I love it when a plan comes together

So I made a promise to myself that I wasn't going to be leaving Melbourne until I'd ran a sub 3hr 30mins yesterday... and run a sub 3:30 I did. Personally I think most of it is mental... I knew I had the ability, but it's whether you want that bad enough that counts I reckon.

Anyways... so the start wasn't that great for me, but I actually think it became a benefit in the end. I was desperate for the loo, so stood waiting my turn at the start line as the gun grew ever nearer. I was going to start with the 3:30 pace group, however the gun literally went off as I came out of the loo. Not to worry, with 3,700 runners, it would take a couple of minutes before the start line was cleared. So I joined in right at the back. I actually quite liked this as it meant I could set off nice and steady, no rushing, and within a few kms, I was clear of the traffic and running nice and freely. The plan was to try and catch up with the 3:30 group at some point. Within a few kms I'd gone past 3:45, and set myself into a nice rhythm, crossing 10.5kms in 48 mins. It was soon after that I caught up with the 3:30 group and settled in a nice easy pace with those guys. The pace was good and I was surprised at how easy it felt to be honest. The sun which was predicted to be beating down on us was covered by cloud at this point, another saving grace and life was good. The next 20kms or so was pretty uneventful as we moved across halfway in 1hr 42mins 40 secs. For me I felt this was slightly too quick again and I was worried that I might pay for it a bit later on, but the good thing was that I had a minute and a half in the bank over the 3:30 group, something which I initially forgot about. We made our way down the coastal road along by the sea and life was good, however the turn back up the road brought us smack on into a head wind.

It was at 25kms I had a bit of a rough patch as I let the mental side kick in a little and told myself that I wasnt feeling great. The reality was that I was just pissed off about running into a head wind, and quite a strong one at that! However I soon kicked out of this as the sun came out and the temperature started to hot up somewhat. I hit 34kms and then things started to hurt... not in my head, but my heart rate was creeping up. I'd kept a very steady 155 bpm all the way through and now it was going up as I was having to work harder for the kms. The 3:30 group was also starting to split up slightly and at about 36kms I started to fall behind the pacer a little. I was getting annoyed as I wanted to stay with him until the end, knowing I had a 90 buffer on him from the start. However the legs started to turn into lead, the heart rate was up over 170bpm and it was becoming a struggle.

My goal was to have hit 36.5kms on 3 hours. I hit 37kms in 3hrs 2mins, and I knew that a 3:30 there was there for the taking if I wanted it. The next 5kms were about sheer mental toughness and just keeping a 5min 15sec km pace up. People were starting to drop by the wayside on the road as the temperature rose, but push on I did, just about keeping the 3:30 pacer in sight. We entered the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) for a lap around the pitch to finish (the main reason I wanted to do this marathon), and I passed the finish line on 3hrs 28mins... bonza, mission accomplished. I was well happy, and I'd blown for th 3:30 barrier out the water. The missus also had a great day too finishing her first half marathon in 2hrs 18mins, a great result for her too.

Now it's a few days of recovery before a 75km night run on Friday night!