Yesterday was the Geelong half-marathon, my “debut at this distance”, as the online registration form puts it.
I wasn’t sure of a realistic target time, but I decided I’d be happy with anything under 2 hours. In the end I managed a 1:46:something (official times not yet posted as of this writing), which was satisfying.
A few things I learned along the way:
- I could have gone slightly harder at the beginning.
- Grabbing plastic cups while on the run is not as easy as it looks. I opted for the “pinch-from-the-top” technique, which worked pretty well.
- I have to focus more on running my own race, and less on not letting other people pass me.
- If I am going to get into a battle with someone, I should at least be sure of who it is.
A little explication of the last point is in order:
I started towards the back of the pack, so most of the (many) people who were faster than me were already ahead. This meant that I overtook quite a few people, while not being overtaken very often.
Around the 17km mark, I noticed a maroon shirt out of the corner of my eye. I turned and looked, and there was a guy closing in on me. I sized him up – around my age, heavier than me, breathing raggedly – and decided that he allowed to past.
I put on the pace for a little while and put some distance between us before easing back off. A few minutes later, I heard him coming up behind me and saw that maroon shirt in the corner of my vsion, so I put on the pace again.
This happened four or five times over the next couple of kilometres and eventually it became too much for me. I decided to smarten up, let him past, and run my own race. I maintained a steady pace, paid no attention to the maroon shirt cruising into my periph, and lo and behold, it was an entirely different guy – older, fitter, definitely a runner, also wearing a maroon shirt. I turned and looked behind me for the original Maroon Shirt, and he was nowhere to be seen. I felt sort of stupid about the whole thing, but it probably did shave a couple of minutes off my time.
Update: Big thanks to Cam for the drive out there and back. It was a real treat not having to operate pedals after the race.