Sydney Marathon

I still get goosebumps thinking about the race. What an amazing experience and day! So grateful and appreciative of the family coming out for the support, as well as the support from all those random spectators. With any race, I had a series of targets. 1) Finish the race. 2) Do it  under 4 hours 3). Do it under 3h30mins. I ended up landing somewhere between 2 and 3.

What surprised me was that I didn't blow up and the amazing atmosphere of the crowds and the support. My carb load was on point, supplemented by some delicious rice crispies (thanks kids!). If I could change one thing it would be to fly in a day earlier, my sleep is so sensitive to any disturbance that I couldn't for the life of me string together a decent night's sleep. The day before I was trying to conserve energy, and the plan was to pop by the expo, grab my bib and even a running belt and then retire to my parents sofa. 

I woke up at 5 am on Sunday and headed down to consume the standard bagel and Maurten's drink mix, and one LMNT electrolytes packet, and I was off to Sydenham to catch the metro over to Crow's Nest/Victoria Cross station. The metro is packed, runners everywhere. The excitement builds. Of course I'm running late, the lines to the toilets are long and I make it to my chute only to miss all the pacers. In any case the conditions are perfect, the temperature at the start line is somewhere between 8-10 degrees. 

I started off a bit slower than expected, there were a few niggles and it took me a few ks to get into rhythm. By then I was a fair bit off my pace so decided that I would just enjoy the race. At the 25 km mark I was feeling good, pace was on point and was starting to settle into the race, high-fiving the spectators, and just soaking in the absolutely amazing atmosphere. At the 35 km mark I was expecting the dreaded bonk, but it never came. 10 gels, 2 crampfixes. Cruised over the line in 3hours and 38 minutes. All that painful training through the Hong Kong summer paid off. Super happy! 

Highlights include running over the Sydney Harbour Bridge just after sunset, running through King's Cross, seeing the girlfriend multiple times along the route. Seeing support from Ket and Heng out near Anzac parade, and then see the family at the finish line! The definition of a runner's high. I'm hooked! When's the next one?