Sydney Marathon Race Report - 18th September 2011

So hey, what follows is a kind of long race report. Maybe more detail than required but hey, I started this blog in order to help me remember as much of the experience as possible. There are other posts which I wrote leading up to the run as well but they are probably a bit boring if you're not me. Mostly me just reporting on km's I had run that week and anything else running-related that came to mind. Anyway, the race reports starts here:

Pre-Run

My alarm sounded at 5.10am. I was half-awake already after a restless night spent partly sleeping and partly in some kind of irrational panic. Having experienced some sort of bug that had made me achy and tired in the four days leading up to the marathon, I was stressing over whether I should even run. Crazy thinking sprung from a tired and nervous mind was what it really was but in the middle of the night the mind has a tendency to run away a little I guess.

I turned off the alarm and lay there for a couple of minutes, knowing full well I’d be running in a bit over 2 hours and just hoping everything would work out nicely. Then I heard Mum’s alarm go off as well and it was time to get up. (Quick explainer: Mum and Dad were travelling with me as my race crew - we shared a room. We all got through it relatively unscathed.).

Clothes were thrown on quickly and I dialled 9 to speak to hotel reception. I explained that the concierge from the previous night had said it would be cool if I handed over some oats and some milk for someone to heat up in the hotel kitchen. Instead of being told that someone would be around to pick up the food in a moment, I was told that the concierge and reception staff were all busy organising taxis and other transport for other race participants and nothing was going to be possible for 45 mins at the minimum. Stunned by this response I hung up. I had to eat before the marathon. There was no two ways about it. I HAD TO EAT! Giving the body a fuel top-up in the morning is really important and there really wasn’t time to be seeking out something else to eat.

Mum got on the phone and spoke to reception. She made the point more forcefully than I did yet still didn’t seem to get anywhere. They acknowledged a breakdown in the process but said there was nothing they could do. Mum explained a complaint would be lodged and that was that.

Dad then decided we could cook the porridge ourselves. We had no stovetop or microwave but he decided there was no reason why we couldn’t cook the porridge in the hotel’s el-cheapo plastic kettle. After explaining to us why he wouldn’t get electrocuted while doing it, he began.  Oats, milk and water were added to the jug and he turned it on. 10minutes later – perfect porridge! By this time the manager had dropped by our door with a sorry, some hot water, a bowl, some milk and a spoon which I was careful to collect at the door so he didn’t see the weird little experiment in boy scout cooking that Dad had concocted. So it all worked out well! Dad made some great porridge, Mum’s complaint meant I had a bowl to put it in and a spoon to eat it with and I was able to get fed a food I knew would digest well and give me energy for the run. Nice work from both of my parents to get the whole breakfast issue sorted! 36 years on from my birth and they are still coming through with the goods!

All that remained before I was out the door was to tape up my nipples. 42.195kms of a bloke’s running shirt rubbing up against his nipples has led to many scenes at the finish line of two streaks of blood running down his shirt. I was determined not to have bleeding nips by the end of the run. So the night before I had shaved my chest.  I’ve never done that before but there was going to be no attaching bandaids over my nipples with even the minimal chest hair I have going on.

That night I learned that it’s really difficult to shave around the nipples. Think of it as like the miniature version of trying to mow the weeds around a small tree without accidentally carving up the tree.  It’s do-able but slow going in order not to cut the very nipple your trying to save from pain later on. I think that would be irony right there. Anyway, with mum’s help I attached bandaids over the nips and then over that I attached a big adhesive patch in order to stop the bandaids from falling off. It’s very handy having a mother who deals so much with wound-care in her work as a nurse at times like these!

Fed and protected from nipple-erosion, I was out the door soon after.  It was warm even at 6am that morning. Close to 20 degrees Celsius. A short walk to the train, and I was over the bridge in Kirribilli and in the marathon starting area. I had an hour to spare before the run began. The starting area consisted of a large grassed area on a slight slope, covered in people stretching, drinking water, eating bananas and looking nervous. At the far end was an impressive sea of portaloos covering a very large area. So many portaloos and yet the queues were still easily over 10mins long. That’s a long time to wait for the privilege of having your nose insulted by an unholy smell that's surely the devils work.

