The Perth Chevron City To Surf Marathon 2011





City To Surf Start of the 12km race Picture from PerthNow







 My last few days have been given up to this one event . But despite the wheels falling off at 25km which was expected I did finish in 3.45.55 although my Garmin shows a distance of 42.5 km . I admit the training was not ideal as I skipped a few long runs and a 5 week programme wasn't the best but it was always going to be a training run at the start of my IM programme.

I was at the start line with 10 minutes to spare despite leaving the house at 5am . But it was enough and there seem to be only 1000 people doing the Marathon. I was fairly close to the front and Robert de Castella started the race . It was a great day weather wise and the run started off at the usual fast pace .I was doing a 4.30 split but immediately eased up and managed the first 21 km with a toilet stop at under 5 min pace. The first 20km were flat and I managed to maintain my pace although there were lots of runners passing me. One guy as even running pass me and then walking every 2 km's and Í would pass him again. This cat and mouse situation continues for 30 km. The stronger runners pushed on after 21 km staying at the 5min pace. Once I got back to St Georges Terrace and the run up the hill to Kings Park ,  the pace started to slow. I was still managing a good pace of under 5.30 but once I got to the 25 km mark the lack of any long runs was showing. It was all mental from there and I found it easier running up the hills then down so I was passing the same runners who would pass me on the downhill. There were a few runners who got their pacing right and were picking up the pace in the last 10km .I definitely got chicked by lots of girls who seem to push on at the same consistent pace towards the end. I did manage to stay ahead of one runner who kept passing me on the downhill runs but slow up on the climbs .I lost her at the 39km mark.Good runners came in all shapes and sizes so you really can't pick the fast runners. It was a sure test of mental toughness in the last 7km with the hills on Hay Street and then Oceanic Drive. Just kept at it but the times were getting slower. I wish I had done at least one 30km run .Not having done a run longer than 1.45 had an impact at least in the way I paced my self in the 2nd half of the Marathon.

But there just wasn't enough hours to fit everything in without getting too tired or  injured. .The nutrition went well and I had 5 gels and lots of water and Powerade at the aid stations. I have improved significantly since my last attempt 2 years ago with a new PB by 20 minutes. I have done 3 Stand alone Marathons and the first was in 5.02 . So despite not being able to maintain the pace of 5min km for the entire race I am heading in the right direction.

Just need to get the IM training out of the way to focus on a Marathon.