2:49:47! I did it!

2:49:47. Ninth woman overall. 

Yes friends, you read that heading correctly.

2:49:47 in the Melbourne Marathon. 

A new marathon PB. More importantly, proof positive that I have conquered high hamstring tendinopathy and I am back and running stronger than ever.

At the end of last year I was told there was a chance I would never race competitively again. This ripped my heart out - not only did I love to run, but I had lots more I wanted to achieve with my running. The ensuing months of treatment and rehab and false starts and set backs are documented a little in this blog, although I refrained from posting about the really, really dark times.

Always, always at the back of my mind was Melbourne Marathon. My big goal for the year and, as the months progressed and recovery took far longer than I wanted, my ONLY goal for the year. I just couldn't write this entire year off - I needed something good to come out of it.

Crossing the finish line on the MCG on Sunday and seeing 2:49 on the clock was the most wonderful reward for all the work and patience and perseverance and the many, many tears that were shed whilst trying to get back to running.

Personal drinks ready to go. 

I can't even begin to express how utterly grateful I am to everyone who had a role in my recovery since last November. Without my wonderful husband Andrew, my family, friends, coach (Sean Williams), physio (Brent Kirkbride), doctor (Donald Kuah), massage therapist (Michael Viera - Complete Body Dymamics) and Mizuno I couldn't have done it. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

I know I'm going on as if I've won a gold medal at the Olympics or something, but I really need to express how much I appreciate everyone who has supported me. I love to run and, as much as I freak out before a race, I love to challenge myself by racing. I am so incredibly grateful and happy to be back at it again - and to be racing better than I ever have been before.

Wooooohooooo! Seriously! WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO! I'm sorry I can't be more eloquent - if you picture me running around madly waving my hands above my head you may have an inkling of how I'm feeling. 2:49:47!! YEAH!

The race went well. I wore the Mizuno Ronin - the first time I've worn them for the full marathon distance and they felt fantastic. No blisters, no bleeding and I still have all ten toenails. Excellent.

Early morning at the 'G'.

The weather wasn't as bad as I feared, although there was some wind and it started to rain a bit near the end. By about 9k I hooked up with two other women (Aarthi Venkatesan and Fleur Flanery) and we started to work together to maintain a pace of about 3:59/k. We were soon joined by some other women and a few men and our pack ran together quite strongly until that dreaded turnaround point near St Kilda Esplanade (25k). Not too long after that (I'm not sure where) we started to fall apart. Laura James and Hannah Flannery took off like they had jet-packs on - they both ran such strong, smart races and made it look so easy - while a few women fell behind me. I had a couple of bad stages but managed to hold a reasonable pace together until the 37k mark, where a hill and fading legs caused me to go from a 4:01km (@36k) to a 4:19km. Ouch. From there I had a couple of other bad splits which caused the anxiety levels to spike a little because I knew I'd be close to blowing the sub-2:50 time.

The last few seconds of the race, as I ran towards the finish and knew I was about scrape in under 2:50, were magic. A mix of utter relief and complete joy. The worst year suddenly became the best year, thanks to that little 42.2 kilometre run through Melbourne.

So happy. So grateful. So blessed.

Blackmores Sydney Half Marathon - I'm back!

I wrote the first part of this post the day after the Blackmores Sydney Half Marathon. I had every intention of finishing it the next day but life, work and worries about the looming Melbourne Marathon got in the way. 

So, here it is now. The Blackmores Sydney Half Marathon race wrap up.

After a nightmare year, it is with enormous pleasure (and relief) that I can say I have finally run another PB.

I raced the Blackmores Sydney Half Marathon on 22 September - but kept it very low key because I was feeling pretty nervous about it. I knew this race would give me a good indication of what sort of condition I am in for Melbourne Marathon (three weeks after the half) and I was concerned that if the race didn't go well I'd blow any sort of confidence I had to smithereens.

Luckily, it was a good day.

