The walkers' start
This was supposed to be training for an ultra that was to be held in February 2006, but the ultra was cancelled and this became the main event.
I was hopeful that I might be able to break 5hrs, but on the day it didn't work out. The day that had been forecast to have heavy rain dawned with an overcast sky and a few light showers, but then cleared up and became very hot and humid. The conditions seemed to take their toll on a large proportion of the field across both the full and half marathons, with many people recording slow times and some cramping.
At the start we took off fairly fast, and passed through the first 1km in 6:43. This was faster than planned, so it was time to back off the pace a little. This coincided with my shins locking up, and by the 3km mark I had dropped from 2nd to 6th! I had expected that the pace from my recent 5k races would have carried me through better than this, but it was obviously not to be.
The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th kilometres were all slower than planned, but by the 5km mark I was back on pace. 2nd place was perhaps 500m in front - a large gap but not insurmountable. The marathon is a long race, and I knew that even if I didn't have speed on my side today, I would most likely have more experience and endurance than anyone other than the winner - Peter Baillie - and would be able to catch anyone who went out too fast over the first half.
There were a few patches of light rain on this lap, all of which were very welcome. This was the last we saw of the rain, and the day became increasingly hot and humid.
The End is Nigh: at about 41km
The 1st lap passed in 1:16:20, about 80s slower than target. The 2nd lap was largely uneventful, with everyone at the front of the field appearing to hold their position. Now I was warmed up and had found my rhythm, and clocked 1:14:38 for the lap. This meant that I passed through the halfway mark in 2:30:59, only about 1 minute slower than planned.
The 3rd lap was full of drama. Within 3.1km I moved back into 2nd place. By the second bridge (approx 6k) I was a good 25s up on 3rd place, a gap that continued to grow. By the end of the lap I was passed by the first of the half marathon walkers - the lead male at about 8km, and the lead woman at about 9km.
By now the day was really starting to heat up, and everyone seemed to be feeling the effects. My pace slipped to 1:17:55, although my effort levels certainly hadn't dropped!
Coming up to the end of the 3rd lap I decided to drop my camelbak and just rely on the drink stations for the final lap. The first of the marathon runners started to come past early in the 4th lap, and some were still passing me near the end of the lap. I concentrated hard on keeping my pace up, but the heat and distance continued to take their toll, and I recorded 1:22:58 for the lap.
I finished in 5:11:53. Although slower than I'd hoped for, I was pleased with my performance given the conditions.
After a week of much reduced sleep due to international travel, I was able to comfortably record 4:57:13 to take 3rd place in the marathon walk.
Having done no significant training since Labour Weekend, I was definitely under-prepared for this one. Particularly pleasing to finish in 5:06:25 - around 5 minutes faster than last year!