sub 3

This is all about running, so if that ain't your thing you can save yourself some time and stop here.

I am not sure I will ever run, non-stop, further than 42,195m plus whatever steps I shuffle before and stagger after a marathon. And I am even less sure that I will cover the distance again in under three hours. Not even to prove the first time wasn't a fluke. So with that in mind here is a post to remind myself and tell anyone who might be interested how I managed to crack 3hrs in Canberra.

I've been running since 2004 and in the last 8 years have covered the marathon distance 12 times. In order and with approximate times:

1. Paris (road) 3:44
2. NY (road) 3:38
3. London (road) 3:23
4. Sydney (road) 3:20
5. Six Foot Track (trail, 45km) 4:38
6. Gold Coast (road) 3:07
7. Fitzroy Falls (trail) 3:23
8. Bacchus (trail, England) I can't remember, but I was 3rd!
9. Melbourne (road) 3:07
10. Six Foot Track (trail, 45km) 4:58
11. M7 (road, Sydney) 3:17
12. Canberra (road) 2:29

I know the distance and have enough miles in my legs to know my body fairly well. My times have been improving and I have only been dissapointed with three of those times. Sydney was pretty ordinary, and although I took 3mins off of my PB I had died in the arse on the last few km; I had wanted to go under 3:15 and finished grumpy. Melbourne was supposed to be a crack at sub-3 but I was carrying an injury picked up in the Bacchus. From 25km I was going to quit every step of the way. I really didn't enjoy Melbourne. And my second 6ft Track was very disappointing as it was a full 20mins slower than the first.

More often I have been pleased. Finishing the first was great, going quicker in NY and then taking a further 15mins off in London were greater still. After the disaapointment of Sydney I was over the moon with the Gold Coast, sprinting home with another 13mins shaved from my PB. I surprised myself with how quick I was off-road at Fitzroy Falls and and followed that up with a third - my only podium finish, albeit in a small field in a new event - at the Bacchus. Considering I ran the M7 on a whim and relatively untrained, and had to stop for a crap at around 35km, I was pleased with that time too.

This year's plan was to have another crack at sub-3 on the flat, fast Gold Coast. But plans changed.

In January I "competed" in Janathon. It isn't really a competition, but for some it is. You run every day of january and whoever runs farthest in total wins. Once I got my nose in the lead I kept it consistent with runs too and from work and a similar distance each Saturday and Sunday for a sweaty 733km for the month. The plan was to rest up through February and then start to build some speed for July's "Goldie." However, through January I had started chatting with Clyde, who was training for the Melbourne Ironman. He is a 2:34 marathon runner and a pretty serious competitor. He put me on to www.strava.com as an alternative to www.dailymile.com. I had been using DailyMile for a couple of years and enjoyed the social side of the site, but Strava made me run faster. You can check it out for yourself, but it keeps track of how quickly you have covered your miles and also compares you against others who have run the same routes (or 'segments" as Strava calls them.)

On only the second run that I knew I would be uploading to Strava I started to race against the clock. Strava made me run faster. Well, I made me run faster, but Strava was the red-rag. And that was only a couple of weeks into February. I'm not sure when remembered that Canberra is in April but it was around the date that left me with the opportunity to do the minimum of long runs that I thought I needed yet still think I would be prepared. Just. So although I didn't immediately sign up for Canberra, from sometime in late Feb or early March I did think that Canberra might be the place to have a crack at sub-3. And besides, I still had the Sydney Half in May (I had already entered this as a fast training run) and my actual target race, the Gold Coast in July.

So for a few weeks I alternated fast and steady runs to work, sometimes upping the pace on the flats, sometimes on the hills.  I did a surprisingly "easy" 32km and a predictably awful 35km as my last long run. I also did a half that, by the end, had been at required marathon pace. My last long exercise was a fabulous 20km hike through the Blue mountains with a couple of friends, 7hrs of ups and downs which were a different exercise, but still put my legs to use.