I finished fourth woman in 81:28 - a PB by one minute and ten seconds. And it was a 'good' race. I felt in control the whole time, I settled down almost instantly and got myself into what felt like a pretty good rhythm. I hung off the back of the 80 minute pace group for a while - which wasn't an intended plan but once the race was underway and the group was there I thought it would be nice to keep them in sight. I lost them a bit every time I grabbed a drink but would catch up again until the rope snapped around the half way mark and I wasn't confident enough to try and chase them down - I was worrying about blowing up towards the end so I kept to my own pace.

To be honest, I couldn't tell if the course was easy or difficult. There were a few ups and downs and a fair bit of twisting and turning, especially in the second half, but I never got to a stage where I started to think, 'Shit, this is awful, I just want it to end.' I was in fifth place up until around 16k when I snuck into fourth. The position very honestly wasn't important to me - I just wanted to see if I could run a decent time and compare my form to where I was this time last year.

The worst thing about the race was probably the super-early race start - with the gun going off at 6:15am I was up to eat breakfast at 3:15am. My husband had gone out in the city the night before (while I stayed in at the Grace Hotel and went to sleep), so he was certainly a little worse for wear as we walked from the CBD, over the Harbour Bridge and to the start at Milsons Point. Actually, at one point he said, "It's just lucky I'm still drunk." Hmmmmm. I think he was half joking.

In all, it was a good race and it showed me I'm certainly much stronger and in decent form for Melbourne, which is now only four days away. From what I can figure out I think I will be close to hitting my goal time but it certainly won't be a given. I will have to really fight for it - and hope the conditions are absolutely perfect. I am hoping the extra strength I have gained through the months and months of exercises and rehab I've done to get over the high hamstring tendinopathy will mean I will be stronger through the second half of the marathon and maybe avoid slowing down as much as I did last year.

Big thanks to my coach, Sean Williams, whose program and advice has been invaluable in getting me back racing. Also thanks to the eternal pessimist (!) but best physio in the world, Brent Kirkbride, who was responsible for putting me back together when I was broken.

I'll post one more time over the next couple of days. Taper is in full swing right now and I am about to explode!

2:51:27 - Melbourne Marathon

2:51:27!

A three-and-a-half minute PB!

OK, that's the short version. If you don't want to waste time reading the world's longest race report, stop here.

THE LONG VERSION
I flew down to Melbourne on the Friday before the race. After the previous week's hot weather it was a rude shock to wake up and find a grey, rainy, windy and cold day (it was snowing further up the mountain). My flight was scheduled for 12:15pm but the weather delayed everything so I didn't end up leaving until a fair bit later.

Finally landed in Melbourne and made it to my hotel (so easy with Skybus - had a nice chat to the driver when I was the last one left on the bus. I asked him to explain how to do a hook turn... I decided I'll never drive in Melbourne). Quick dash to a supermarket to get a couple of things then out for a short run. I was feeling so, so nervous.

I slept in late on Saturday because I was worried I'd have a restless sleep that night and I wanted to be as rested as possible. Eventually headed out for a very brief run on which I started to feel... fantastic. My legs felt strong and I was full of energy. Phew! Good thing that taper decided to kick in!

I had to be at the MCG at 1pm for the elite athlete briefing. Took my time getting there, dropped my personal drinks in then had a look around the expo before meeting with the other runners and the competition director, Tim Crosbie.

It is truly a privilege to race as an 'elite' runner in this race. I've been lucky enough to do it three times and it is such an amazing experience. The title 'elite' is a bit misleading - yes, there are some real elite athletes involved, but there are also runners like me who have some solid results and are racing as part of their state or territory team.

 The 'elite' group has access to facilities under the MCG on race day - before and after the race. Any runner knows how valuable that is - we have toilets, space to warm up, showers, water, sports drink, bananas and people to help us. No lining up for anything, no waiting in the cold. It's awesome.

