On the surface of it, Melbourne Marathon looked like another good result. 3 hours and 15 mins, cheeky little sprint finish in the MCG, sun was shining, had a beer afterwards, all is well, right?
Well, not quite...
One of the key things that I try to instil into the runners that I coach, is to "finish strong.” I can already hear a few groans from those runners reading this…
To show you what I mean, take a second to think about the different feelings in these two scenarios…
Sydney Marathon (Marathon 13) was a really tough experience, both on the day and in the week after. I felt like I had lost fitness, re-injured an old achilles problem and gotten very glum in the process of it all. Not ideal.
Fast forward 3 weeks and the 17 marathons fun bus was heading over to Western Australia. This was my first ever trip to W.A and I was travelling there to run Busselton Marathon on Sunday 8 October. Whilst I still had the nagging achilles issue that was stopping me from running, I was grateful to be feeling way more positive in the lead up to this one. I was worried about my ability to complete the run, but positive nevertheless. I was particularly worried when I discovered the day before that I hadn’t actually signed up to the run at all! OOPS!! I am starting to believe that there is such a thing as 'runners brain’…. its a thing….
Last weekend was awesome...
Marathon 12 was back on home turf, running 11 laps around the Tan Track in Melbourne, following some time away for Alice Springs Marathon the previous weekend. I was really pleased with what I had done in Alice Springs and my aim for this marathon was simply to improve on that time of 3:22, only 7 days later. I enjoy the challenge of backing up marathons one week after another and it gives the second run a bit more purpose. I seem to get that little bit more determined to not be slower or fade at all. It’s like a giant 'negative split' I suppose.
On race morning, I had woken up early to the sound of torrential rain and howling wind at about 5 am. Bugger. The thought crossed my mind to just drop the run, eat lots, drink wine and simply reschedule, but the thought of then trying to fit another marathon into the remaining 4 months of the year, persuaded me to get my arse out of bed and get cracking on some coffee and breakfast.
Well its been a while since I wrote last, but marathon 11 is now done and dusted! I’m at the airport in Alice Springs, the sun is shining and I am on my way home, back to Melbourne. I am growing to like this place. This is my second trip here in a couple of months and I am starting to learn my way around, meet new people, see new things and feel a little more comfortable.
The last marathon I ran was Cairns Marathon on 9th July, so this was the longest break so far within the 17 marathons journey. I definitely needed it after nursing myself through 3 marathons in 3 weeks back in June / July.
