Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time.
- George Bernard Shaw
After I had finished suffering through the last 15 kms of the Boston Marathon this April, I promised myself I would not run another positive split marathon. For those not familiar with the marathon runner's vernacular, this means to run the second half of a race slower than the first half.
In a marathon, as you fatigue, it gets progressively harder to maintain the pace you started out at. This is particularly so if you haven't done the hard training required for a long endurance race. Many marathon runners will manage to run a consistent pace even up to 30 km. This is where the dreaded 'wall' can rear its ugly head and a marathon runner will lose most of their time, and as I did in Boston, suffer to a dreadful degree.
By contrast, a negative split means to run the second half of the race faster than the first half, something which in principle sounds reasonable but is notoriously difficult to achieve. As this blog post shows, in the 2010 London Marathon less than 5% of all finishers managed to run a negative split. I haven't done the research, but I suspect that most major marathons would show a similar proportion. There are many contributing factors (aside from the obvious fatigue factor) that make the negative split so difficult, including:
- the taper and pre-race 'carbo load' which typically get you to the start feeling like superman (or woman), and subsequently rushing off like a 'bat out of hell'.
- psychology: many people feel that by going off slower than they are capable of (at the start), they won't get the best shot at the time they are after .
- inexperience, 42.2 km is a long way and you often don't realise just how far until you run one.
Anyway, enough of the negative/positive split background, suffice to say I've made all the mistakes above and was determined to do it differently this year.
And so it was that I found myself on the start line of the 2011 Melbourne Marathon, along with 6000 other runners. To make the start of a marathon is in itself a good part of the battle, if you get through all the training, then really on the day, it's just another Sunday long run...
The weather had turned out surprisingly friendly, despite some ominous forecasts of rain and wind in the days leading up to the race. I was never really too nervous about the rain; likewise the wind can be a problem but can be overcome - at least it wasn't hot, which can affect performance. In truth, the conditions were nigh on perfect for fast running. I have been very lucky with all my four marathons so far in striking almost ideal conditions for each one.
My goal for this race was to run under 3 hours for the first time. I was confident, but not overly so. I had a great cross country season with SMAC and I knocked out a 80 minute half marathon five weeks before the race, so I knew I had the speed. However, I had been burnt by this great race only six short months ago and knew the distance must be treated with respect. Conventional wisdom suggests that I was capable of running about 2:50. However, I wanted desperately to get under 3 for the first time and given my promise not to run a positive split, and the risk of crashing and burning, I aimed to be a bit conservative in the first half.
Laurent, a friend from SMAC and the Crosbie Crew, was also going for a sub-3 and decided he would run with me in the first half. We had good fun running together for the first half of the race. Laurent was having so much fun that he even dropped me by about 100 metres at one stage just before the halfway marker when I slowed to get a drink.
Perhaps one of the funniest moments was at about the 18 km marker, when Laurent's watch went clattering to the ground. Marathoners, being the good bunch of people we are, hollered at him something like this - "your watch, you dropped your watch, hey mate you just dropped your watch, excuse me I think you dropped something back there it looked like it might be your watch". Laurent, I think realised straight away when he dropped his watch and didn't seemed too bothered by it, much less so than everyone else around him. I don't think it was a Garmin, else he might have taken it all a bit more seriously.
Throughout the first half of the race I was feeling surprisingly heavy and I didn't feel like the coiled up spring that I usually do for the first half of a marathon. However, I was still hitting my splits of 4:11 per km comfortably, so I was right on target as I went through halfway in about 1:28:30.
One of the things I love about the Melbourne Marathon course is all the switchbacks that allow you to see all your mates both in front and behind you. It's great to get a shout of encouragement from a friendly face and also to return the favour. I really enjoyed the first half of the race and hitting the half-way mark I had managed to save energy for the second half - I was in position 271 at 20 km.
I'm not really sure if it was partly sub-conscious or not, but shortly after the 20 km marker I felt incredible, and all of a sudden I was running 4:03s, 4:04s and 4:05s. Immediately, the field started coming back to me. I was passing people, I was feeling amazing and I was starting to think that maybe this was my day!
I went past Laurent at about 22 km, and received a shout of encouragement from him. I could see another friend from the Crosbie Crew, Rob Follet in the distance and made him my next target to overtake and went past him in the temporary new switchback section of the course as we approached Elwood not long after. I could also see another clubmate, Phil Klein just ahead of him and shortly thereafter also went past him. I knew both of these guys were planning on going sub-3, and they were both looking quite strong, so to be passing them meant things were starting to look very good indeed for me.
