Sydney Marathon with Me

My watch strap broke just moments before the race started, so while I did have the help of the 3:15 pace group for much of the race, I never really knew what my paces were or what my HR was. I tried to stay behind the pacers as long as I could, but I did get ahead of them from about 15-40km. I was running solely on feel.
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We happened to get a glimpse of the lead men and Kipchoge on this course that doubles back on itself often. Crowd support throughout the race was better than I was expecting, especially through Centennial Park.
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Things got hard at about 35k. I was hoping I’d have a little something left to squeeze, but I didn’t. The kilometers felt really long.
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By 40, there’s a big hill by the botanical garden that is demoralizing, and I was panicked to see the 3:15 pacer had caught up to me. Fortunately, there is a really nice downhill finish to this race and you end on the Opera House steps.
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I finished at 3:13:35, which is less than 30s off from what I ran in Berlin last year. Given how hilly this course is, I’m quite happy about it. This isn’t my goal race for the year. In a couple weeks, I’ll start getting ready for the next one.
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Disclosures: Soar is an apparel partner for me on this trip. I got my bib through Sports Tours who was my travel partner for this trip.