Following the recent Comrades Marathon training schedule I originally signed up for the Sydney Half Marathon as a training run for the adventures that were ahead in South Africa.
Little did I realise this would be a very important run following rolling my left ankle quite badly the previous Sunday. In preparation I had picked up a new pair of calf compression socks that were to prove brilliant. With the major race plans only a matter of two weeks away it was important test the ankle in race conditions and be sure that all would be fine for May 30 across in South Africa.
I love turning out in my home city to see a number of familiar faces and run around the same streets that I get to train over many weekend training runs. It is such a magic city to live in and with beautiful weather and Raelene Boyle behind the starters gun we were away.
There was no chance of running too hard in this Half Marathon and it was always a matter of go out and see how the ankle holds up and should all be feeling fine then maybe push a little harder towards the back end.
The first half of the run was feeling good and I managed to hold myself back from the usual excitement of pushing ahea with the faster runners and then paying for it towards the end. The ankle was holding up fine and I was feeling great about having the pain killers before heding out in the morning. It was interesting to note that one side was a real dryness of the mouth and with the water stations spread out every 5km or more there was not much relief. Gotta say that the days of drinking water and sports drinks out of cups in major events surely must not be far away. It is almost impossible to get much liquid down when on the go and I am pretty sure most would welcome the introduction of the water and sports drink sachets next year!
Following a solid and steady performance I was pleased to come across the line in 1:48:14 which is not too bad an effort considering that I had been conscious of my ankle and did not wish to do too much damge prior to Comrades. The god news is that this was als only 1 minute outside my Personal Best so this gives me confidence for the future that it is possible to set a new benchmark.
I was pleased to wait around the finish line to cheer home a good friend Markus Schar who was guiding Ben a blind runner across the line. In the end they posted a very respectable 2:11:40. This was a tremendous effort for Ben as it was aso his first Half Marathon prior to representing the Australian Blind Cricket team in the West Indies later this year. Congratulations to Markus, Ben and all who completed the event today ... Next challenge - the 90km Comrades Marathon 30 May 2010
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