#31 - An awesome time at the City2Surf (14km in 68 mins)

Yesterday was Sunday and City 2 Surf day. So today I hurt.

I had an awesome time. And also did an awesome time - 68 minutes 20 seconds. Here's the proof (deduct 8 mins 8 secs for when the group 3 gun was fired).

...there I am in yellow, with proff af my time!

My target time was 75mins for the 14kms, which is not totally arbitrary. In order to get in the first group you must have completed it previously in sub-75mins.

This year I was starting off in the third group with the other amateur first-timers. We were still in front of the "back of the pack" which is where the gorilla costumes and budgie smugglers hide out. So next year I'll be in the first group. Weyhey. Yippeedidoodah.

City2surf is a bit of a Sydney institution and like the London Marathon people line the streets all the way from the City to Bondi. The course follows the Old South Head Road past Rose Bay and up "Heartbreak Hill" which is a 2 or 3km of pain as you gain height over the headland. Tons of people from the office were doing it - 5 of the 8 that sit around me. Sydney people are so annoyingly fit.

I was very excited...this is the first decent organised event I've run in. I was a good boy and went to bed early the night before having consumed pasta til I could consume no more. It was then I realised I'd left my trainers and shorts and the tape for my dodgy knee at work. Oh well, will have to go via work in the morning then.

Morning came. I woke before my alarm. This is an extremely rare occurrence. Almost unheard of. I was very excited.

So it was beans on toast and a cuppa while I awaited my taxi. No taxi. Phoned and engaged. Bloody annoying. So I scootered in leaving the Vespa at the office. Very excited. Got my bib number. Downed a litre and a half of water. Ate my high-carb gel thing and joined my group at 9 o'clock.

Fortunately I'd parked on the wrong side of town for my group so I had to enter from the start line, rather than from behind 20,000 people. Of course the marshals are not silly enough to let you just amble up and squeeze in at the front, ahead of all those people who've been camping out since 7am.

But they are silly enough to not block the holes in the hedge. So I followed a couple of other cheeky buggers and got myself to about 30 people back from the start line. This would later save me minutes on my official time, as I was across the line a mere 30 secs after our gun was fired.

In the meantime I needed a pee. As soon as I'd settled into the waiting masses. Badly needed a pee. Damn. One and a half litres of water pushing up against the gateposts. I'm not very good at waiting for the loo at the best of times. Full of nerves and energy and 1,500ml of water I was exasperated. I bounced up and down wasting valuable energy for 28 minutes til our gun was fired.

So for the first 2km all I could do was think about my bladder. I spent the whole time looking around for strategic hedges or alleyways but the streets were fully lined with the plethora of different flouro jackets of the fire police hazmat volunteers st johns ambulance marshals crowd friendly management and regular punters. At Rushcutters Bay I spotted four blokes darting towards a strategically placed hedge. Phew.

Phew.

Ten yards later I ran past the official toilets.

All good so far. Legs feeling fine. I was really enjoying running with the crowd and dodging and weaving through the masses. From about this point on the terrain seemed to be up-and-down for most of the rest of the course. Up to Edgecliff and then Down to Rose Bay. Then up the dreaded Heartbreak Hill. And Down Military Rd a bit. Then up something or other and the down something else again.

Good fun on the way - lots of music blaring from flats and bands on pub balconies. The odd "oggy oggy oggy..."

Anyway I had this 75 minutes target at the front of my mind the whole way. I was struggling to benchmark my progress because I couldn't see any mile posts. I asked some bloke and he said 4 and a half kms. OK I thought - good going - about 5 minute kilometres. Ten minutes later I asked some bloke again. 4 and a half kms he said. OK not so good. That makes it 7 minute kms. No-one knows. So I decided to ignore all that stuff and focus on running.

Eventually at the 9km mark I worked it out. I was at 46 minutes and tracking at just over 5 minute k's.

Wow. It's not long after that I got the first decent glimpse of the sea past Bondi. Stunning. I'd hardly noticed but the day was a gorgeous one. Crisp unblemished blue sky and the sun shining down. A stunner.

So I did some thinking (not much) and decided that if I pushed it only slightly I could do sub-70 minutes. I was buzzing and had just got a shiver up my back as I got to the top of a small incline. So I stupidly pushed up the pace a touch. I had no pain in my knees or hips or anywhere. That was to come later!

So off I went. Running as hard as I could to the finish line. The last mile is a hard one - - you get to the promenade at Bondi thinking you're at the end. Then you have to run right across it and double back on yourself.

...I really couldn't have gone any faster! This one doesn't do much for my running-rep...

I went hard but too early and realised I couldn't keep it up. So I slumped for a minute. Then some bloke in a red shirt whizzed past me so I latched on to him and burned to the finish line. Hands in the air.....I heard my name shouted from the crowds. The voice was familiar - I knew K would make it to the finish line for me - and a scream of relief as I passed the line. 69 minutes and 28 seconds.

Yes. F'in yes.