I don’t want to linger too long on those toilets but lets just say that a combination of nerves plus me drinking plenty of water in order to counter the warm conditions meant three toilet trips, with the final one punctuated by a woman telling her boyfriend who was queued up behind me to hurry up and that he probably didn’t need to go at all cos it was “probably just flatus”. The poor guy didn’t need that broadcast to the whole line!

Wandering around the starting area, I realised how tense I was.  My mood was low, I was feeling a bit unwell and I was wondering if I’d even make it through the race. It was time to snap myself out of it. I remembered the words I’d told myself earlier: “Enjoy yourself!”. I looked around, and tried to see things in a positive light and it actually worked! So many people all about to do something they are passionate about – such a positive environment! Then I thought about all the sponsorship I had received and that made me feel great as well. I saw a whole bunch of Japanese people who had travelled to Sydney just so they could run the Sydney marathon. Some of them were actually wearing some sort of “running kimono”. All of this helped me to smile, relax and start to soak up the feeling of just enjoying what I was doing.

The Run

My final toilet stop was completed about a minute before the starting gun went off. I walked quickly to get to the big crowd of people ready to get moving, heard the starters gun and we all began shuffling towards the start line. It took something like four minutes just to reach the start line. Plenty of runners were in front of me. I didn’t care. I looked around, grinned at some random Japanese bloke nearby, chuckled at a guy dressed in a full Spiderman outfit, stopped to re-tie my shoelace which probably didn’t need re-tying, and then finally we passed over the start line.

The run started smoothly. Lots of runners packed fairly tightly together as we made our way through narrow areas of road that led us upwards towards the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It actually came as quite a surprise when I found myself on the bridge and half way towards the middle without actually realising I had stepped onto it. I think it was shortly after the bridge that I spoke briefly to a grizzled looking older guy who announced that he was running in marathon number 208. Those running nearby gave the guy a standing/running ovation. He reckoned he was number 4 in Australia for most marathons run. Still something like 100 marathons away from first place, he joked he wasn’t chasing the top spot because he didn’t fancy saying goodbye to another marriage!

From early on in the run, it was warm. I figured the Sydney heat was likely to be the biggest challenge to me running the marathon in under 4hrs.  So anytime where there was shade, I made a habit of removing my cap to let my head cool off. Then when I’d get back into an area where there was direct sun, on the cap would go.

You should definitely have a plan when you run a marathon. Mine was to run steadily at a pace of 5mins and 34seconds per kilometre for the whole distance. This would see me into a time of about 3hrs 55 mins or so. That gave me a little leeway if I struggled towards the end so that I should still finish in under 4 hrs. I was able to maintain this speed until somewhere around the mid-20 kilometre mark. At this point my legs were starting to feel a bit heavy. I started to wonder if perhaps Plan B would need to be enacted but I was stubbornly hanging onto that idea of finishing under 4hrs. I plodded along, trying to maintain the pace but the heat was really starting to get to me. The course took us through so many different areas of inner Sydney. You’d think that running through a lot of parkland should mean lots of shade but it certainly didn’t feel like it.  There were long stretches of running on the road too. Black, hot road with no shade and no end in sight – I hated those bits. Really not fun.

I reckon the first person I saw collapsed on the side of the road being attended to was somewhere around the late 20’s mark of the run. Lying on his side, looking dazed, someone rushing over with water… This became a too-common occurrence. The St Johns Ambulance crew were kept very busy. It got worse as it went along. Seeing that sort of thing does play with the mind a little. Especially the mind of someone who is about to run further than he ever has before and is somewhat fearful of what that is going to feel like! I would wonder what was the cause of that person passing out. Was it a sudden thing? Was it his first run or was he a professional? Could I be next...?

