23km DNF Disaster due to ankle ruins 'bourne 2008

Ran and walked 23km in about 2hrs 23min.
Splits;
5km 23.50
10km 48.58
20km 1.46
21.1km 1.56.15.

more splits;
1k-4.57 (severely twist ankle)
3k-13.40 (4.21's on average)
4k-18.48? (5.08)
5k 23.50 (5.08)

7k 33.40 (4.55's)
8k 38.48? (5.08)
9k 43.41 (4.53)
10k 48.58 (5.16)

severe ankle pain flare up
walking, 30sec toilet break
12k 63.45 (7.23's)

15k 79.40? (5.58's)
16k 1.25.19? (5.39)
18k 1.37.20 (5.59's)
19k 1.41.41? (4.21)
20k 1.46.52 (5.11)

ankle pain back again...
21.1k 1.56.15 (9min 23secs for 1.1km)
23.5km about 2.23 (about 10-12min per km walking slower and slower)

Rolled/sprained an ankle (assuming no broken bones or torn ligaments at this stage, but may have to get a scan to confirm that) very severely in the first few 100m crossing a median strip hot on the tail of the 3.15 pacers...

I stepped from bitumen up over high curb at pace in a crowd and left foot (my ddodgy leg with the bad knee and the one giving me thigh problems recently) planted onto loose gravelly type pebbles/sand and slid/skidded, and I felt severe pain as I rolled the ankle laterally (left) and medially (right), in my attempts to stay upright and keep running fast.

I have twisted an ankle many times before, and been able to run out the pain so that was my immediate thought, although my other immediate thought was that was "severe pain" I need to stop now!!! and walk this out, and at the same time I heard someone behind me yell "you ok Trailblazer?", I knew that if I stopped I would lose the 3.15 guys straightaway and my race plan of getting a fast clear run early and seeing if I could hold onto the 3.15 or 3.30 groups, would be out the window for the day in the space of about 1-2 minutes... Given what I have been through to get there and how important this race was to me this year (certainly after missing the PB at Perth by 8 seconds), I figured I would ignore the severe pain and try and run it out so I gritted my teeth didn't answer the yell from behind, and resolved to stay with the 3.15 pacers like Steve as per plan A...This worked ok for a few km and the pain gradually subsided, and I started to feel like maybe I had gotten away with it. However I soon decided the pace was not going to be sustainable, and let the 3.15 people go...
I saw two PCRG (pat carroll running group?) guys go past around this time...
Splitted 5km in 23.50 and was feeling good...Eventually the first of the 3.30 pacers in Luis came past, tried to stay with him and did for a bit but again it felt just a touch too fast. The thigh was not causing any problems and the ankle seemed to have settled. Looking good, when the other 3.30 pacer came up going at about 4.50 per km pace, which seemed about right so I latched onto the back of his group and figured thats where I want to try and stay for as long as possible, and hopefully run ahead of in the last 10km. That seemed to be working ok, enjoying the race, and we started to see the beach looming up ahead. I was feeling good, and starting to think yes this is my day and a 3.24-3.54 is possible...Struggled a little between 9km and 10km, digesting my first powerbar Gel, but still managed to split 10km in 48min 58, which although a little slower than I had hoped, was still well and truly in the PB target zone! at about 4min 54 per km pace... Then suddenly with little warning at all I had a stab of pain in the ankle again about 11km mark...it was so severe I immediately switched to a walk, and started to reassess things...walked for a few hundred meteres took a quick 30 second toilet break, and then decided that if I wanted the PB today I needed to get going now before the 4hr pacers caught me.

So started off jogging and then gradually increased the pace. My ankle was still a little sore, but seemed to have settled a bit. Soon I saw a pace flag catching me, and I thought oh here is that darn 4hr group and decided to try and run off them, but they soon caught me and I realised it was the 3.45 group. So I'm thinking ok stay with these guys and the 3.55 PB is still a chance, lost them at a drinks station, but tried to keep bloke in a superman suit in sight, figured I should be able to get ahead of him eventually...Then I saw Digger Bruce around about there with his 3.45 flag, and I knew this was it, if I lost contact with him, I could probably kiss the PB goodbye for today. Saw lots of cool runners throughout.

Saw two cool runners ahead and worked up to them ahead of the superman dude, and saw "Maryclaire" (edit; looks like she did 3.44) written on the back of one those two singlets. They were hitting a good pace and I figured that was one I probably should try and go with...
Did a 1km split of about 4.21, then backed off a bit as I figured this was a bit fast, and wanted to settle back to around 4.50-5.10 area...Splitted 20km in 1.46, and I figured around 3.49-3.54 was still there for the taking, if I could maintain this allo the way to the finish...a bit of a big ask but very possible I thought...
Then about 20.5km severe pain hit my ankle again, this time I was reduced to walking again, and I strolled through the halfway mark of 21.1km in 1hr 56min 15 after a 1k split of about 9-11minutes!!!, so should have hit the halfway mark in about 1.49-1.53, still on at least 3.38-3.46 pace and even allowing for a slower second half on track to give the 3.55 a serious shake...However due to the fact that I was in too much pain to run, I figured I had about 1-2km to get going again before it was all over for the day...about 10-11minutes later as i finally reached the 22km mark, I knew the PB chance was gone, and then I started having mad notions of walking to the finish, even if it took me 6 hours or whatever...however by about 22.5km every step even walking very slow, was painful, and I knew I needed to find medical assistance ASAP...a few cool runners gave me encouragement about this time which was very nice of them, but inside I was numb/crying big time, as I knew my PB dreams for this year were shattered. Saw "slowdave" and I think the legendary Shirley go past...(later saw her and a bloke running with her at the medical room)...