At one stage shortly after the Elwood turn-around, I had to say to myself 'what the hell are you doing'. I had just run a 4:01 k, my quickest of the race. There were still 17 km to go in the race, and I thought it is probably to early 'to be a hero', as my coach, Tim Crosbie would say. Nevertheless, the 10 km between 20 and 30 km was my fastest period of the race. My pace had only increased a little, but I was flying past people. At 30 km, I had gained 65 places to move into position 206.
I have read and heard many times about the psychological benefits of running a negative split, and admit to being somewhat sceptical. However, I can now say that there is definitely something there. To be moving through the field picking people off is a huge boost mentally and you almost feel as if you are stealing their strength as you surge by them.
The dreaded merge...This was my third Melbourne Marathon and the course and structure of the race has been more or less the same for the last three years. Just before 30 km the marathon course merges back in with the half marathon course. This might not be such a big deal, however, the halfies set off an hour after the marathoners, so as a three hour marathoner when you hit the merge you run into the back of the half marathon pack running between 6 and 7 minutes per km while you are running at about 4 mins per km. It's a recipe for disaster, especially when many of them cannot hear you because they are listening to the latest Beyoncé track at full volume on their Ipod. But having been there, done that, got the t-shirt, I knew what to expect.
To the credit of the half marathoners, those that heard me shouting "coming through on the right" were courteous, encouraging and moved out of the way as best they could. I don't blame them for the situation, it is mostly the fault of the race organisers and is one of only a couple of issues in an otherwise fantastic event. The organisers have also attempted to address the problem somewhat and marathoners and half-marathoners are now mostly separated on the length of St Kilda Rd.
Going down St Kilda Road I was still feeling great and continuing to pick off other runners. I almost ran into yet another Crosbie Crew friend, José just before the turn-off under the Arts Centre. He gave me a few much appreciated encouraging words and I was off to tackle the last 8 km with whatever I had left in the tank.
Melbourne Marathon is mostly pancake flat. The only section that contains anything resembling a hill, lasts about 2 km at about 35 km. This is a challenging time of the marathon in ordinary circumstances, but a slight incline makes it even more so. This section of the race had cost me several minutes in the last two attempts and I was determined not to let that happen again this year. Incredibly though, I was still hitting my splits and I was still overtaking other runners. I summoned one last burst of energy and emerged out the back of 'the Tan' onto Domain Rd, with the emerging feeling that I might have it in the bag.
As I rolled down the slight incline of Domain Rd onto St Kilda Rd and on towards the 40 km timing mat, I allowed myself the indulgence of looking at my actual race time. Up until now I had been using the virtual partner feature on my Garmin and didn't actually know my race time. I only knew I was ahead of my target pace. There were 2.2 km to go and 12 minutes to do it. This was when I truly knew I had the sub-3 in the bag. Only a calamity could stand between me and sub-3 glory. I was in position 148, having gained another 58 places between kms 30 and 40.
Rounding through Federation Square and towards the finish at the MCG, it was about holding it all together (and dodging around the hordes of half marathoners). When I finally glimpsed the clock on the finish chute about 100 m away I could see that I was going to smash my goal time. I'm not normally an emotional guy but as I approached that finish line, and heard the 'Go Brad' from Asia, I was almost overwhelmed with the sense of joy and accomplishment, so much so that I couldn't actually control my breathing during those last few metres. As I crossed the line fists pumping, gasping for air, Blair (another friend from the Crosbie Crew) spotted me and I immediately gave him a big hug - nothing like a bit of man love at the finish of a marathon...
I was done. Physically, mentally and emotionally there was nothing left to give. I had crossed the line in 2 hrs 55 mins and 50 secs in position 143, a 90 second negative split, a 12 minute personal best and my first sub 3 hour marathon.
In my opinion, few things in life compare to the moment crossing the marathon finish line having given all you've got and having achieved your goals. I'm getting married in a few months, perhaps that will compare!
A marathon is a journey and to achieve success requires a great support crew. For that I can thank my friends at SMAC and the Crosbie Crew and of course my fiancée, Asia. She was the one who put up with the 5:15 am alarms, cooked the late night turkey dinners after the 20 km tempo runs, suffered the interrupted social life, ameliorated the grumpy runner after a bad training session, carried the bags to the races and took the photos. Asia you're the best. I love you.
My splits for the race can be seen here.
