15 May 2016
The feeling of finishing the Canberra Marathon was one of the best things I have ever felt. It's hard to describe but it's a combination of emotions. Elation, accomplishment, relief and pride. It’s all of that and much, much more.
Nothing can prepare you for it and I imagine it is different for each runner. What I can tell you is that running your first marathon is an epic journey during which you will discover many things about yourself. This is what the marathon is all about for me. In order to finish, you have to gain incredible control over your mind and its ability to tell your body to keep going. Some people do that with music. Some use meditation. I’ve found that I can literally have a conversation with myself while I’m running and I like to use it to work out ideas I’ve been thinking about. Some of my best ideas have come from running.
So it's no surprise that soon after finishing the first marathon I was looking for my next one. Word had it that the GORM (Great Ocean Road Marathon) was a must run. So after a bit of research and asking around I registered. I also discovered that a work colleague would be running it so that gave me someone to train and stay with.
I drove down to Apollo Bay the day before the Marathon and drove along the course. It seemed like a long way and some of the hills felt steep even in the car! Never the less my excitement had kicked in. I arrived at the house that would be home for the next two days and not long after my colleague Suzanne, her partner Neil and their friend Aoife also arrived. The house we were staying in was delightful and it felt like a mini vacation apart from the fact that we would all have to be up at the crack of dawn to run 44km.
We walked down the road to get some dinner and share our past running stories at the local pub before turning in early for a good nights sleep. Much to my relief I did sleep and when I woke I was feeling energized and ready to go. As we had chosen to stay in Apollo Bay, where the marathon finishes, it meant that we had to catch one of the shuttle bus back to Lorne to start the race. The bus was filled with many different vibes, some people where clearly excited, other nervous and some, my friends included, where so relaxed they went to sleep.
We arrived an hour later in Lorne and disembarked the bus to make our way to the start line. A quick toilet stop and bag drop and we were ready to go!
It was a stunning morning, a little fresh, but that's exactly the running conditions I prefer. As we waited for the start gun I mentally prepared myself for the task at hand and soaked up the starting line atmosphere.
I started off really strong, feeling good. I ran up all the hills and they were plenty full, steep and a killer on the knees but I had found my rhythm and was enjoying the stunning views.
At 10km I had my first energy Gel. Now the golden rule with running is that you should never try something new on race day. I know this rule but for some reason I thought that I was different and unfortunately I made a big mistake. You see I usually run with GU, the peanut butter is my favourite, but because I was following a sugar free diet I decided to go with a new gel that wasn't as high in sugar. Rookie error! At the 11km mark my stomach was not happy and by 12km I was in agony and fearful of what might happen and concerned that I would not make the next 32km without some type of sustenance. I shuffled on for another km and thankfully the pain started to subside.
At the next drink station (about 17km) I had a mouthful of water but my stomach was still feeling unsettled so I left it at that. Before I knew it I was running into Wye River which marked the half way point and the start of the half marathon. This was all the motivation I needed to keep on going. You see when I run long distance I break it down into sections and celebrate each as I achieve them. So for the Marathon I get the first two km's out of the way and then say to myself just 4 lots of 10km... Easy!
It was around the 28km mark that I started to feel my energy levels drop. I had more gel but I was not game to try anymore. This also meant that my mind started to wander. Could I have done more training? Probably. Would it have made any difference? Maybe. To me running it more of a mental game. And I don’t think any amount of training could have prepared me for what I was going to do at Great Ocean Road. It’s not an easy course and there were at least 7, very hard, long, steep hills. It was a challenge but if there is one thing I love, it is a challenge.
At one point it started to rain, just lightly at first but then it poured and it was hard to keep running. I think it was the combination of being soaking wet and hungry that I slowed to a walk. I was disappointed I had to stop running but my saving grace was just around the corner along with this beautiful rainbow.
There was a man and lady who were sitting at the end of their drive way with a make shift water station and... Bananas! I have never been so happy to see a banana in my whole life. I wanted to kiss them both but I restrained myself and just gave them a very big thank you.And it was funny because I had never really though of eating bananas while running but my goodness it was good. The instant hit of energy was amazing and I was re-powered to go and go I did.
Finally, I saw the 42km line and started running faster, wanting to sprint over the line in my Mojo running style. I’m not really sure what I felt. I was happy it was (almost) over and that I had finished but disappointed that I hadn’t run the whole way, which was my goal.
The interesting thing about GORM is that once you finish the 42km there is actually another 2km
to the actual finish line. A lot of people had stopped to walk but I was determined to finish strong so I kept on running. As I got closer to town I could see the crowds and hear the cheers of support that allowed me to keep going. It was an amazing feeling having hundreds of people you don’t know telling you how well you are going, and to keep running, well done.
I ran over the final line and had completed the Great Ocean Road Half Marathon. The final time for the 44km was 4:16:46. I placed 250 overall, 16th for my age category and was the 79th female to finish. All in all it was a terific run and one that I would happily do again. It was also a pleasure to do it in the company of these terrific people below and lovely to make new friends and memories.