Finally about 23.5km and 10.25am I see a medical team, and stop there, and Megan and Caitlin the medical people there put cold bandages on the "duck egg" bruise on the lateral side of my left ankle, to try and reduce the swelling a bit, and bandage it tightly to provide some compression which also stops the swelling a bit. I think my shoe must have stopped it from swelling for a long time...I wait a few minutes for the sag wagon to pick me and a few other injured runners up and we get in the van as they battle heavy traffic, and try all sorts of detours to try and get back to the MCG...
One of the guys in our sag wagon is throwing up powerade at about 5 minute intervals and is clearly the most urgent case in our van. We see a lady unconscious on the side of St Kilda Rd being attended to by paramedics, and I see the guy in the superman suit running along St Kilda Rd and I feel a bit jealous that I am not out there too. Then start to wonder how my wife and 1 year old have gone in the 5.5km walk...

The dude in our van throwing up starts throwing up blood, and as soon as we finally get to the MCG he is straight onto the stretcher while the rest of us are left to try and find the medical room in the bowels of the MCG...I decide to go and hand over my chip, and get my clothes bag so hobble around until I get that, then hobble around heaps more until I eventually find the medical room. They are all on stretchers in there except for a fe wof us sitting on chairs...eventually I get sick of waiting to be seen, and I already have 3 messages on my phone from my wife asking where I am, so I aggressively hobble in and demand to know where the icepacks are, and get one of those off the medical staff, and finally start icing my ankle at about 1230pm...2 hours after I was picked up by sag wagon! I wait another 20 minutes or so, and a few staff ask me how I am, but they always get called away for people on stretchers, so I figure I cant leave my wife at our apartment stuck with 1 year old and luggage any longer as we have to check out...so I hobble out of there with my icepack and bag, had a nice chat with coolrunner RunningM, and then see a big Maori bloke called Nate (looks like he could play for the AllBlacks) with a Perth City to Surf shirt on, get talking to him a bit, and then he says do I want a lift to my apartment, so I gladly accept this Godsend, and head back to meet my tired wife and son, and we order a taxi to take us to out next hotel, where I hobble some more and spend the evening icing the ankle with frozen peas...All plans of visiting the Transport out of the question...

Before the race I had a quick chat with Hills group legend Jane who surprisingly turned up for Melbourne marathon, and she gives me the name of a good sports massage bloke in Perth, who might be the answer to my thigh problems..., also saw Tigerboy again out there, and located the 3.15 pace group.

Monday night back in Perth the ankle is starting to finally feel slightly better, hopefully its just severe bruising and will clear up in time for me to go back to work on Friday, if not I might have to get an X-ray or MRI, or another bone scan...

Feel a bit like Tourniquet lyrics;"I was already down, and you kicked me... but I'll get up, just watch me get up" (broken chromosomes I think was the song from Psycho Surgery album), but then again I have been here before, and if its just bruising I could be running again in a few days time...although the huge financial investment will seem like a bit of a waste, there is always positives if one looks for them;
1- at least both Kathryn, Jacob AND I all got to experience 'Bourne Marathon 2008...
2-I had a red-hot go (didn't "die wondering", "put it all out there on the line") and if it were not for the ankle, I may have nailed it in 2008, but it was not my day. Hope to get another go at it.
3-I did a leisurely lap of The TAN...
4-I learned to be careful crossing median strips at high speed in a crowd in the future.
5-I got to see the race from another perspective i.e. the medical van/room, and sag wagon perspective, and some of the incredible difficult work there that volunteers do.
6- I was able to view surreal memorable magical!!! mcg setting that I would have run into before the race, just as they were firing up the hot air balloon. That memory alone will stick in my mind forever, and whets my appetite to hopefully come back again for another go aother year, God willing.
7- some of the people I was able to catch up with/meet briefly, and in some cases meeet for the first time; eg tigerboy,RunningM,Jane E., Nate, the dozens of coolrunners I saw out there...
8- just the fact that I was able to get valuable racing experience/course familiarisation (on tope of last years 4.10) in the first 20km on this course, and execute my raceplan pretty much as planned for the first 20km, and get more than halfway there to what looked like a 3.41-4.01...
9-the melbourne marathon shirts Kathryn and I bought...
10-useful knowledge gained about a much better accomodation option, and getting around melbourne better...which could be very handy if I go back again.
11-a reminder that God rules (as well as cares), and I can't take anything for granted.
12-very special times, for Kathryn,Jacob and I together! on an excellent! mental change/break/holiday from the usual mundane boringness at home.

UPDATE; 14th October Tuesday night;
-more than 48 hours later, and ankle is still swelled up and still pretty sore on both Lateral AND Medial sides (more so on lateral side as youd expect).
-However in the last 24 hours the swelling has gone significantly and I am now walking almost normally instead of shuffle,shuffle put all weight on right leg. Its still very tender if I put it in the wrong position or bump it, but it has improved significantly today.
-My main priority right now is my ability to do my meter reading again by Thursday or Friday, everything else is a lower priority to that at the moment.