It was a glorious day in Mudgee.
The morning was cool but not cold with heavy fog for the start. Visibility was at best 40 meters.
The half marathoners and the marathons start together and run the same course until about 10k when the half marathoners turn around. I could see runners in front but was surprised when it seemed like quite a few started coming back through the fog. Then as I crested a hill I could see the flashing light of the pace car with the lead runner. It was maybe 250 metres ahead but I could not see any runners. At first I thought it was stopped because I assumed the lead runners would be much further in front of me at 10k. But the car was moving so I assumed it was travelling with the lead runner.
There is a hill that starts gradually at about 9k and continues until just after 19k. It rises steeply from about 15k then tops out at 16k. You then go down the other side and back up to just after 19k.My plan was to go out hard to19k and then hold on to the finish. This is not my usual race plan but I wanted to work the hill section - I didn't want to just cruise it.
As the road rose and fell and turned I kept getting glimpses of the flashing light from the car but I could not see any runners. At about 14k the fog cleared and as the final ascent to the mountain started I could see on a long straight incline the lead car and ONE runner. OMG I was in second place!!!!. I haven't been at the pointy end of any marathon since I won the Jindabyne Marathon in 2001.
On the out and back 3k section I could see the distance between runners and I was less than a k in front of the next very fit looking and much younger runner. I thought it would be just a short while before I was passed by him and others who were not far behind him.
I pushed hard and I got to halfway in just under 95 which was about as I expected. At about 23k we were back into heavy fog which lasted until about 33k. It was wet and cool in this section.
While I was running I never looked back and anyway the fog was so thick I would not have been able to see very far behind. Also I couldn't see the pace car up in front. The fog cleared at about 33k and I could see the pace car about 3/4 minutes up in front and on a corner I saw a runner a couple of a hundred meters behind me and he appeared to be gaining. He did gain and passed me at about 36k. I thought others would follow however none did.
I felt I was slowing down a lot however I managed to finish in 3.13.32 for a second half of 98. I would have liked the second half to have been faster than the first but I guess I paid the price for the hard first half. Really the race went the way I should have reasonably expected taking into account the race plan.
What was not expected was 3rd outright behind a 3.07 and 3.08.
6 comments:
Caongratulations on the podium finish Ray. Always good to win something especially when you can do it without a taper for this one.
Ray,
Congrats on the third placing and on yet another solid run. When you raced past me in the other direction at the 18km mark on the out'n'back loop, I thought that you were looking strong and were certainly in the mix for a strong placing.
While I'm sure that the podium finish is just an added bonus as you prep for Glasshouse, it's a well deserved reward for your continued committment and the number of km's you put in in training.
Thanks again for your words of advice leading up to Mudgee, and best of luck for Glasshouse.
cheers,
Anth
Well done Ray. Congratulations. I just can't comprehend how you just keep churning out these super results.
Sensational Ray. Congratulations HRH :-)
Awesome result Ray! Big congrats on the fantastic time and the podium finish. So did you get some bling???
That's another solid marathon Ray. Congratulations. The unexpected bronze medal was a well deserved bonus in the lead-up to GH. Enjoy the taper. Not long to go!
Post a Comment