Happy running x
The feeling of finishing the Canberra Marathon was one of the best things I have ever felt. It's hard to describe but it's a combination of emotions. Elation, accomplishment, relief and pride. It’s all of that and much, much more.
Nothing can prepare you for it and I imagine it is different for each runner. What I can tell you is that running your first marathon is an epic journey during which you will discover many things about yourself. This is what the marathon is all about for me. In order to finish, you have to gain incredible control over your mind and its ability to tell your body to keep going. Some people do that with music. Some use meditation. I’ve found that I can literally have a conversation with myself while I’m running and I like to use it to work out ideas I’ve been thinking about. Some of my best ideas have come from running.
So it's no surprise that soon after finishing the first marathon I was looking for my next one. Word had it that the GORM (Great Ocean Road Marathon) was a must run. So after a bit of research and asking around I registered. I also discovered that a work colleague would be running it so that gave me someone to train and stay with.
I drove down to Apollo Bay the day before the Marathon and drove along the course. It seemed like a long way and some of the hills felt steep even in the car! Never the less my excitement had kicked in. I arrived at the house that would be home for the next two days and not long after my colleague Suzanne, her partner Neil and their friend Aoife also arrived. The house we were staying in was delightful and it felt like a mini vacation apart from the fact that we would all have to be up at the crack of dawn to run 44km.
We walked down the road to get some dinner and share our past running stories at the local pub before turning in early for a good nights sleep. Much to my relief I did sleep and when I woke I was feeling energized and ready to go. As we had chosen to stay in Apollo Bay, where the marathon finishes, it meant that we had to catch one of the shuttle bus back to Lorne to start the race. The bus was filled with many different vibes, some people where clearly excited, other nervous and some, my friends included, where so relaxed they went to sleep.
We arrived an hour later in Lorne and disembarked the bus to make our way to the start line. A quick toilet stop and bag drop and we were ready to go!
It was a stunning morning, a little fresh, but that's exactly the running conditions I prefer. As we waited for the start gun I mentally prepared myself for the task at hand and soaked up the starting line atmosphere.
I started off really strong, feeling good. I ran up all the hills and they were plenty full, steep and a killer on the knees but I had found my rhythm and was enjoying the stunning views.
At 10km I had my first energy Gel. Now the golden rule with running is that you should never try something new on race day. I know this rule but for some reason I thought that I was different and unfortunately I made a big mistake. You see I usually run with GU, the peanut butter is my favourite, but because I was following a sugar free diet I decided to go with a new gel that wasn't as high in sugar. Rookie error! At the 11km mark my stomach was not happy and by 12km I was in agony and fearful of what might happen and concerned that I would not make the next 32km without some type of sustenance. I shuffled on for another km and thankfully the pain started to subside.
At the next drink station (about 17km) I had a mouthful of water but my stomach was still feeling unsettled so I left it at that. Before I knew it I was running into Wye River which marked the half way point and the start of the half marathon. This was all the motivation I needed to keep on going. You see when I run long distance I break it down into sections and celebrate each as I achieve them. So for the Marathon I get the first two km's out of the way and then say to myself just 4 lots of 10km... Easy!
It was around the 28km mark that I started to feel my energy levels drop. I had more gel but I was not game to try anymore. This also meant that my mind started to wander. Could I have done more training? Probably. Would it have made any difference? Maybe. To me running it more of a mental game. And I don’t think any amount of training could have prepared me for what I was going to do at Great Ocean Road. It’s not an easy course and there were at least 7, very hard, long, steep hills. It was a challenge but if there is one thing I love, it is a challenge.
At one point it started to rain, just lightly at first but then it poured and it was hard to keep running. I think it was the combination of being soaking wet and hungry that I slowed to a walk. I was disappointed I had to stop running but my saving grace was just around the corner along with this beautiful rainbow.
There was a man and lady who were sitting at the end of their drive way with a make shift water station and... Bananas! I have never been so happy to see a banana in my whole life. I wanted to kiss them both but I restrained myself and just gave them a very big thank you.And it was funny because I had never really though of eating bananas while running but my goodness it was good. The instant hit of energy was amazing and I was re-powered to go and go I did.
Finally, I saw the 42km line and started running faster, wanting to sprint over the line in my Mojo running style. I’m not really sure what I felt. I was happy it was (almost) over and that I had finished but disappointed that I hadn’t run the whole way, which was my goal.
The interesting thing about GORM is that once you finish the 42km there is actually another 2km
to the actual finish line. A lot of people had stopped to walk but I was determined to finish strong so I kept on running. As I got closer to town I could see the crowds and hear the cheers of support that allowed me to keep going. It was an amazing feeling having hundreds of people you don’t know telling you how well you are going, and to keep running, well done.
I ran over the final line and had completed the Great Ocean Road Half Marathon. The final time for the 44km was 4:16:46. I placed 250 overall, 16th for my age category and was the 79th female to finish. All in all it was a terific run and one that I would happily do again. It was also a pleasure to do it in the company of these terrific people below and lovely to make new friends and memories.
Happy running x
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