Gold Coast Marathon

Marathon number 7

Before running the Noosa Marathon I was bold enough to enter the Gold Cost Marathon.

The GC Marathon was just 6 weeks after Newcastle on June 7 so not really enough time for recovery and building up training again but I figured I'd give it a go anyway.

Given the Noosa Marathon had gone well I had no injuries and the fatigue wasn't too bad on my body. The week afterwards I went for one midweek run and then 22k on the weekend and then started to get in to a bit of a routine wth 2 mid week runs and 1 long run on the weekend. I kept this up for a few weeks with a good 36k run 3 weeks out and 26k the following weekend.

Unfortunately the following weekend I was aiming for a 20krun but could only get 11k before the base of my foot started to give me excruciating pain, I couldn't go on and ended up hobbling home. Whilst hobbling home I had plenty of time to think about the upcoming marathon. On the plus side I knew I had enough training behind me and in theory it wouldn't matter if I didn't do another run before the marathon. On the bad side, I wouldn't be able to complete 42k if my foot was that sore.

I did plenty of ready up on what I might have done, plantar fasciitis came up as a likely prognosis. It wasn't encouraging as it would seem that I would need more than 1 week to recover. 

I left it a few days, did a gentle 5k which wasn't too bad an left my training there. 

I had decided to drive up to the Gold Coast and to take the kids with me. It's a long drive, we started on the Friday, stopped at Coffs Harbour on the way up and then drove on from there. The kids were surprisingly good on the drive. Theo had a terrible cold so we had to stop off and buy more tissues. It was a pretty easy drive but long. The only complicated bit was getting to our apartment in the Gold Coast but google sorted that out for us and we met mum. I went off to get my race pack and pick up some food for dinner. That evening we sorted out the supporter plan with mum, which was pretty easy. Our apartment was very close to the 3k and about 30k mark.

Plotting how you're going to get to the start line is always a key part of the planning process. After much googling and discussion I decided to walk to the tram, get on the tram and go from there. I shouldn't have worried so much, there were plenty of people doing the same as me so there was no trouble finding my way and I was at the start line with plenty of time. 

I was definitely feeling nervous about my foot but there wasn't much I could do at this point. I'd taken some panadol before the run, in an attempt to curb any upcoming pain. I've since learned that having panadol before running is a bad idea, can have serious health implications. 

Got in to the starting pen with thousands of other runners. I was on one of the sides, next to which there was a space for the elite runners to do their warm ups. I saw New Zealander Zane Robertson warming up, very impressive and somewhat motivating. 

About 2 minutes before the start, it started to rain and boy did it rain. It was a proper downpour and there was no hiding from it. I tried to stand so that my shoes didn't get too wet but it wasn't much good. Almost as soon as the starters gun went the rain eased up but the damage had been done. 

So we were off, and not long in to the run it was quite a sunny day. 

I got in to a reasonable rythym in the mid 5m 30s /km pace. 

After 10k I was doing alight and picked up the pace a bit and was pretty steady in the 5m 20s and I was reasonably consistent until 35k. Up until this point I was thinking I might be able to beat my Noosa time.

At 35k the wheels starting to come off. Then at 37k the run loops back towards the finish line. It's at this point you find out that you've been benefiting from a tail wind for quite some time and that it's quite a stiff breeze to run in to. Unlike Noosa I really struggled through the last couple of k's and felt some cramp coming on. Thankfully I didn't succumb and I managed to jog on to the finish.

I probably dropped about 4-5 minutes in the last 5km which was a shame but still very happy with a final time of 3h 54m 51s (according to my watch).



There was a great finish area with loads of food and drink which I made the most of before coming out to see my support crew. 

On returning to the apartment I understood why mum had been complaining about the stairs to the apartment, it was quite a hike up there!

The day after the marathon we went to Sea World. The weather wasn't so flash again but that probably kept crowds down. 

The next dday we started the drive home, not sure if we'd get all the way or need to stay somewhere overnight. We made pretty good time and we able to have a stop at the big banana in Coffs Harbour.

Noosa Marathon

Marathon number 6

Kirikiriroa marathon was number 5, it was a tough one which got me back in to longer distance running.

Not long after Kirikiriroa marathon we moved to Newcastle Australia for a new job (probably a few blog posts int that).

A few things about moving to Newcastle meant I was able to do more running. First of all there was the warmer weather. A new job gave me an opportunity to reset some of my priorities, I was able to carve out a bit more time for running. Add to this the kids were getting a older and so I was able to spend more time running and not feel guilty. Finally, the numerous waterfront running paths made it a pleasure to run.

So the conditions to get fit were right. So I started running a bit more and before long started to think about another marathon. I decided to have a go at the Newcastle Marathon which was to be run in April. Mum and Dad have planned a visit to Newcastle which would coincide with the marathon. Unfortunately, just as I was hitting my strides I strained my hamstring. Had to go to the physio who said it wasn't bad but I probably should try to run the Newcastle Marathon. So, I had to skip that one, I did still manage to run the Newcastle Half and did alright.

After Newcastle I had set my sights on Noosa and we had friends coming over from NZ, one of whom was planning on running the Noosa marathon too, so I really had to see this one through. I trained steadily but without pushing too hard. I was hoping to do sub 4 hours so needed to be fitter and faster than Kirikiriroa. I managed to get my training to a spot where I thought I'd be ok.

The trip to Noosa was an adventure in itself. Great fun for the kids.We flew from Newcastle to Brisbane and picked up a rental car in Brisbane (after a ridiculously long wait). On the road to Noosa we made it to our AirBnB where our friends were already settled in.

The day before the marathon was pretty chilled.

Marathon morning, woke up super early, I think it was 4 something, way earlier than I needed. We got to the start in good time. Did the bag check thing for the first time ever. Security seemed pretty lax but the risk was pretty low.

The marathon started at 6:15, before sunrise. Was best to get started early because it gets pretty warm in Noosa even in May.

I figured if I did every km under 5m40s then I would be just under 4hrs. The issue as always was not going to be the first 30k but the last 12. I started out with a pretty steady pace, mainly around 5m35s. A bit of a hiccup when I needed to take a toilet stop around 11k but I managed to catch up the lost time pretty quickly and was pretty consistent in the 5m30s per km territory.

Noosa marathon is very flat by the way, some very small hills for the bridges which go over the waterways. It's a 3 lap run, so support is good. There were a couple of local supporters who were particularly good and supporting every runner that went by.

It's also one of these runs where the half marathon and 10k runners start afterwards and are on the same track, this can mess with your pacing a bit but I managed to keep consistent.

I was feeling pretty good throughout the run and after getting through 30k with no trouble I thought I'd lift the tempo a little bit for the next 10k I kept my pace will under 5m30s. I was starting to feeling suitably shattered by 40km but still managed the last 2k in under 5m 40s pace and finished strongly down the chute, Strava said my time was 3h52m50s. Can't remember what my official time was, around about the same. I was thrilled with my time and while I was pooped at the end wasn't injured.

Unlike Kirikiriroa, where I was a absolutely shattered at the end, I felt at Noosa like I had run a very measured pace to give me the best time I was capable of on the day. I was pretty chuffed, and ready for the next one!