Tim and his staff do such a great job of looking after all the elite runners - not just the super fast ones - and I am so appreciative of all their work.

The briefing was pretty standard - an overview of the rules and info on the course, drug testing and the schedule for race day. We got our bibs and we were on our way.

As anticipated, I had a lot of trouble getting to sleep that night. The alarm was set for 4am (three hours before race time). Eventually I nodded off, but I woke a number of times - frantically checking the clock to ensure I hadn't overslept.

When the alarm finally went off I felt OK. Nervous, yes, but ready to race. Breakfast, shower, dressed (NSW uniform and Mizuno Elixir), more breakfast (lucky raisin toast) and some anxious pacing around my room.

Early morning MCG.

I got to the MCG about 5:40am. Plenty of time to warm up, go to the bathroom (a million times) and get into 'race mode'. This part of the day is, as I said before, such a privilege. Everything is so easy and you don't need to waste energy worrying about queues, getting a good start position, being cold, getting rid of your warm-up clothing... it's all taken care of. About 35 minutes before the race started I took a tablet to stop my dreaded 'toilet stop'. (As an aside, I think I may now know what causes this - supplements that contain a high dose of magnesium).

THE RACE
It was a relief to hear the gun go off - finally I was underway and I knew that in under three hours I'd be home and hosed (I refused to entertain the idea of running over three hours!). I planned to go out at 4 minute ks - a strategy I've followed in the last few marathons I've done - go out at 4 min k and see how long I can last.

This time, thankfully, I held the pace for much longer than usual. Although I detest racing in my Garmin (it stresses me out) I knew the split information would be valuable in analysing the race so I wore it (and forgot to turn off the sound so the stupid thing beeped at me every kilometre).

I settled pretty quickly and began ticking off the kilometres fairly evenly: 3:47, 3:54, 3:57, 3:56, 3:58, 3:56, 3:57, 3:55, 4:02 (oops), 3:57. The official race results say I went through 10k in 39:41 (my Garmin didn't match with km markers so better to use official timing).

16k marked the point where I started doing a few more four-minute kilometres, with some sub-4s interspersed.

At about 31k a piano fell on my back and the ground turned to quicksand for a while. I felt like I was running in slow motion - at 33k I ran a 4:09 km and at 34 I ran 4:08 before dropping back down to 4:02. The hill between 36-37k threw a spanner in the works - I ran a slow 4:14 then a horrendous 4:23. Ouch!!

The results give my 10k splits as follows:
10k: 39:41
20k: 40:26
30k 40:21
40k: 41:45

My Garmin has my halfway split at 1:23:48 (it's odd that the race doesn't record a half split).

When I crossed the line, in 2:51:27, I had nothing left in the tank - I was exhausted and so, so happy about it. I really believe I gave it everything I had.

I was thrilled. And relieved! After focussing on (and worrying about) this race for the past 11 weeks I could finally relax. The thing that made it even more wonderful was the knowledge that I had trained really hard to achieve that time, and it had paid off. Yahoo!

I had a massage after the race (during which I had one of those awful foot cramps where your foot curls up like a claw and won't release). I was feeling pretty sore. Back at the hotel I flooded the bathroom by having a epic-long shower then sat by the window overlooking Jolimont Avenue and watched the procession of runners continue. Those people are champions - I don't know how they keep going for hours and hours and hours.

The winner of the female race was Lauren Shelley in the stunning time of 2:36:29. Jane Fardell was second in 2:37:52. Both these women qualified for the world championships next year - amazing runs.

I finished 11th overall and 10th in the Australian Championships. A record number of women (22) ran under three hours. Go girls!

I spent the afternoon enjoying the Melbourne institutions of coffee and retail therapy with fellow NSW runner Magda Karimali-Poulos - one of the most consistently strong (yet unbelievably modest) athletes I have the pleasure of being friends with. She finished fifth in the fantastic time of 2:45:36 - and still had the energy to go running after a bus at the end of the day.