It was while running along a particularly hot and unshaded stretch of Anzac Parade that I realised it was time to reassess my goals. As much as I stared at my watch and willed my average speed to stay where I wanted it, I could see it creeping away from me. It was proving to be too hard to stick to the pace I needed. At that point I let myself slow down a little. My Plan B wasn’t much of a plan really. It was to finish without walking and hopefully maintain a “reasonable speed”. So that’s what I did. I slowed a little, made a small pitstop at a portaloo to get rid of some of the copious amounts of water I was drinking and then settled into a slightly slower but still steady run.

The second half of the marathon is kind of blurry. I remember being so happy every time a water stop would be coming up. Sometimes I would down one of the energy gels I was carrying before downing a water, other times it was just straight water. At every stop I would pour a second cup of water over my head, let out a shocked yelp as the cold water ran down my back, and then the hat would go back on and off I’d go. A highlight was when I saw one of the volunteers holding a big jug of water and pouring it all over a guy. I ran up to her and copped a quick soaking and it was bliss. Anything to cool down!

Struggle Town

I recall reaching the 32km mark. At this stage I remembered that they say that a marathon doesn’t really begin until the last 10kms. That’s when it really tests you apparently. I must have been fresh from a water stop because I remember thinking that I was actually feeling not too bad and that I still had a fair bit left in me.  I think I even thought “hey maybe this marathon caper isn’t so bad after all!”. Of course it got tougher before I got done. After making our way back up Anzac Parade we passed back through Circular Quay where a reasonable sized crowd was cheering on the faster marathoners who were actually finishing up while most of us still had a good 8-10kms to go. It was still a rush hearing that crowd though! We then started going over a series of road flyovers, around bends, and through to Pyrmont which was slightly west of the city and then right back the way we had come. I didn't really enjoy that part of the run at all. Seeing roads and ramps and hot black streets and very little scenery made it seem really bleak. Lots of people seemed to be walking by this stage. More people seemed to be getting helped on the side of the road after collapsing too. I was determined not to walk so kept running apart from drink stops when I would slow to a walk while I downed water and drenched myself again. The highlight of that area was definitely seeing my parents at about the 35km mark and then again at about the 39km mark on the way back. It’s amazing the lift that seeing Mum and Dad gave me.

Cap in hand and a thumbs up for the camera.
Note the spare watch on my right wrist in case the left one stopped working! :)

 

Running under the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Another memory I have of the last 10kms is how slow it seemed to go. It. Took. Forever! I’d keep checking my watch and would be stunned that I was still running the same kilometre I had been running seemingly ages ago! I guess that’s a sign I was tiring.

I plodded along further and eventually rounded a corner and could see the Opera House across the bay. It still seemed a bit far away but it was nice to see it as that's where the finish line was. Then as I kept running I would look for it and I seemed to be getting further away from it. Having to go around the bay to get to it rather than just swim across was really annoying! That said, the crowds from Circular Quay all the way to the finish line were great. Lots of cheering, lots of encouragement. I probably didn’t soak it all in as well as I could have because at this point all I wanted was to stop. The legs were so so very tired. I knew I was going to make it at that point though and that felt good. On that last stretch, through the noise I thought I heard my name called out (thanks Loz!) but I couldn’t even look around at that point. Knackered and in sight of the finish line, I had to keep moving. Right near the end I recall overtaking a guy who was limping heavily. Half clutching his leg, he’d torn a hamstring I think. Still, he was working through that pain regardless. Gutsy performance! Finally the finish line arrived and I crossed it. Relief was the number one feeling mixed with some happiness at having achieved this thing that had been my aim for a long time. Mainly though, I was just so glad not to have to run anymore. I was finally done. My time was 4:02:09. A couple of minutes over my goal time of 4 hours but with the heat that day, I'm very happy with it.

