Gold Coast Marathon Paradise 4hr 25min 36secs
Strava data Pleased to run better than Rottnest, but still not a great time. Not terrible, but not under my Target A, B or C or even D. (4.20, 4.07, 3.50, 3.40)...
Really enjoyed the race. Probably had too much fun and didn't work hard enough in the first half.
1.57 my best half marathon split this year and probably most of my splits (and the final time) all season bests, but drifted too far away from the PB ballpark, and despite hydrating and energizing well, was rather sluggish towards the end... Shuffle mode common towards the end of the marasthon as the Carbs stores get low, so either I need to get better at dealing with that, or I need to run better from 5km-28km. Probably a bit of both.
I'm sure I am in a better place physically and emotionally for having done this race, so I am very glad for the blessed miracles that allowed me to find a way to get to it. It was hard, and I only got my accomodation booked and paid for a few days beforehand. Upgraded from half to marathon on the Thursday before the race when further money became available. Will be paying off my flight home on afterpay for a few weeks, and it is sooooo worth it. If the job interviews had got the desired result I might be living in Sydney or QLD.
Weight dipped to 82.5kg after this race for the first time ever this year and my VO2max score (according to my Garmin) is 49 for the first time this year, so I am making progress, just need to stay committed in difficult times, and keep progressing... If I can do that the 3.49 PB might be in reach this year... I won't be satisfied with 3.48 though. I'm pushing for 3.28 or 3.18 or better...
Rain poured heavy at the start while I was waiting to begin, and the half marathoners got heavily saturated.
Yuki Kawauchi winning Gold Coast marathon in 2013 in 2.10.01.
In 2019 he was about 15th this time in 2.15...
Yuki won Boston marathon in 2018, as well as Perth City to Surf marathon.
Incredibly blessed to be there in the;
FASTEST MARATHON EVER IN AUSTRALIA (2.07.50)
2.08.02 for Barnabas Kiptum (Kenya) and Zane Robertson 2.08.19 (NZ)
Nic Harman 2.22 on debut. NERA JAREB 2.37!!!, and Rochelle Rodgers 1.16 in the half.
Isaac Birir lead for about 10km (30.14) until he did a calf on one of the tricky roundabouts.
Mark Hateley 2.53?
I had some wonderful times at Cooloongatta beach area too. Wish I could have stayed longer. So overall, didn't get the outcomes I was chasing, but still one of the best weeks of 2019 for me for sure, even though it was hard yakka carting my luggage around on buses, trains and trams every day, totally worth it...
Hope to build some momentum on the back of this and Rottnest, UTA and Lamb, which all have me on a far better performance trajectory than last year... So in fishing terms I have caught some very nice racing fish this year, and Gold Coast marathon was one of my best ones so far this year. Still trying for a BIG fish though...