So there you have it, the least possible long-running I could get away with. But, I reassured myself, I did have Janathon's base tucked away so if I could get on pace and stay on pace then I was in with a chance.

As to my diet, Well, that didn't really change much at all. I stopped having muesli for breakfast in favour of a berry smoothie and toast and I dramatically reduced my alcohol intake. On the Friday before the Sunday race I had pasta for lunch, then on Saturday I had pasta for lunch and dinner. And, of course, convinced I was getting a cold, I was on the Lemsip Max for the last few days of my taper. I reckon there is something in that; you drastically cut down on exercise and crank up the nerves so you are bound to feel like crap. But I got to Saturday morning feeling OK. On the Saturday I also took a lot of rest, after my final bit of running, up and down the beach with AJ.

Rather than drive to Canberra and face the prospect of having to drive back knackered and on wobbly legs I decided on the train. So that got me four and half hours of sitting, which was good. I got to the Rydges Capital Hill after walking a couple of km from Canberra station, happy to find it just around the corner from the start. With my pasta already bought I chilled out and went to bed.

Race start was 7am and the weather had decided to be perfect. It was still and clear and 7 degrees. I had a blueberry muffin and a shower then pulled on the race gear and some disposable warm clothes and made my way to the start. There were not too many people milling about, but a nice sized crowd. I spotted a couple of silver birch trees, rare in Sydney, and got a bit homesick for the family home in Morden with it's birches out back. With about 15mins to the start I headed to the start line and lurked by the 3hr pacer.

With a smallish field it was easy to get into my running pretty much from the gun. The plan now was extremely simple. Stick with the three hour pacers - there were two - all the way around. I had a gel that I would take at 15km, when I would be able to pick up another one. Then I'd have one at 30km and pick up a third to crack a little later. Sticking with the pacers would relieve me of the need to check my watch. Simple.

I'm not going to go through the entire run. It would be uber dull and besides, I can't remember it all. So here are the headlines.

The first couple of km were comfortably quackish, faster than the 4:15 that we would need. The pacers were aiming for half way in 88 or 89minutes, allowing a little fade.

The sun coming up through the mists hanging over Lake burley Griffen was stunningly beautiful. Properly awesome. A couple of hot air balloons overhead were pretty.

After about 5km I had lost the numbness in my toes and was feeling pretty good. There was a little group on the "3hr bus" and to me each looked to be in with a chance.

10k and half way came with relative ease and spot on pace. The bus had lost a few. Average pace 4:11.

At 30km I forgot to collect my third gel and dwelt on that for a while...but not too long. I was OK at this point, but no longer completely comfortable.

At 34km I tapped my left shoulder with my right hand and looked skywards. I was struggling and felt that a bit of help from Dad would not go amiss. Just before that the annoying - yet familiar - left little toe blister popped in a reasonably spectacular fashion. "Aourch you FUCK!" said I.

The pacers were fabulous; "4:24s will get you home, 30minutes of pain, you can all do this!"

Some mind games and I almost fell off the bus but at 37km, struggling, I figured it was only 5km and we were well on our way back to the City and the finish. Average for many km had been and was still 4:11 or 4:12. We needed 4:15.

More words of encouragement from the pacers. At 40km they suggested it was approaching the time when you could spend whatever you had left. I told myself to stick to the pacers and just don't fuck it up.

Must have been around 41km when they said "you've done it, you can enjoy this bit!" I was on no mood to enjoy anything yet. In fact it was not until I could see the finish line, maybe 500m away, that I allowed myself to believe I'd done it. Some clenched fist "yes, yes, fucking yes" action.

Over the line and staggered to a stop in 2:59:23 on the watch, which was 2:59:20 chip time.

Made my way slowly towards the recovery area, a little emotional. Sobbed a bit, but got a grip pretty quickly. A drink, a banana and a fruit bar thing as Motley Crue's "Kickstart My Heart" played and I stood in the warm sunshine.

Job done. 


Recovery - about 4days and the legs are back to feeling like legs again.