I left for Sydney not long before 11...I cached along the way (7/7) before checking into my accommodation at The Southern Cross Hotel in St Peters at about 2:45pm...
after putting my gear in the room, I drove to Bondi...it was very windy and the surf was big and choppy...
I found one cache near "The Boot" to drop off a trackable before heading back towards St Peters...I checked out where I would park near Sydenham Station then found three more caches before calling it a night and having some dinner...
I had planned to get up at 6am Sunday but was up at 5:45 instead...all dressed, checked out and at the train station by 6:30am...
caught the train to Town Hall and was at the start area by 6:50am...the weather was ideal...
although you weren't meant to be allowed into the respective start areas more than 30mins before the start, marshalls were in place and people were already lining up...
I was positioned in the front third of the red group...at one point we had to make way for the three wheelchair athletes as they were directed through the red group to the start...
a female police officer sang the National Anthem before the start without any backing (one of the best live versions I've heard)...this year celebrates 100 years of women in the police force...
the race got underway right on 7:55am...aside from the guy behind me standing on the back of my right shoe and sliding it off, it was a relatively clear start...
I tried to position myself in the middle of the respective lanes to avoid getting sucked into crowds at corners and had a relatively clear run...did say hello to Kathy Sims as she passed me after the 3k mark...
I just tried to maintain a steady pace...I was hoping to make it to the 10k clock in around 55 (gun time) and was happy to see it show 55 something as I ran past...Campbell Parade seemed to stretch forever but I pushed hard in the final 100m or so and did a leap over the finish with hands in the air before pressing stop...happy to see my watch say 1:16:00 (which ended up being 1:16:01 in Garmin Connect)...goal A well and truly met...in fact, this was faster than my last run in 2012...
the stats:
start temp/humidity: 8.0/74% (apparent temp 4.6)
start time: 7:55am
total distance: 14.08
total time: 76:01
avg pace: 5:24
total calories: 1160
avg HR: 170
recovery HR: 119/61
splits: 5:19, 5;03, 5:19, 5:22, 5:02, 5;22, 6:34, 5:43, 5:20, 5:43, 5:33, 5:19, 4:51, 5:12, 0:20
there were 78607 entrants with 65480 finishers...my official time was 75:58 which ranked me at 12809...I was 2680/33600 females and 539/6633 F40-49...
the official race splits were:
- Start to Heartbreak Hill (6.2k) - 31:43/31:43 (split rank 11681, race rank 12866)
- Heartbreak Hill (1.6k) - 9:37/41:20 (split rank 12866, race rank 11802)
- Heartbreak Hill to Finish (6.2k) - 34:37/75:58 (split rank 14044, race rank 12809)
I waded in the surf up to my knees for about 15mins or so before trekking to the bus queue which was moving freely...from there it was on the bus to Bondi Junction then the train back to Sydenham where I was back at my car by 10:45am...this probably worked smoother than staying in the CBD...
I changed into my Skins (under shorts, good look!) and started the drive back to Canberra...I again cached along the way (15/15) which was the perfect antidote to getting stiff as I rarely had a drive longer than 30mins between stops once I hit the highway...
I was home just after 5pm...a very satisfying weekend!
1 comment:
Good weekend and C2S Bron. Guess I started further back than you. I saw Kathy Sims ahead of me coming up the hill before 4k. I imagine she started back where I was. She gradually moved out of sight. The bus/train back to the city was about the quickest I can remember - we were back at the Y at 10.20.
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