Okay. Bottom line is that I finished. Let’s get that out of the way.
Next thing I want to get out of the way is that this is by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done when it comes to fitness. I know that there are thousands of people every year that come out and run the full distance and I salute each and every one of them. Just to show up to the game is a challenge never the less to finish it. Great work all of you!
Now for the event. I was presented with the opportunity to run the Sydney Marathon with a co-worker and friend of mine who works “down under”. It just so happens that the event fell on the same weekend that I was already planning on traveling. While initially I didn’t think I wanted to give it a try; in the end I succumb to the allure of running my first marathon while in a far away place. Really? How could I pass this up?
The week before was packed with work events including a winery tour at Hope Estate. This was a blast but of course it meant that we had a glass or two of their wine and stayed up just a little too late. The weekend came and Saturday brought a relaxing day with a little photo tour of Manly Beach. It was quite hot for September so there were hundreds of people enjoying the weather. After strolling around a bit we headed back to the hotel to rest up; don’t want to wear yourself out before a big run.
Sunday came and I felt great! I have to admit that all the small things that were a little sore the week before (causing me to whine like a little baby) like my IT band, my shins and my toe… all were magically feeling good.
I was ready to run the event!
The race started at 07h15, precisely two minutes after the “wheelies”. The Elite runners were up front including two super fast guys from Kenya.
After the gun went off we started up a small hill, turned the corner and headed across the Harbor Bridge. This experience alone was worth the trip. To run across this monster, closed off from traffic, put a totally different perspective on it’s amazing architecture and its massive size.
The next 15 miles or so were great! They wound through Centennial Park and various beautiful parts of the city. Around the half-way mark my spit time was about 1h49 which is pretty fast (for me at least). This is on a pace for a 3h38 finish if it were possible to keep it up.
But… This isn’t possible… And I experienced this first hand…
Starting around mile 18 I said to myself:
“Okay… every step beyond this is farther than I’ve ever run before…”
This pretty much set the tone for the rest of the event. Around mile 19 I started to slow. Mile 20 I said to myself:
“Okay… I’m just going to walk a little… Just to see how it feels…”
Two steps into that I decided walking was not so good actually. So I kept running. Kind of…
Then I got to the final “out and back” of the event. We had to run from the city out on about a 6 or 7 mile stretch of road. As I was going down this I couldn’t bear it any longer. With each of the steps that passed they became increasingly harder.
I started to walk for the first time… A few minutes for the first one… Just to take a break. Upon running again the mental game of this went into full gear. The things that were in my head were incredible:
“I have to stop… This is crazy…”
“I can’t stop! People will know I’m a failure!”
“Wow… It really does all start after 20 miles!”
“Oh man… Isn’t my hotel just down the street? I think I’ll just stop by and then head to the finish line… No one will know…”
“I just can’t take this any more!!!”
After 23 miles I was pretty much in done. Physically. Emotionally. The only thing that kept me going were the countless times that I’ve run 5km (3.2 miles) and knew that it wasn’t that far till the end.
Along with the nearly 30 minutes of walking on-and-off for those last 6 miles I did end up finishing. 4 hours and 6 minutes was my official time. All in all not bad. But in the end I’m not happy. The relentless pursuit of…
Well… More…
Below is a panoramic photo I took a day before the race… Capturing the begging in and the end of the event… The highs and lows and highs…
In the end I’m so glad I did this… I’m don’t know if I’m satisfied with the results… But isn’t that what keeps us pushing on?
Posts