Da Finish Line

Post-Run

Not really knowing what to do next, I followed a competitor who had crossed the finish line before me and then someone appeared in front of me and put a medal around my neck. I then stopped and looked around and thought grumpily to myself “Why are all these people standing around in the sun?!!?!?” It was beyond my comprehension that anyone in their right mind would spend one more moment in the sun than they had to. I walked towards some shade under the Opera House and found a plastic chair. I took a seat and it was the best sit-down I’ve ever had.  A slight cool breeze blew past me and my tired angry legs thanked me for not putting them through any more. Oh man it felt good! A few minutes of sitting quietly on that chair drinking cold water and looking around really revived me. I chatted to a woman who was sitting with her family nearby. She had completed the run in under 3hrs and yet was saying how tough the run was due to the hills. Being from Singapore, she wasn’t bothered by the heat. I was the opposite. I hadn’t been overly bothered by the hills but the heat was nasty! I later found out it had reached 30 degrees in Sydney that day. A far cry from the Melbourne wintry weather I'd been training in.

After a bit of a chat I decided I should find my clothing bag and retrieve my mobile phone. For some strange reason the area where the baggage collection took place was what seemed like a few hundred metres away. It probably wasn’t quite that long but when you’re shuffling along like an old man in a nursing home, a 5 minute walk seems like an eternity. It probably did me good though.

I picked up my baggage, and made my way back to find Mum and Dad who when I spoke to them on the phone had still been waiting for me at the finish line. Next stop was the free massage tent which in my mind had the power to feel even better than sitting down. It was closed. They were so busy that once they reached a waiting time of an hour and a half, they just said no more. So I had to content myself with some stretching and then we headed off home.

After stopping off on the way home to buy a 5kg bag of ice, it was back to the hotel where I showered and then dived into a cold bath which I then added the bag of ice to. I then sat there as the icy cold water seeped into my muscles (in theory reducing swelling and thus helping recovery) for 15 minutes while chatting to Sarah on the phone to distract myself.

And that brings me very close to the end of the adventure really. A nap followed after which I woke up and wondered if my legs might ever be warm again.  Some food and then some walking around Circular Quay rounded out the day nicely (and warmed up the legs again!). I slept like a log that night and woke up the next day feeling not nearly as sore as I had expected! A flight home back to Melbourne early afternoon was uneventful apart from Mum (once again!) being checked for explosives after walking through the metal detectors. I’m not sure what those explosive-check guys look for when they target people but Mum clearly has a look about her that screams potential shoe-bomber. If you’re ever planning on smuggling anything at all across international borders, don’t ask Mum to help out - she'll get busted for sure.

So that brings me to the end of the story. We all made it home, my legs got more sore before they got better, and the whole trip up to Sydney was a great success. I want to say thanks to so many people for helping me get there! Mum and Dad obviously. It was great spending time with them in Sydney and sharing the whole experience with them. To everyone who sponsored me - I made the decision to do the whole Fundraising thing quite late so was amazed to find that $1252 was donated all up! So many generous friends and family! Thanks heaps! For all the people who put up with me having to run instead of doing other fun things, thanks to you too!

To sum it all up I’d say it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, I'd recommend it heartily. Now that some time has passed since the marathon, I’m feeling pretty keen on tackling the Melbourne Marathon next year in the hopes of bettering my time. Can’t wait!

Cheers and thanks for reading to the end!
Damo

Week 16 and Final Thoughts

Ok, so only 3 days until the big run. Starting to get a bit jumpy. I saw some running on tv today and felt that familiar nervous pit in my stomach. Thing is, I think I'm less nervous right now than I was going into my first half marathon. Maybe that's partly because I've been trying to get organised and have been fairly busy. Enough other things going on to keep the mind off the run. I've also felt a bit achy over the last couple of days. Like a cold is coming but it's not arrived yet. I feel better now than I have in the last two days so I think I should actually be good by either tomorrow or Saturday. Just in time. It's meant less running this week than I would have liked but hey, it's tapering time this week so it's not going to hurt too much.

Fundraising is going well. Some big donations have come in and hopefully more to come. Any donation is awesome as far as I'm concerned and I've already raised more than I thought I would so I'm really pleased. I reckon it's going to be great motivation. Something to use to get through those final kilometres. The main worry for me at the moment is the heat. It's predicted to be 26 degrees on Sunday. This could scuttle my plans to get in under 4 hrs. I guess I'll set out with the aim to run it at that speed and then if I'm struggling I'm can slow it down a little. I'll play it by ear I guess.

