18 September 2016
The day before the marathon caught a flight to Sydney in anticipation of a great run, and with some trepidation, as the weather outlook was not good, with heavy rain forecast.
Picked up race pack from Sydney Town Hall then checked into our accommodation, which was handy to Wynyard Station and convenient to get to race start point.
Took it easy for the rest of the afternoon wandering around The Rocks then wood-fired pizza at The GPO in Martin Place before turning in for an early night.
Woke to a very early alarm (4:45am) to have a pre-race feed of crumpets with jam (no toaster so these weren't the best eating), black coffee with glucose, a banana, an Up&Go breakfast drink and some apple juice. Then got into running gear and checked the rain radar on the phone - it looked promising, with no sign of rain in the Sydney area at this time. I spent some quiet time on visualisation - no nerves but a tinge of excitement.
Took the train from Wynyard across the Harbour Bridge (watching the runners in the HM go by) to the starting point at Bradford Park, Milsons Point, arriving at a bit after 6:15 for the 7am start time. It was cloudy but no sign of rain. I had a gel with some water, then a quick pit stop at the portaloos and some dynamic stretching before heading to the starting area on Alfred St. Well organised marshalling ensured wave starts worked smoothly.
I was in wave A (sub 3:45) so soon after the gun I was across the start line and heading up Alfred St then making a loop turn onto the Bradfield Hwy and up onto the Harbour Bridge. What a spectacular way to start the race! It was a thrill to run the Bridge. The wave starts ensured that it wasn't too crowded so I could take in the Harbour views without being jostled around.
Off the Bridge, looped onto the Cahill Expressway and across the top of Circular Quay with more spectacular views, before turning the corner at the edge of the Bontanic Gardens then onto Macquarie Street. This led us straight down the middle of Hyde Park, across a very bouncy temporary bridge across Park St. Out of Hyde Park, we were heading up Oxford St towards Darlinghurst. Looped past the SCG, then on to run a couple of laps around Centennial Park. Hit the halfway mark coming out of the Park then backtracked to Hyde Park.
Drink stations were regularly spaced along the course and I began taking fluids and fuel from early in the race, having half a gel and a cup of water at nearly all stations, sometimes mixing it up with a cup of electrolytes to drink instead.
Out of Hyde Park again, we headed up Phillip St and on to Alfred St, on ground level, at Circular Quay. I was feeling good when I spotted my "support crew", Kerryn and Ben, on the corner of George St and gave them a big wave as I ran past, on the way to The Rocks and on to Hickson Rd to take us under the Harbour Bridge and round the corner into Darling Harbour. There was some very light rain now, which was refreshing. We took an inland route through Pyrmont, before turning at the foot of ANZAC Bridge to head back along the waterfront. We had passed the 30km mark by now and I was still feeling ok and seemed to be holding a steady pace. Winding along the water's edge through Darling Harbour was picturesque but by 37km I was hurting but still able to push through (perhaps feeling in a bit better shape, at this stage, than previous marathons).
Back on Hickson Rd, under the Harbour Bridge I was turning for home at Dawes Point with Circular Quay and the finish line, in front of the Opera House, in sight. With less than 2kms to go, this was such a boost and I found an extra gear to kick hard for the finishing line. My support crew were cheering me on from the sideline, a few hundred metres from the finish line, but I was in the zone and totally focused on getting to that finish line, so I didn't notice them. I caught up with Kerryn and Ben in the marathon finishers area, under the steps of the Opera House, and gave them both big hugs and kisses. My calves and hamstrings were screaming, but I was elated - another marathon done, a great run and new PR of 3:42!
