Last Saturday, I ran the Gold Coast Half-Marathon. My preparation since my multiple lurgies in early March/April went as well as I could have hoped for. I built up to several long runs over 20km, topping out at a 24km long run three weeks before the race. I mostly hit my goal paces on my workouts and did all my scheduled runs apart from a couple in the taper since we were at K’Gari, and it wasn’t conducive to running due to the dingoes and the terrain. I had a small blip on my last long a week before the race. We’d packed up to leave for K’Gari on the Friday, and I wanted to squeeze in the run before we left. I forgot about keeping something to eat before my run, and all I could find was a gel. I completed the 15km, but I was supposed to finish with 5km of goal pace and couldn’t hold it after the 13km mark. I wasn’t too concerned though because I knew it was due to lack of fuel.

Friday we went to the race expo and picked up our bibs. Then I went for a swim, did some work and we had friends over for takeaway pasta. Then I checked the course map to work out my fuelling timing. Previously I’ve avoided gels due to the high fructose but a running friend who is also a dietician said she uses Winnings gels which are just glucose. I’d practised with them in Noosa, and they worked a treat. The consistency is just right to come out fairly easily from the pack, but not so easily that it doesn’t stay in the packet when holding it. I like to have the gel over a distance of about 500m before a drink stop, so I don’t want it coming out of the packet all over my hand while I’m running. In Noosa, I also practised running and drinking water from the cups on the course. You need to pinch it, then drink. Looking at the course map, I saw there were drink stations before 7 km and just after the 14km, which would work out perfectly for having a gel just prior. Both drink stations also had a second water station not long after, so I could get a bit more water in after the gel. I also carried a 150ml flask of electrolyte drink which I ended up using towards the end of the race. We organised all our gear, pinned on our bibs, and I set my alarm for 4:15am.

The next morning I woke up and ate two pieces of toast with almond butter and a banana. We got ready and left home at 5 am to walk to the start. Once there, we dropped our bag, and I did some light jogging and drills to warm up. The race started at 6:15 am, and we got in the starting chute about 6 am.

AN ASIDE: I’ve also been really careful to place myself in the start chute at a position that I think corresponds to how fast I’m going to run. For example, if I’m in the B zone which is for 1:50-2:00 finish time and plan on running 1:55, I put myself halfway down the chute. It’s clear that most people do not do this and I’ve been caught on numerous times stuck behind slow runners. I mean, if you’re walking at the 2km mark, put yourself at the very back of all the zones, and if you can only run 6:00min/km pace, don’t go in the front of the B zone. GRRR!! Rant over.

Anyway, this year, I was not making that mistake, so I decided to position myself not far behind the 1:50 pace group. Since it was likely they would not be going too fast in the first couple of kilometres, I planned to run with them through the traffic and let them pull away slowly after that. There was a group of about five runners in front of me, and after a while, they began to discuss their race plan. “Let’s start out at 5:40 min/km pace for the first 10 km and then see if we can lift to 5:30 min/km pace for the rest.” For context, 1:50 finish time is 5:13 min/km pace. Why were they standing there??? I quietly sidestepped around them and positioned myself in front of the group. I did not want to get stuck behind a group of five runners doing 5:40’s.

The conditions were perfect – fairly cold, light wind from the west and light cloud cover for most of the race. The course is flat and fast. The American runner Keira D’Amato finished in 1:06:39, breaking the course record and setting a new US record for this distance. My goals were not so ambitious. I hoped to finally get my sub 1:55 finish, but at least improve on my half-marathon PB of 1:55:56 (5:30 min/km). I was feeling a little bit tired in the morning but I still felt up to giving it a good crack. I planned to keep my pace at 5:20-5:30, and I was largely successful. I was pretty impressed with my consistent pacing for this race. There were only a couple of kilometres outside my goal range. The heart rate graph tells an accurate story of how I felt through the race. The first eight or so kilometres were pretty cruisy before my heart rate moved into what I’d consider my half-marathon zone. At about 12km, I started to feel the effort before it got really tough at the 16km mark. By then, I began telling myself at the start of each kilometre, “Just get one more at pace.” At nineteen kilometres, it really hurt, you can see the twentieth kilometre was not great, but I knew I had a bit of time up my sleeve and pulled myself together for the last push to the finish line.

Another aside: When you turn into the finish chute, there is an arch not far in that says “250m to go.” If it is 250m, it is the longest 250m I’ve ever run. The conclusion among everyone I know is that it is about 500m. The added problem is that there is a turn about 250m from the sign, so you can’t see how far you really have to go. This year I did not fall for their tricks, but I still turned the corner, got halfway to the finish line and wondered whether my legs were going to make it.

The good news is my legs did make it, and I finished in 1:54:37.