On Sunday 29 August I ran the Chevron Perth Marathon. It was the most gruesome run I have done till date and I somehow managed to finish the 42km distance in 6h 07m.
Before the Race:
Leading up to the race, I had not run as much as I had planned. Unlike my first marathon last year I took this run a little less serious. I only did a half marathon and two long 30km runs around 5 weeks before this race, but even so I was very confident three weeks before the race.
I was eating well and I felt very injury free, I knew my mental strength was stronger than last year so I was really ready to push my body and try to get a good time. But that’s when it went all wrong, at the beginning of August I did the Sydney City to Surf for a bit of fun and towards the end of the run I rolled my right ankle pretty bad. I took it easy two weeks after that and kept doing my best to try and recover in time for the run.
I flew to Perth 5 days before the Perth Marathon not feeling very confident that I could complete the 42km distance in the physical condition I was in. I did a few short distance runs with both my ankles strapped up (for some reason after my right ankle got better my left ankle started to show signs of pain, I think it was because I was unknowingly putting a lot more weight on it as I tried to compensate for my weak right ankle) .
After the short runs I decided that I was going to do the 42km, my entire family was in Perth and I didn’t know if I would get this opportunity again to share an experience such as this with them. I also knew that I will dig deep and mentally push myself during the run and be ready for whatever surprises came up.
During and After the Race:
The run started really well and I did the initial 21km in a very good time, the race route was much hillier than I expected even though I studied the elevation map well and drove through most of the track the day before. After the half way mark, my injured ankle started to give me a lot of pain and eventually my whole running rhythm was messed up and I could not even move my legs after around 25km. But as my family was around to support me at certain points in the track and my brother got onto the track to walk and run with me for around 7km, I somehow dragged myself to the fishing line in 6h 07m. So it was the most painful run, but an experience I will never forget.
After the race, it was the greatest feeling ever to be able to pick up my finishers medal and t-shirt and spend the rest of the day with my family. I was not feeling very good that same day and could barely walk around, the next day was worse but I put on my new ‘skins’ and took the flight back to Sydney that evening.
I arrived back home and midnight and went into work the next day. I was emotionally and physically drained but surprisingly now (3 days after) I feel almost completely back to normal. I’m really thankful for this experience and I have learned a lot from this as well.
I’m still working out what my next fitness event will be so stay tuned :)
Before the Race:
Leading up to the race, I had not run as much as I had planned. Unlike my first marathon last year I took this run a little less serious. I only did a half marathon and two long 30km runs around 5 weeks before this race, but even so I was very confident three weeks before the race.
I was eating well and I felt very injury free, I knew my mental strength was stronger than last year so I was really ready to push my body and try to get a good time. But that’s when it went all wrong, at the beginning of August I did the Sydney City to Surf for a bit of fun and towards the end of the run I rolled my right ankle pretty bad. I took it easy two weeks after that and kept doing my best to try and recover in time for the run.
I flew to Perth 5 days before the Perth Marathon not feeling very confident that I could complete the 42km distance in the physical condition I was in. I did a few short distance runs with both my ankles strapped up (for some reason after my right ankle got better my left ankle started to show signs of pain, I think it was because I was unknowingly putting a lot more weight on it as I tried to compensate for my weak right ankle) .
After the short runs I decided that I was going to do the 42km, my entire family was in Perth and I didn’t know if I would get this opportunity again to share an experience such as this with them. I also knew that I will dig deep and mentally push myself during the run and be ready for whatever surprises came up.
During and After the Race:
The run started really well and I did the initial 21km in a very good time, the race route was much hillier than I expected even though I studied the elevation map well and drove through most of the track the day before. After the half way mark, my injured ankle started to give me a lot of pain and eventually my whole running rhythm was messed up and I could not even move my legs after around 25km. But as my family was around to support me at certain points in the track and my brother got onto the track to walk and run with me for around 7km, I somehow dragged myself to the fishing line in 6h 07m. So it was the most painful run, but an experience I will never forget.
After the race, it was the greatest feeling ever to be able to pick up my finishers medal and t-shirt and spend the rest of the day with my family. I was not feeling very good that same day and could barely walk around, the next day was worse but I put on my new ‘skins’ and took the flight back to Sydney that evening.
I arrived back home and midnight and went into work the next day. I was emotionally and physically drained but surprisingly now (3 days after) I feel almost completely back to normal. I’m really thankful for this experience and I have learned a lot from this as well.
I’m still working out what my next fitness event will be so stay tuned :)
