Weston Creek Half Marathon, 1:52:41 - Close, but no cigar

What a top weekend in Canberra! I'm glad I didn't give in to my niggling doubts and give up on the weekend and the race.

We arrived in Canberra on Saturday afternoon at the Statesman hotel in Curtin, a suburb named after my favourite prime minister. The Statesman looked and smelled like it had flooded recently, but was better than the last hotel DJ and I staye4d in by virtue of the fact that the coffe sachets were Mocconna (the last one was International Roast). Who says you need a star rating - just ask about the coffee!

We practised the drive to the start line a couple of times before heading off to a magnificent carbo-loading session at the Pancake Parlour. Can someone please explain to me why they closed Pancakes at the Movies and Pancakes at Parramatta? I love these restaurants, and they just keep on closing the ones I eat at! I'm as mad as hell, and not going to take it anymore!!!!(Ben shakes fist violently) .

Now, where was I up to? Oh yeah...

So back to the Smelly Statesman in Curtin (ironic because Chifley was more likely to be the smelly statesman than Curtin - Chifley was the pipe smoker), where Em indulged in her habit of playing with everything and pressing every button before being sent to bed. In doing so she set the alarm in the hotel room to go off at midnight. The twins selpt bissfully through the alarm, which woke DJ and I up. DJ blindly played with the alarm until it stopped. Sure enough, in ten minutes it was off again, so I jumped out of bed and turned it off.

Neither of us got back to sleep after that, and so I was relieved that the morning coffee was of decent quality, and had me feeling half human by the time we set off for the start line.

I was a bit surprised that I only saw one other Coolrunner at the start (Strewth), but as Em, Bop, DJ and I huddled together (which was half group hug and half an effort to keep warm) Aki approached and we had a short chat.

The course was all bitumen bike path and was quite crowded at the start. I pushed myself a bit as I was worried about losing too much time in the throng. This was probably a mistake as I went through one K in 4:58, which was too fast. I made a concious effort to slow without slowing too much, and I hit a bit of rhythm over the next few K. The course was undulating without being difficult over the first 5K, and I went through 5K in 25:41. There was a nasty rise over the next K or so, and I adopted the attitude of just trying to get to the turnaround still under 1:50 pace, and see what happens.

I hit the turnaround in 54:55, and at that stage, if I can use a motoring analogy, I knew I had less than half a tank of petrol left, and that I'd struggle to get home in the pace I went out in. Thjis proved to be the case, as although I was pushing quite hard and was still on track at thirteen, I slowed after that, and I knew the wheels would fall off if I went any quicker. I kept pushing, as I knew I was there or thereabouts for a PB, but I started to really suffer in the last 2K, and although I lifted the intensity, Ks 20 and 21 were my slowest, and I brought it home in 1:52:41 to the cheers of my fan club. I actually had to check my Garmin to see if it was a PB, such was my state of mental disarray at the finish line, but alas it was eight seconds slower than the Central Coast.

I'm not at all disappointed by this. It was a tougher course than the Central Coast, and there are no question marks about course accuracy and moving start lines. I ran the race a lot smarter than I did at the Central Coast, and finished in a much better state. There is no doubt that this is my best performance in a half marathon, and I'm very happy with it.

After the race we finished the day off with a trip to the Mint and a great time at Questacon, a top weekend in the nation's capital.

My second proud moment of the day came when we were at the Mint. For $2.50 you can forge your own dollar coin. I gave the twins $2.50 each, and Em made her coin and popped it in the "free" cardboard pouch.

Bop watched the process take place and stuck her $2.50 straight in her pocket. Hopefully this means I'll never have to worry about Bop with poker machines - woo hoo!!