Albert Park ‘Marathon’ TT review
The moment which seemed like it’d never occur many times over the past two years, was finally realised at the Albert Park ‘marathon’ time trial on October 10.
Countless running opportunities have slipped by since the COVID-19 pandemic irrevocably gripped the world in March 2020, with fate often intervening at the worst times.
On the back of the Gold Coast Marathon’s cancellation five days out in July, Victoria entering its’ sixth lockdown - which remains in place ten weeks later, little over a week out from the Sunshine Coast Marathon (ultimately rescheduled for October 10) in August, later causing the Melbourne Marathon’s tentative ‘postponement’ from October 10 until December 12, you can appreciate why many runners are a cynical folk these days!
Despite the lack of fanfare attached to a time trial - alongside its’ lack of recognition in an official capacity, there was no way I was willing to allow the previous six months’ training fall by the wayside, so it was full steam ahead.
A long and busy day on the feet at work on Saturday hit me for six, less than ideal preparation for what lay ahead the next morning. Nor was the late turn in - a hallmark of my marathon lead ins, which Amy Robinson berated me for in the morning!
As per, the best laid plans to arrive early and ease into a warm up were futile, having reached Albert Park at 6:40 ahead of a 07:00 start, not least owing to the excitement of seeing many faces absent through the duration of lockdown.
It was well past 6:50 before I pulled myself away from the chatter to break into a warm up and strides…
Thus, the sight of the Vigor and friends marathon crew standing on the start line and ready to go at any moment as I concluded a hasty 1.7 km caused some consternation, as I raced to retrieve my sunglasses and get a Maurten gel into the stomach before taking off.
Mercifully, Simon Hanns and Andrew McIntosh - both chasing a fast half marathon, with Josh Symons providing support on the bike, were willing to hold off, so we let the bulk of the field depart whilst we cooled our heels for around five minutes.
Starting in your own time is one perk of an unofficial marathon!
The pause salved the nerves as the gel took effect, and we finally prepared to set off.
With an existing PB of 2:35, going under 2:30 was the primary objective that Liam and I had been working towards, whilst my slightly ambitious target was a 2:25. Anywhere in between - particularly in a TT, would be a win for us.
Any fears of heading out too aggressively - particularly attempting to match Simon’s pace, were dispelled when we went through the first km in 3:27.
A 3:30 second km wasn’t any cause for concern as the legs calibrated themselves into the zone, so a 17:17 (~3:27.5/km) split past 5 km was right on the money.
If conditions weren’t already ideal from the outset, what became apparent circulating the back side of the track along Lakeside Drive for the first time, was the absence of the forecast 20 kph south westerly with stronger gusts, setting the tone for the balance of the morning.
We slightly upped the ante through 10 km with a 17:09 (~3:26) split, with no indication that the pace was unsustainable.
Having foregone a Maurten gel first full lap around the MSAC ‘drinks station’, I lunged for anything on the table next time past, revealing a caffeine gel - the first of two on hand, which I had planned to deploy from 15 km.
Never mind, once we reached 12 km I tore into the gel and within minutes, the caffeine infusion was coursing through my body.
A 17:18 (~3:27.5/km) split to 15 km to enter the second third of the ‘race’, was reassuring.
Another Maurten - this time of the standard variety, was acquired ahead of the next tour, which I consumed around 18-19 km.
It was around this point that I entered a solo phase after breaking clear of Simon, to hit 20 km with a 17:14 (3:27/km) split in a lick under 1:09.
This was shortly followed by greeting half distance in 1:12:31 as per Garmin, right in the desired window for a crack at sub 2:25.
The following split proved to be my fastest of the morning, tracking through 25 km with a 17:08 (~3:25.5/km) - including a 3:21 24th.
I’d retrieved the final caffeine gel entering the sixth lap, and after running in near solitude for the best part of ten kms, it was a relief to encounter Justin Kahlefeldt as I turned onto the pit straight nearing 28 km.