Week 16 distance covered: 38 km

Rambling about injuries plus Week 14 and 15 stats

So I've been a bit slack updating this blog on what should have been a weekly basis. A mix of busy-ness and slackness I guess. So I've got some catching up to do.

The other day I pondered the words of "urban poet/philosopher" Snoop Dogg who once said:

"If it ain't one thing
It's a mutherf..kin' 'nother..."

While Snoop was bemoaning the occasionally tough life of a pimp/gangster/playa, his words also apply to training for a marathon I reckon. You're travelling along ok for a little while, injury-free, feeling good... and then suddenly something will come out of nowhere to put that to the test. A couple of weeks ago it came along in the form of a rolled ankle. I was running at night along the Yarra and transferred from the grass onto the running path and didn't notice a little drop. Next thing I know my foot is side-on and I'm stumbling all over the place. I pulled up straight away and walked to the tram which was luckily not far away.
To cut a long story short, I iced it, rested it, even elevated it and it came up very well. Was back running in about a day and a half. It gave me a bit of a scare though.

It leads me to wonder what else could go wrong? I've been fairly lucky to be honest. Injuries have been minor and fixable so far. Will a cold get me? I'm half expecting it. The last thing I want is to catch a cold with a week left until the marathon yet lots of people around me seem to be coming down with one. I'm dealing with that by plenty of precautionary hand washing and making sure I get 8 hours sleep per night. All the boring stuff that is supposed to help I guess.

I'm now well into the taper phase of my program. Some runners don't like tapering because it means they can't run as far as they might like. However I'm loving it! It appeals to the lazy side of me I think. Today I thought I had to run 8kms and then when I looked at my program I saw it was only 6km. I was pretty damn pleased! It meant I could eat dinner earlier! That's a win right there! I'm a lazy person trapped inside a runner.

Here are the stats for my last couple of weeks...
Week 14 distance covered: 58 km (missed a run which meant the kms were down a bit)
Week 15 distance covered: 56.55 km (tapering so the kms come down - nice!)

Week 13 Wrap-up and Half Marathon ramble

I was about 7 kilometres into the Sandy Point Half Marathon. It was about 8.25am on a clear and crisply cold morning. Warmth had crept back into my hands after a chilly start and my legs had gotten the message that it was running time now and they were steadily pumping along even though a little tired. As I settled into my stride, I became more aware of my surroundings. That's when I noticed. I could hear the quiet. Nothing was breaking that quiet apart from the sound of runners footfalls and breathing. Nothing. For a few precious moments, the world had stopped making noise apart from the sounds of people running. No cars, no talking, not even any sounds of the waves on the nearby beach. It really stood out for me because moments like that come along so rarely. There was something special about it. It couldn't have happened earlier in the run as there was sporadic chatter between runners going on. It couldn't have happened later in the run because of spectators cheering and runners motivating each other to continue. It seemed like 7kms into a run on a cold day under a perfect blue sky on a free-from-cars road was the sweet spot for producing just that kind of serenity.

The run itself went very well. My aim was to run it at "marathon pace" which meant going slower than I'd like which in itself was a challenge. I spent a large part of the run checking my watch (I got a replacement watch sent to me on the Thursday before the run) to make sure I wasn't running too fast and regularly had to slow myself down when I would discover I'd gotten a bit carried away and was running a tad too quickly. I guess I was fortunate the run wasn't too hard because I was surviving on a bit less than 5.5 hours sleep due to a party the previous night combined with an early starting time for the run. My legs also started out feeling a bit tired due to a fair bit of running that week plus a busy day the day before which I spent most of standing up. Still, adrenalin and the urge to compete always kicks in when needed and I don't think it made much difference at all.



The race itself was a good one due to the surroundings. While we couldn't see too much of the sea while running on Beach road, the lack of cars really added to the atmosphere for me. It was also entertaining later on in the race when there were spectators on the side of the road with young kids who were holding out their hands for high fives with anyone who was happy to hand them out. I dealt out few. I also enjoyed watching one guy who seemed to be muttering to himself while he was running. He had a slightly lopsided running style as if he was trying to turn left but wasn't and he kept grunting under his breath and it really sounded like he was saying actual words. Weird dude.

