Well this is embarrassing! I can't believe I have been away for nearly three weeks. The only excuse I have is that I've been pretty busy. I am still quite busy the only change has been that I've recently got an iPhone so now I can post from the train and when I am travelling.
Well what's new I hear you ask. Just over a week ago I successfully completed the Sydney half marathon! I'm pretty proud of my effort and pleased that it went without a hiccup. Let me give you a small race report.
The race started at 6:45 we don't live that near the city any more so we had a pretty early start. I planned to get up at 5, at 5:20 I just managed to drag my reluctant body out of bed. We cancelled plans of taking public transport half the way and decided to shell out the $15 for parking. With our bowls so porridge in our laps we drove down the black highway to the city. Now I am always reluctant to use the bag drop as they usual have huge queues and often are not very well organised (although I shouldn't knock the volunteers, they do a great job). So we left our jumpers in the car and made the chilly walk to the start. Michael clease stopped for a toilet break, after seeing the queue I decided not to bother. By the time we got to the start I decided I did need to. By the time I was done most people had started and we were near the back. This wasn't too much of a problem, there was a cut off time which I think kept away most of the real beginners so I was one of the slower runners anyway. I ran along pretty happily most the way, foregoing the first drink station. The were a few hold ups and congested areas and I've seen this commented on in a few forums. Around 17k I started to struggle a little, michael clease seemed to be doing fine. I managed to keep going at roughly the same pace and ended up crossing the finish line at 2:04:17. I was hoping for under 2 hours so this was a little disappointing but I blame the congestin and having to stop to tie my shoe laces.
I am rethinking my sub 4 marathon plan, maybe sub 4:20 with a bit of training.
I have found myself a running group that I think I'll try out on Thursday morning. The have a track morning too but that's a little scary for me at the moment!