Unlike last year, when I flew back to Sydney straight after the race, I had allowed myself another night in Melbourne to kick back and relax. So lovely.

Felt surprisingly OK when I woke up on Monday. Sore and tired but not as bad as I had been anticipating. I thought I was supposed to do an easy 20 minute recovery jog so I did (turns out that wasn't on the program). It was lovely being able to run without thinking, "Will I do it? Will I run well in Melbourne?"

But the gods have a sense of humour and couldn't let the weekend go by without having a laugh at my expense. When I flew into Sydney I couldn't wait to jump in the car and get home. I'd timed it so I'd be ahead of peak hour traffic so I'd have a nice, stress-free drive. Ummm... no. My car battery was flat. Dead as a doornail.

This was a saga in itself, involving me asking the carpark office and every single car rental place if they had a battery charger pack before standing next to the pay machines and accosting everyone there. Without going into detail, my poor (and wonderful) husband was three quarters of the way to the airport when I was saved by a car park officer and sent on my way - three hours after my plane landed.

So there you have it.

2:51:27.

Huge thank you to my coach Sean - this wouldn't have happened without him. Also thanks to Mizuno for supporting me. Finally, endless hugs and kisses to Andrew who has done absolutely everything so I haven't had to worry about anything except eat, sleep, train and work.

Hell hath frozen and pigs have wings

If you know me, and you know my running, please ensure you are sitting down before reading on. What I am about to write will no doubt induce shock and may cause you to question if the world has tilted off its axis and if the pigs have taken flight.

I like speed work.

Even as I typed those four words I expected the laptop to automatically lock itself, knowing full well its real owner would never utter such nonsense. But there it is.

First, let me take a step back and qualify my statement a little. As you know from my last post I now have a coach and I am attempting to train properly. Seeing speed sessions on my program still makes my stomach lurch a little. Adding a speed workout to my Garmin is always done with trepidation. Even after I've warmed up I talk to myself (yes, out loud - people must think I'm nuts): "Just go Joh. Just hit start. You can do this, and even if you can't you're better off than if you hadn't tried." Then I usually say a swear word and I'm off.

So how is it that I say I like speed work you ask? Well last week's training was a bit messed up because I was sick (luckily tests showed it's not a relapse of glandular fever, just a virus on my chest) and I missed my Tuesday speed session. I expected that I'd feel a bit down that I hadn't kept to my program, but secretly relieved that I'd avoided the horrible stuff. Instead, I felt a bit edgy - a bit like Homer Simpson when he realises he's missing the Annual Chili Cook Off. If you can't recall it it goes like this:

"What's that smell? Onions... chili powder... cumin... juicy ground chuck? It's chili! Oh my god, I'm missing the chili cook-off! [whining, fidgeting] I'm missing the cook-off, it's going on right now and I'm missing it."

That was me, all Tuesday and Wednesday. "I'm supposed to run fast and I'm missing out on it!" So, by Thursday I gave in and headed down to the oval (yes, friends - I go to the OVAL these days, as neglected and uneven as it is) to do at least some of the session I was scheduled to do on Tuesday.

I got through a fair bit of it before my chest felt far too tight and I thought it wise to call it quits. But geeze I felt better for having done it. By Saturday I was feeling much better and I donned my speedy Ronins and hit the oval again to run round and round and round (and round) doing 3k reps. Followed up on Sunday with a 35k run for a solid weekend of training.

You see, not only am I glad that I'm finally trying to run fast, I've actually discovered that the challenge of speed is a little addictive. Can I run faster than I did last time? Can I hold this pace a bit longer? Was it easier this time? And even though it's depressing when I bomb out, I have enough success in meeting the challenges I'm set that I have enough drive to keep coming back. Coach Sean Williams is smart - he's got the pacing right for me. Not so hard that I feel hopeless because I can't do it, but not so easy that I get it right every time.

And there it is. Get out your ice skates friends because hell has just frozen over.