Canberra Half Marathon

I really should’ve posted this a few weeks back but, as per, I’ve been rather tardy on posting. In any case on the 15th April I took part in the Canberra Half-Marathon my third overall and the second one that I’ve completed. In the weeks running up to the race I’d done a few laps around lake Tuggeranong with the guys from the footie team I play for. Whilst doing these I’d noticed that I was completing nearly 7.5 miles in around an hour which meant I was on song for beating my Cardiff time (2hrs 7mins); the only question was by how much.

The day itself was a very early start. The race was due to begin at 7:30am and we had to be there in good time to find parking. Once there it was a case of warming up and just getting ready to run. The weather was perfect as it was sunny but, because of the time of day, it was rather cool. As the start neared I made my way to the back of the long queue for the start and got ready for the go. As I crossed the line I started I pressed go on my Garmin watch and set about finding my running grove. The route was lovely with a lap around Parliament House and over both of the bridges crossing Lake Burley Griffin. I also remembered to keep fluids topped up taking drink on at every station on the route around and as I finished the first 10K I noticed that I came in under 50 minutes and this got me excited as I was on for setting a very good time. So I kept my head and cracked on with the second 10K lap and as I rounded the final corner, much to Cat’s surprise, I was closing in on a surprising and ridiculously crazy improvement on my Cardiff time.

Crossing the finishing line I remember being a little disoriented but, after glancing at my watch, that was tapered with joy as I’d crossed the line in 1hr 41mins 38secs; an improvement of about 26 minutes! It’s a time I’m really, really proud of and certainly gives me another new goal to aim for and beat. It’s also tempted me now to focus on and enter a full marathon at some point in the next year. I was thinking of doing one in a month or so but decided it was best to wait given that we’re now fully in to the football season here. In any case it was one helluva day and one I won’t forget any time soon!