Melbourne Half Marathon

Didn't go to plan unfortunately. However, despite my apparent failure, I was surprisingly not too disappointed. Felt great warming up, but was still slightly apprehensive after feeling flat for the past two weeks. In hindsight, I stuffed up by running too aggressive on my long run two weeks ago the day after a hard Sydney Striders 10km race at Homebush. Holding 3:44 min/km pace in that heat following a hard 10km race was stupid. I stubbornly put the lingering fatigue and drop in performance down to the mini heatwave, but this all come to a head the following Thursday when I broke my 3 months of consistent training. Didn't get back to where I was in time for Melbourne.

Ran with Neil Pearson and two other Victorians for the initial 13-14km. Held onto 3:17 min/km for the first 7km or so, which was slightly too fast. Didn't want to run solo, so held on despite my body requesting otherwise. Got though the 10km mark in 33:20-something, but from here it was apparent that a sub-70 was not going to happen, as this pace was definitely not sustainable. Held with the three other, along with another Victorian who caught up, for another 4km, but at this stage we were averaging 3:22 min/km - each kilometre split starting to blow out further and further. Then that was it, I had had enough. Initially decided to catch a tram back before realising I didn't have my MyKi card with me. Decided to jog back until I found or came up with another method of getting back to the MCG. Found a toilet along the way, and decided to make a quick detour. Walked around the block only to find that all the doors were closed with a sign reading 'Out of Order.' I continued to jog back towards the MCG. I then heard a voice behind me yell out 'come on Lewis!' I turned around and to my surprise saw Ken Gibson. I swore he was in the pack in front of me, but it turns out that he has a body double who also runs in an ACT singlet with the same haircut (i.e. bald). Ran with Ken for a bit, telling him that I was cooked. His right knee was playing up, so he had to stop and stretch. Taking the opportunity for another quick break, I stopped and kept him company while he did so. He got back into it, deciding to run and leave me behind (I had totally lost any passion at this stage). Ended up jogging back to the finish in the end, crossing the line in 74:40 something. In hindsight, not actually a bad time at all considering that I only ran two-thirds of the race with my heart.

Do I regret this? Absolutely not! And that is why I think I wasn't too upset. I put it all on the line to give the sub-70 a shot. It didn't work, and I suffered the consequences. I would have been more disappointed running more conservatively and finishing in 71-72. As it turns out, the best time in our pack of four was a mid-71. Neil ended up going mid-72. Furthermore, looking at the final results, runners such as Neil Berry crossed the line in the high 69's, runners who are in a completely different league to me. So all in all, it appears that the elusive sub-70 would most definitely never had have happened today.

Great to see some big PB's by some of my great running friends. Great effort by Matt Hudson in his first ever half marathon, running 66:59 finishing sixth outright. Damien Simpson impressed with a 76 minute half, as did Rachel with a new PB of 1:46 despite insisting that she was not race fit at all! And who can forget the courageous Mo, his first race back since an almost career ending knee injury earlier this year. The guy is the embodiment of a true champion runner who never gives up.

An easy week is planned before returning back to business. I guess running is unique compared with other sports. People always ask 'why don't you have a break for a month or two?' To me, running isn't a chore or sport, it's a lifestyle - and it's my religion! Never let a bad race define who you are!