My Second Ever Marathon

Though yesterday was my scheduled long run day I wasn't able to run at home because we were travelling south to dog sit while their owners are away on a cruise. I was down to run a marathon distance according to the generic running plan I have adapted and roughly follow. Anyway, today was the new day for this run, which would also show what I was up to in regards to the Bruny Island ultra marathon in two month's time.

I looked at two possibilities - the first being the Clarence Foreshore Trail and the other starting with the Foreshore Trail but running over the Tasman Bridge and then making up the difference by running along the Intercity Cycleway on the western side of the River Derwent. I stocked up with 2 litres of water, 2x500 mls of Staminade (proper strength this time), 6 gels to be consumed after every 6k, two protein bars for 15k and 30k and a packet of jelly babies for use at every 2k. I'm sure that I've learnt my lesson from previous fiascoes and will take each of these at the appropriate time. I also had a tube of Hydralyte tablets to suck when needed, even though the instructions say not to put them into the mouth.

Being super confident of my ability I was planning on covering the distance in just under 5 hours, which would give me a PB of over an hour from my only ever marathon that was on 5 December 2016 when I accompanied the Run4Mind girls as they did the first of their 14 marathons in 15 days in Tassie to raise money and awareness of mental health issues.

By the time I started it was after 10.00 am and it was going to be a hot day by Tasmanian standards. I chose the bridge run and set off down the steep hill to the Foreshore Trail near the Geilston Bay Yacht Club. It wasn't long before I was running along the river on my favourite surface - trail, but this wouldn't last long as most of the run would be on concrete. YUK! Being a long run I decided to run by pace rather than the HRM and tried to keep it down to no more than 6:20/k, but this wasn't always easy in the beginning stages of the run. I also made the decision to walk hills/inclines so as not to push myself too hard. I kept to the predetermined intake of fluids, gels and jellies.

When I reached the Tasman Bridge I changed my plan and run up and over it instead of walking up. At this point it didn't seem to be causing me any difficulties and I plodded on. There was a strong wind blowing down the river, which was quite refreshing in the warmth of the day. At the end of the bridge, and I can now say that I have run the Bridge (though not the official race version which starts and end in different places to my run) I headed left to the beginning/end of the Intercity Cycleway (depending from where one commences). Turning round it struck me - it really struck me. It was wind and as I headed to the northern suburbs it seemed to become a ferocious gale impeding my progress. In spite of this I was still able to hold my form and pace. Cyclists shot past. There was one other solitary runner who was going far faster than I was. And I did pass quite a number of walkers enjoying their walks. Travelling along the now decommissioned railway line and passing the remnants of numerous railway stations I had to frequently stop and give way to traffic on the many roads that crossed the Cycleway.

I kept counting how far I had been and what was left, breaking it up into manageable slots. Not only was that wind giving me a battering but the Cycleway appeared to be an all uphill incline as I passed suburb after suburb. The good thing about that would be that the return would be all downhill. As I neared the halfway turning point I was beginning to tire, though I was still well under the time I needed to finish in less than 5 hours. As I turned I realised that I was about 6 minutes under the time I needed, so everything was going according to plan. And it meant that I had now completed about a third of Bruny, even though it was a very, very flat third.

Now for the easy part of this run, or so I thought for that ferocious gale had now become a gentle breeze that really didn't help me much at all and the track wasn't all downhill after all. It had inclines that I hadn't noticed on the way northward. At around 26k I thought I was getting a cramp on the inner right thigh and I was getting tired. My shoulders slumped and my head dropped as I lost my form. My pace began to vary greatly and I envied the way in which cyclists tore passed my with great ease. I was beginning to walk more than I should have and it wasn't long before I had lost that 6 minute advantage. I kept adjusting my thinking as to how much longer I would take and even if I had to slow down and lose 15 minutes I would still have a very good time for me. My feet were swelling; they were getting sorer from pounding the concrete; and I was beginning to feel physically sick. At around 30k it was time for my second protein bar but this time I sat down to slowly eat it. My goal was to finish the distance and not pull the pin on this run, no matter how much it hurt. And so I stood up and began to plod on, finding that there were many times I was dragging my heels on the concrete, especially my right heel, because I wasn't lifting my feet properly. In my tiredness I began to neglect my regulated fluid and gel inputs.

Gradually, more slowly than the northward run, the different suburbs passed by and I crossed more and more roads. Some of these were busy and required a prolonged stop until there was no traffic coming. Every time this happened I was finding it harder to get started again, but start again I did. By the time I reached the brilliant blue surface of the hockey centre the wind was coming off the water and the coolness was a welcome change to the heat that had been beating down upon me. Then it was under the Tasman Bridge again to reach the turn around point near the Cenotaph and I knew that I was getting closer to completing the run. I would not give up now. Not on your life would I!!!

I became a little bit disoriented in getting off the Cycleway and onto the bridge again but when I did I was in for a real shock. That ferocious gale that was a headwind when I headed north but had become a gentle breeze as I headed south had now become a massive cyclone. Running up and over the bridge the River Derwent was a mass of whitecaps and I had to take my cap off so I didn't lose it onto the road surface. The little two-masted sailing ship on the river below me was struggling to make much headway into the wind. The noise of the wind howling through the bridge railing sounded like being behind the roar of a jet engine. The steel sheeting that forms the walkway for the bridge hummed in the wind and I could feel them vibrating as my feet landed on them. It was impossible to run in a straight line up and over the bridge. I had to lean towards my left but every time I passed something thicker that blocked the wind I veered quickly towards the rail. In one spot I almost hit it because I hadn't compensated for the momentary loss of the wind. Once I was off the bridge I could put my cap back on and continue. I was now almost at the end. Just over a parkrun to go as I counted down each kilometre passing under my feet.

Back onto the trail surface gave me a lift because it wasn't far to go. I could see the yachts moored at Geilston Bay. Rounding a bend there was the finish, but my finish was going to be up Dumbarton Doozy, a steepish Strava segmented I created. What a way to finish when I was as tired as I was! I jogged to the bottom of the hill and was forced to a slow walk to the top. And through my mind went the words of "The Man from Snowy River" whose pony, after the dramatic chase through the hills, could hardly raise a trot. That was me as I came to the end - I could hardly raise a trot. But I had done it, and just to make sure I ran to 42.5 kms. I'd hate for Strava to shortchange my run and not recognise it as a marathon distance even though Garmin did!

I'm sore. I guess I will be for a couple of days but I'm not as sore as after my first Derby half marathon when I could hardly even hobble.

But the real question is how will I manage Bruny. In less than three months I'm due to run the solo event from north to south, a distance of 64 kms. At least I won't have to weigh myself down with my Salomon running pack as Val will be my support crew. That will save me carrying around 4 kg of supplies.