Run race 1:17:43 [5] 21.1 km (3:41 / km) +93m 3:36 / km
ahr:167 max:174 shoes: NB Vazee Pace Elite
Sydney Halfmarathon - 1:17:43, 22nd overall
Aimed for sub 1:18 and secretly hoped for sub 1:17 so set the pace at 3:40 which is somewhere in between. It's hard not to start hard when you start with the top guys. After a rather stupid 3:25 first km I calmed down and went through the 10km mark in just under 36 (realistically a bit over, Garmin was a bit off and claims 1:16:34 for halfmarathon). On the way towards DH I felt pretty flat and had to battle dark thoughts about the overcooked start. Was back in as I headed from Pyrmont bridge towards Pirrama Park - which has been my almost daily run-hood lately.
From about 13th km a tiny Jap lady (2nd lady) with cadence around 300 spm used me as her wind shield running like 40cm behind me. Which was good because "I" received lots of good cheers from spectators. She went ahead at about 19th km when I started to run out of steam a big time. From the overseas terminal I was over it and was happy to finish in 1:17:43, full 6 minutes faster than in my last big road race - GC Half in 2013 (1:23:43).
Had one gel at 12th km with approx 100ml water. That was it and didn't feel like I needed more. Probably thanks to an absolutely perfect weather conditions (barely any wind, blue sky, 11C).
Side note: Apart from PBs, training efforts are totally rewarded by preferred start bibs - private toilets with no queues (saved my life this morning) and a warm up zone instead of being squashed in a corridor. Dtto when you finish early enough and can have a massage with no queue and two guys work on my shattered legs for solid 10 minutes. That's win in itself!
Next up: Melbourne Marathon. Aiming for 2:45-50.