a sit down and then to the pub on the corner near the finish for a Guinness and a cheer for those coming in later.
Cairns Marathon, a little ray of sunshine
After a wee Jetstar, we arrived in Cairns just after midnight instead of the booked 3.20 pm. Four hours at Brisbane airport instead of the direct flight. We found our lodgings and listened to the neighbours chat until 4 am. There went the night before rest. We had a quiet Saturday and went to bed early. Up at 4.30 am and down to the start to get ballooned up. About 16 degrees and just a suggestion of humidity. We started at 5.45 and completed most of the first lap before the sky lightened. A magical sunrise gave us a bit of a rush but the thought that it could well involve a sharply higher temperature gave us pause. This is 4 X 10.5 km loops again with the half runners for company. The difference between Brisbane and here is fairly marked, not only in climate but the Cairns course is pretty much dead flat. No bridges, no hills just a couple of turns and good crowd noise along the esplanade.
Again, we lost most of the field at the half and I was on pace. I was the only 3.45 pacer so conscious of not getting carried away. I ran the third lap with a nice young lady from the Atherton tablelands doing her first marathon. I talked at her and tried to take her mind of the increasing kilometres and humidity. I lost her in the last 10 km but she ended up running 3.48 which is an amazing first effort. Last lap was getting warmer and I was tiring but still on pace according to my watch. At the 40 km marker my watch said 40.4 km so there was a mismatch of about two minutes. I kept my pace through to the finish in 3.46 and with my watch reading 42. 55 km. Close enough I reckon.
Having completed the run we’d set out for, it was time to relax. Sunday afternoon we joined the after party for drinks and chat. Monday was off to the botanical gardens for brunch with friends. We had a couple of options to complete the week but wind spoilt the idea of going out onto the reef so we went to the aquarium to say we’d seen the underwater. Wednesday was the tourist train to Kuranda and back by Skyrail and then on Thursday out to the Atherton tablelands courtesy of a very kind friend Mark Sharkey.
Friday it was goodbye to Cairns but wait there’s more! We had to be out of the motel by 10 but the flight wasn’t until three so we headed off to the Cairns agricultural show for a couple of hours. Wood chopping, show jumping and farming exhibits. Good fun.
Surprisingly our flight left nearly on time. 28 degrees when we left Cairns, 8 degrees when we arrived home in Melbourne. C’est La vie
Where to from here? A bit of cross country, a couple of training half marathons and then Melbourne Marathon in October. Two weeks later is Auckland which will be the hard one as it is a qualifying event for the World Championship. A couple of weeks around New Zealand and then Queenstown marathon to round out the year. So first things first. Train hard and don’t get inured.
So far so good.
How am I feeling about it all? Still positive. I can see I am slowing down or not slowing as much as it is taking more effort to reach a pace I could maintain easily a couple of years ago. I’m not recovering as quickly from hard runs. I’m also nearly 65 so almost on to another age group. Hopefully everyone else in that age group is slowing just as quickly. The body is holding up. There are creaks and groans that are quite comical as my running group heads out but we can still complete the work. All in all, we’re doing ok.
