The plan was to run to Dee Why for the start of the Pub 2 Pub, run the 13km race hard and then run back to Queenscliff on tired legs with the idea being that this would be the longest run we would do before the marathon which is only 3 weeks away now!
Met Tim and Roly and the Freshie Growers at 7.15 and jogged the easy 5km to Dee Why, along the ocean front, arriving at Dee Why with about 20 mins to go to the start. Roly didn’t have a number yet and so, after picking it up, we made our way to the start line on the beach.
I had heard rumours of the beach start and so thought that there was a thrash along Dee Why beach to kick things off, but I hadn’t really given it much thought. It was high tide and so there wasn’t a great deal of beach to run along and so the organisers staggered the start to let everyone get away smoothly.
We started in wave 2 and were quickly into our stride for the 800m thrash along the beach. My tactic was to run along the water’s edge as the sand should be firmer thereby allowing greater traction and a faster pace whereas most people went for the drier, softer option higher up the beach. The only downside of running near the surf being of course that you are susceptible to breaking waves which in turn means wet feet. After a couple of close misses, I was eventually nailed by such a wave with my feet now thoroughly wet though and full of sand. Great, and only 500m in.
Eventually, we made our way off the sand and onto the grass at Long Reef with the race route winding its way inland and up the coast to the finish at the Newport Arms. I wasn’t familiar with the route at all, apart from Roly telling me that it was ‘harder than the City to Surf’ and that there was a big hill at the end.
As I said, the plan was to run hard and to push the pace where I could and I was quickly into my pace once we left the sand. The race basically consisted of a lot of flat stuff along Pittwater Road interspersed with some more tricky hills as we pushed inland. There were a couple of gnarly hills but my legs felt strong, probably after all the hill training I had done for the C2S.
The km markers came and went. I had mucked up my timing with the 5km warm up and so had no idea of my race time aside from the odd km split….which themselves seemed inaccurate.
I paced off a couple of runners around me and made it to the last hill in good shape and still feeling strong. From the top I knew it was all downhill to the finish and so I pushed hard for the final km, crossing the line still having no idea how quickly I had run but happy with how I felt.
I grabbed some water and waited for the guys to finish, Tim coming in a couple of minutes later with Roly a few minutes further back.
After a few cups of water, it was time to head back out, up the hill the wrong way and back along Pittwater Road. By this time we had all run 18km, 13km of which had been pushed hard and so we were feeling a little tired. As a result, the pace started off slowly before picking up as we got back into our stride, averaging about 5.40ish.
Unlike the previous times we had all run together there wasn’t much conversation going on as we made our way back. The sun had got up and it was warm which all added up to a pretty uncomfortable time of it.
We stopped for water in Collaroy before pushing on to Dee Why where we left Roly who was struggling big time by this stage. Tim and I then continued to Brookvale where Tim decided to catch a bus home as he had reached his 35km target having run further from home at the start of the day.
I then pushed on along Harbord Road and into Freshwater and then Queenscliff, finally hitting the 35km mark at Splat Café. Perfect timing.
From there I limped back home, arriving just after 11am but feeling very sorry for myself and dehydrated. However, after some banana juice and a couple of slices of toast I was soon feeling much better and ready to attack the rest of the day…on the couch!
All up, 35km and nice to get the long one out of the way. All downhill now to race day.
As for my actual race time, it turns out I finished in 1.00.15, coming 157th out of 5,000. 141st male and 56th in my category. An average pace of 4.38 which isn’t too bad considering the sand start. Plus, it was my 13km PB, having never run the distance before…
Tim finished just over 1.03 with Roly at 1.06.
No squash tonight, Pain tomorrow, a swim and footy on Wednesday, a run in on Thursday and then a day off on Friday before the Striders 10km on Saturday morning. From then on I will play it by ear until race day.
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