Great Ocean Road 2006 report

Here is my race report. If you frequent the Ausrun forum then it is just cut and paste from there, nothing new….

 

It was an excellent weekend away and now a few days later my legs almost feel normal. But that feeling will be tested when I eventually go for a run…..

 

The report:

GOR 2007 - get in the diary now, make a plan and be there in 2007!!

Before starting, make sure you have time available....sorry

Overall this was a very well organised run in a magnificent part of Victoria.
A few improvements could be made, but all along there was very little that could be faulted. The events on Saturday appeared well organised, and got the full event treatment, not a 'the other events' half measure.

We arrived on Friday night after trudging through Melbourne and then Geelong traffic. We did a re-con of the course from Lorne to Apollo Bay in the dark and the wet. This did little for the confidence, the rolling hills seemed a lot less rolling and a whole lot more up and down. We found our accommodation and settled in for the night. We got the standard concrete mattress that seems to be the preferred choice of motels. This was a bit ominous as I really struggle with hard beds

Saturday morning the fam allowed me some time to 'sleep in', but perhaps I should have spent less time in bed as I ended up with a tight and stiff lower back. Hoping that this would ease during the day. I thought I would spend some time hanging around the races during the day, but my non-running family decided we should go sightseeing. We headed out to Cape Otway lighthouse in magical conditions, bright sun and no wind. Fingers crossed Sunday would be the same.... My light run turned into chasing boys up and down the grass hills, and a stair session up the lighthouse. Back to Apollo Bay in time to get my timing chip and see the tail of the 14k race and Monas presentation for WINNING the 14k in 42min the afternoon before running 45k. Dinner was fish & chips, I mean pasta. Then I slept on the sofa because the mattress was a bit softer.

Race day, up at 5.10, on the bus to Lorne by 6.00. Slow bus trip to Lorne in the dark. The trip broken up by nervous discussion. Then daylight breaking as we arrived in Lorne. A magnificent clear and still sunrise!! Couldn't be better. With about 45min to race start, I got ready to race, bag in luggage van, then off for a light trot, couldn't help but go down to the beach - awesome. We were all amused by a 'show pony' doing high activity warm-ups - bounding, hopping, stair jumps, and sprint throughs. All dressed in lycra tights, fitted shirt & denim shorts…I'm tipping he either didn't run or didn't last long....Just before the start I met a couple of coolrunners, but I did not find Shuffleupagus. I was surprised to find out that there was only 390 entrants for the race, I guess I should have checked to see that there was only 330 last year, so I was unsure how much company I'd have out there, it could be a lonely race.

On the start line ready for an 8am start. Count down 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2....3,2,1...must be the country…. GUN. As planned, a very easy start, the crowd seemed to be moving along pretty well, and soon enough everyone was finding their room. I hoped that I would be able to find a 'buddy' and soon enough I did. With plenty of chatter the first few k's just melted away, with no km markers (of use -more later) I was just running on feel and rhythm. The hills that seemed a bit large on Friday night turned out to be a bit toothless during the run. I lost my company at about an hour 20min since he had to make a toilet stop.

Did I mention that at this point I was still ahead of Steve Monaghetti!! See I was taking it easy!!

Another runner who was just getting back on the road jumped in on my heels and I recruited another 'buddy'. He was a veteran of about 30 marathons so I was pleased for the company of a wise head. We passed the Kennet River start line for the 23k event. I lapped my watch at 1hr39min. Given this was the 22km marker it meant that 900m previously I had set a half marathon pb of a couple of minutes.

Regarding the markers, this started out as confusing then quickly became laughable at best. We noticed the first marker after about 32min, it said 35km. We knew we had not run 10km for it to be to the end, and greatly questioned whether we had run 7.2km for it to be to 42.2k, so we pretty much gave up on markers after than. Then later in the race when it would have been really nice to know where I was or how quick I was moving, there was not a marker to be seen from 15k to go. Only a marshal calling out that he was on the 38k gave me any idea.

Back to the run....I knew that just after halfway the 2 toughest climbs were there. The first one was a nice warm-up, the 2nd was tough, then the 3rd (which was supposed to be not too bad) really took its toll. By this stage, my original buddy had caught up and kept going on. My 2nd buddy was trading places with me back and forth. Once past the hills I was still feeling strong. But from here on in, we were on the South West side, and the wind was in our face. The perfect conditions were beginning to play against us. A head wind and rain. Even the down-hills into the wind were not just a cruise. On the flatter stages I caught a group who we had been trailing for over 15km, I was going to just tail them, but felt good so I went by. Then the rain and wind kicked in. No idea where I was and I was not looking at the watch. But my quads just above the knees started to object. This took the edge off and I was not able to hold the same pace. So the mixture of the weather and legs slowed me and one by one the now broken group began to pass me. This was frustrating since up to this point almost no-one had come by us, not even Monas.

Running solo now, energy was OK, but I was conscious of not getting to the point where I could not run, so I didn't put too much pressure on the legs this far from home. My determination not to walk had to submit so I took a walk break to try and re-set. I also tried mixing up my stride patterns to ensure the cramp did not ever take hold. I knew that Marty was on the road somewhere ahead, and it was awesome when somewhere near 38k he came riding in from the other direction. With a bottle of Coke!! At the marshal calling 38k I was at 2hr52min. 4.2k to the full marathon distance and I was determined to get to that point. I managed to cover that in 21-22min and arrived a very happy boy at 42.195km in 3hr13min (and change).

Given the state of my quads and now my right calf, I was thankful of my previous determination that the last 2.8km was a 'wait and see'. With Marty by my side, he probably witnessed the slowest 2.8km that anyone will see me trudge / walk / run / wobble....it took me 20min and I lost perhaps 6-8 places. But it didn't matter, I was there to run a marathon and complete an ultra. I did the marathon quicker than I ever imagined, and I was going to finish the ultra running (sort of). Taking it easy meant that I avoided cramps of any kind and I was able to pick up the pace a little for the last few hundred metres.

With my family watching and given my elation at the result I wanted to carry one or both my boys across the line. Zac was resting in the pram so I grabbed Jayden, who was very excited until the crowd cheered approval, and he became a bit scared at all the noise and strange faces, so he got a bit upset and buried his face into my shoulder. But I'll have a great finishing photo with my boy.

42.195km in 3h14m49s. 45km in 3h33m29s - truly awesome

What happened that I would change for next time??
To be honest I am not sure. My fitness was good, I never felt that I had nothing left. My legs did not last the distance in great shape. Was it the hills? Was it the early pace? Was it the prolonged effort into a headwind and rain? I do not know, I did not feel that I was pushing the pace at any point. I don't even think I will try and break it down too much. BTW - If there were markers I doubt I would have run much less than 3hr20min, so perhaps a blessing in disguise, despite the less than glorious end section.

Oh, I should explain that Monas was running 5min k's with some buddies from Ballarat. He passed me somewhere after 30odd k's......


Plan to be there next year. But be prepared for a challenging course. With potentially no markers. Very few spectators. Magical scenery. Friendly crowd. Memorable event.

 

Official results have me placed 44^th for the marathon distance, 40^th male. For the 45k I was shuffled back to 51^st but that’s OK, it was better to take it easy and run to the line rather than push it and perhaps crawl…