I registered what was the slowest km of the morning at the time with a 3:32 as I ingested the caffeine gel. Encouragingly, once that was cleared, I was feeling lively to attack the final third of the race.
Hitting 30 km with a 17:20 split in 1:43:26, everything was in check with just two laps ahead.
Or so it seemed…
Though I’d suffered no stomach issues, I soon began to experience a growing nauseousness which left me feeling decidedly green by the time we charted the pit straight to enter the final ten km.
The 32nd km (3:27) proved to be the final time 3:30 would be breached, as an intermittent desire to pull over and vomit washed over me.
I placed it down to the caffeine gel not sitting as well as the previous ones, perhaps compounded by a lack of hydration - historically never having been big on fluids mid race, to wash the texture down. Lacking a great deal of history with Maurten, it had been a small gamble to rely solely on them exclusively.
Yet the unease wasn’t presenting any debilitating discomfort that would bring me to a standstill.
Having Justin alongside to reassure me that there wasn’t anything wrong about backing out the pace whilst maintaining plenty of time up the sleeve to break 2:30 was priceless.
3:35’s became the new 3:25’s as the worst of the sea legs abated, and 17:42 (~3:32.5/km) through 35 km in 2:01 was far from a disaster, meaning we had four minutes per km to play with, which Justin reiterated.
The westerly had noticeably increased with each lap, though by the time we hit the car park for the penultimate time, the psychological draw of the finish line being within reach was prevailing.
Not wanting to exacerbate the underlying queasiness and with leg firepower no issue, I opted against taking on another gel.
Even permitting for a further drop in pace, knowing that we could ride out the final kms made for an extremely satisfying final lap.
Hitting 40 km with an 18:04 (~3:37/km) split in 2:19:12, would have required an implosion to fall outside 2:30.
Nevertheless, the journey from the start line carpark to the MSAC finish line felt much longer than it was!
Hearing the watch beep for 42 km in 2:27 - even if a tad generous to the official course measurement, was elating, as the final destination became visible, with the adrenaline taking care of the rest.
I must confess that I didn’t strictly reach the notional ‘finish’ marked out in chalk, pulling up around 50 m short having passed the ubiquotous zebra crossing in 2:28:18, though the watch registering 42.43 km was more than enough for a time trial!
Cheers for helping me bring it home Justin!
Despite some uncertain moments late in the piece - when hasn’t that been the case in a marathon?, the ‘race’ had largely been run on my terms and we’d done it!
A seven minute PB, which did justice to keeping the faith.
Back to back full marathon campaigns, with the majority of the key long runs and sessions in isolation - almost exclusively in the latter, and no alcohol for five months, whilst the world increasingly turned to shit for a second year, it’d been worth the grind.
It remained a strangely muted sensation to have cracked such a longstanding goal during a time trial in the immediate aftermath, though the satisfaction has kicked in over subsequent days.
Now it just has to be done in a real marathon!!!
A huge congratulations to all of the Vigor crew who were out there on the morning completing various distances and setting new personal bests, though particularly to the other marathoners, Lewis Sullivan (2:48 on debut), Julie-Ann Undrill (2:53) and Cara Foot (2:54), each significant PB’s.
Thanks to all the pacers and those who came along to cheer us. If nothing else, hopefully it provided some vigor - pun intended, that brighter times lie ahead.
To Liam, thank you for your guidance through these uncharted times, I can’t wait until we can reflect on this result in person and when the day finally comes, to enjoy the feeling in the moment at an official race. The appetite to continue building on these foundations in a more stable world is there!
Having taken a few days to refresh the legs, there’s no urgency to knuckle down again too soon and we’ll clearly be looking to the next few weeks once the recovery is complete and Melbourne has reopened when factoring in the next goal.
All I can say is that whilst the lure of diving into a heavy duty track summer is there, if it becomes certain that there’s a marathon in town in the weeks leading into Christmas, there'll be some serious thinking to do!
For now though, having been up for so long, it’s about enjoying the downtime.