I ended up running it in 1hr 55mins and 22sec. I was hoping for just under 2 hours so that wasn't too bad in the end. It made me realise how difficult it is to maintain a steady pace. It'll require vigilance at marathon time to make sure I don't come out of the blocks too fast.

Week 13 distance covered: 76.1 km (a tad inflated due to my long run being on a Monday!)

Foot in a Bucket

So last night I started an email to a friend with the line:
"It's now 12.10am and I'm sitting at my desk with my left foot in a bucket of cold water."
It's probably one of the better starts to an email I've written. My foot was in a bucket of water because I was giving it a faux ice bath. I didn't have any ice available after my run and I really couldn't face getting into the bath up to my waist because it was late, so I decided to just soak one foot and then the other into a bucket of cold water and hope that would help reduce the swelling in my tired, overworked and slightly rebellious feet. Hard to say if it worked or not but I'd like to think the placebo effect alone can give me a bit of a boost.

The reason I was soaking my foot was that last night I finally ran 30kms. It took me a freakin' age and I still can't quite account for all of the time I spent. Unless I've got my times wrong, I think it took me 3.5 hours. Now there were some toilet stops, breaks for taking on water and energy gels, plus a good stretch session at the half way point but still, it seems like that took longer than I reckon it did. No matter, I finished the distance, I did it with no issues from my right foot and at the end I did it with energy to spare and a smile (well half smile, half grimace) on my face. I reckon I was doing it tougher at the 25km mark than I was at the 30km mark. By the end I was having to tell myself to slow down because I was getting a reasonable pace going (I was nearing that finish line!) and there's no need to be going fast and adding extra stress to the joints.

What I reckon I learned from that run was firstly that my feet felt better when running with more of a forward lean so that I was landing mid-foot rather than heel first. When I started landing heel first too often, I would sometimes get the slightest twinge of pain. I would then adjust my stride and all was good again. I also got a lot of confidence from the run. It's great to be able to finish a run and still have energy to spare. I only took two energy gels too. I thought i would have used more than that but closer to 30km, I was actually starting to feel a little like I wouldn't mind a quick vomit. The thought of taking on an energy gel didn't appeal at all which surprised me because they are a very tasty chocolate flavour and I usually really look forward to getting stuck into them!

The listening selection for the run began with three podcast episodes of History Of Rome. Fascinating stuff! Then it was onto all of the songs on my phone on random. It bounced from Wu Tang Clan across to The Walkmen and then over to Regina Spektor. All over the shop! Finally I finished up with the new Bon Iver album in an effort to help me slow myself down.

Right, well now I've gotta get the body right for Sunday's Sandy Point Half Marathon. I really hope I get my Garmin watch back before then!

Week 12 Wrap-up

Ok, so last week it was my left foot giving me trouble. This time it was my right foot's turn.

It started on Thursday night when I was supposed to run 16kms. The run was going along nicely. Firstly, I had seen two rats at different points along the run. Now I don't care what the animal is, when I spot an animal - ok maybe not a bird- then I have a great need to stop and check it out. For the second rat I actually had to wait a moment because all I initially saw was a tail disappearing into the dark murky water of the Yarra so I had to satisfy my curiosity that what I had seen really did belong to a rat. I figured the little bugger couldn't hold it's breath forever so I stood there waiting and sure enough, about 20 seconds later, up it jumped and onto a concrete structure near a bridge. I could go on about the rats but perhaps that's enough.  I was also enjoying the run as I had listened to an interesting podcast about the rioting that had been taking place in London in the past week and had just moved onto a different podcast all about the history of ancient Rome. Both educational and great for making the time pass quickly.  Then not long after seeing the second rat, at about the 7.5km mark, I felt sharp shooting pains coming up through the middle of my right foot. I pulled up very quickly and hobbled for a bit. Unable to place my foot on the ground squarely without a repeat of the shooting pain, I started trying to walk with the side of my runner. I decided that was the end of my run as I didn't want to risk making it any worse by continuing so made my way towards Richmond Station which I knew wasn't far away. Within a couple of minutes, I was able to walk normally again. So I guess that means it's not broken. I ended up catching the tram home and icing the foot.
On Friday it was a day off from running so I took it easy, did some more icing of the foot and hoped it would be right by Saturday. It gave me no pain at all which was a good sign.
On Saturday I tested the foot out by running 8km in the evening. It went alright. I could sort of feel some sort of slight soreness underneath my foot but it didn't really give me any pain or anything.
Today I was supposed to run 30km at around lunchtime. I didn't do it though. I just didn't feel confident enough of it surviving the stresses I would have put it under. So instead I ended up riding 10kms fast so that at least I got my heart rate up.
My plan now is to run the 30km tomorrow. Depending on how the foot goes I guess. I just need to be very careful. Fingers crossed. Or perhaps that should be toes crossed...
Week 12 distance covered: 25.25 km

