One of the reasons that I arrived at the start line so early was that I was keen to find a corner shop to buy a bottle of water for pre-race hydration and a bottle of Poweraid or Mizone for post-race rehydration. I knew there was one very close by but it was closed that threw me a bit. Where do I look next? I searched the vendors that were setting up at the start line, but there was only coffee of fizzy drink and I wasn't keen on either of those. I had another quick look round, but there was nothing in sight, so I decided to put my coat in my bag and put in the secure storage area.
I could tell the nerves were starting to build, because I wasted half an hour doing that and I still really felt uncomfortable that I wasn't going to be hydrated enough. The city shops were a block away so I decided to head that way for my pre-stretch warm up and I found a liquor store that had water and Poweraid. What a relief! I downed the 600 ml bottle of water in about 3 minutes and my gut started to feel a bit sore. I think this was a combination of the very cold water and the building nervousness. I now also had a bottle of Poweraid to deal with and my bag was already stashed away in the secure storage - more distraction and cause for nervousness. I sorted that out and then headed out into the cold wet morning to continue my warm up and stretch.
My 20 minute warm-up went well and I managed to settle the nerves a bit and I felt fresh and ready to go. The starter called for everyone to gather in the starting area with 15 minutes to go and the commentators started to talk it up. All of a sudden a theme from one of the Rocky movies came blaring out over the PA and I felt my adrenaline rush and my heart rate rise. 'Not good', I thought, ' Deep breathes' and things settled down again.
There were 5000 people on the start line but I may as well have been alone. I was completely focussed on the task ahead. In fact too much so. Being familiar with the course, meant that I was playing out exactly how the first kilometre or so would unfold:
- Remember start slowly as there is a pause as the field bunches at the very start.
- Head over the start line and start my stop watch.
- Right, remember stick to the middle of the road as the camber is too steep at the edges.
- Stay focussed a few runners ahead so that you can avoid the slower runners.
- Target pace is about 4:50 per km so make sure you don't go too f... "5... 4... 3... 2... 1... GOOO!" 'Oh shit we're off.'
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