Week 11 Wrap-up

This week I was back to feeling fit and healthy again. Makes such a difference! I had a good hard week. In the space of 4 days (Thursday to Sunday) I ran 16kms, 0kms, 8kms and 28kms. That's 52kms in 4 days which included my new farthest distance.

The 28kms wasn't too bad apart from a foot issue. I'll admit I was tired and wanting to stop by the end but I could have gone longer. Not sure how much longer but definitely there was a little more in the tank. Which feels good when I consider that in the actual marathon, I won't have run many kms at all in the preceding two or three week so my legs will be as fresh as daisies - hardcore running daisies that is!!

The sore foot was interesting. I had been feeling sore in my left foot on the outside near my little toe while running 16kms along Beach Rd on Thursday evening. I'd been a bit concerned it might recur on Sundays run and sure enough, by about the 11km mark it really started becoming uncomfortable. I tried to walk it off for about 100metres but that didn't work. I was starting to think that my long run was going to be cut very short. In fact I was already having horrible thoughts of how long this "injury" was going to keep me out for and when I would be able to see the podiatrist during the week. I pretty well had the whole marathon called off in my head as I envisioned the worst case scenario/s. Then I stopped and readjusted my shoelaces. I eased up on the tension in the shoelaces mostly down the end and in the middle, laced them up again reasonably snug at the top and tried running again. And it was good! The foot felt fine! I waited for it to reoccur at some point and by around the 14km mark (half way!), it was still pain-free and I decided that I had really solved it - my foot must have been swelling up a little as I ran and my shoes were too tight and therefore causing some "squishing" of the foot. Easing the shoelaces made a little more room for my foot and all was good! I felt very relieved.

I ended the run by stopping in at the local bottle shop to buy 5kg of ice so I could have an ice bath. I didn't want any trouble from my run and if they say that an ice bath will help me recover then sure, lock it in! It wasn't much fun. One thing I noticed is that the initial shock of feeling cold once I lowered myself into the water went away after about a minute. It's like my thighs and calves and so on were able to somehow compensate or deal with it. The pain of the cold on my feet however remained for the whole 15mins or so that I was in the water. But hey, all worth it in the end if it helps me achieve my goal.

Only other thing I'll mention is how I've been noticing how much sleep I find myself needing. A nap followed my run on Sunday arvo. I knew there was no escaping the need for a snooze so surrendered to it and woke up about 1hr 20mins later. Felt a tad better for it too. I figure it makes sense to get horizontal and allow the body to do some healing while I've checked out of the world for a while. It's a pity however that my body does tend to want to fall asleep more often during the day! On trains, trams, while watching films (the Melbourne International Film Festival was regularly interrupted by short periods of battling to stay awake and failing!) and I've struggled on occasion in the afternoon after a big lunch at work. I seem to be pretty busy these days with various bit and pieces of my life so I guess that's wearing me out as well but the running is definitely requiring more sleep for all the repair work I'm requiring. I just need to make sure it gets it - not always as easy as it should be!

Week 11 distance covered: 67 km