Interview By Josh Papanikolaou: Date 7/29/14 Runner’s Tribe
Training for Glasgow:
It was quite tough, I was doing a solid amount of volume and there were some really tough sessions in there like 3 X 6km at under 3 min/k pace.
It was hard work but I thought I was going to be in good shape for the race.
I averaged about 208km for the whole preparation and my highest week was 221km on my first week – I was a bit shocked with how I managed to get through that week.
Even towards the end my last big week of mileage I hit 211km doing on single runs for the week.
You never really feel on top of it, it was just a continuous grind, some weeks you’d feel better than other weeks.
You might do an amazing session then feel quite flat for a few days but you just have to get out there and do the mileage and just hope that you’re not making yourself flat.
I thought I was a good judge on how my body was going.
Expectations a few days before the race:
Coming into the last few days I had done quite a big taper over the last two weeks and I was quite anxious, I was unsure if I had lost fitness or if I had run too hard during my taper.
I was getting quite nervous about that stuff and wasn’t quite sure how I was going to go.
I had the aim of top ten and I wanted to be up there challenging the Kenyans.
You just have to convince yourself that you can run with them.
I just wanted to be with the lead pack or with Michael because he always runs smart.
Thoughts early on in the race:
I didn’t know what to expect early on, I was trying to figure out what the Kenyans were going to do early on.
They made a big move early and I thought that was the move that was going to separate them form the rest of the pack so I went a covered it.
They just kept surging and I realised they were just trying to break each other, so I thought I would gradually pick them up the next time when they surge.
Reaching halfway:
It was kind of mixed feelings there.
There were some patches where I felt like I was jogging and other parts of the race where I felt uncomfortable with the pace, and sometimes that was when it was slow.
I thought I felt pretty good up until about 35km then it all kind of fell apart then ( he laughs), then I started going backwards a bit.
My last two kilometres was absolutely shocking!
I was actually reeling in some Kenyans at the end but didn’t have enough distance left to catch them – aerobically I felt good but my legs were just heavy.
Hearing about Shelley during the race:
On course it was pretty cool that I had all these people yelling out, “your mate’s winning” or “your mate’s won it”.
I thought he must be winning or surging so it was great to hear but I didn’t really absorb it too well, I was just trying to push myself towards the line.
When I finally got to the finish line I could see him and he was celebrating and gave him the thumbs up.
When I crossed the line I was probably more excited for him than I was for my own result – it was a sensational run by him.
I definitely want to see the last bit on TV because he made the move when it counted – it will be awesome to see.
Looking forward to the next marathon:
I know there is room for a whole lot of improvement.
Starting with some of the surges that I tried to cover on Sunday were well under 3 min pace so that’s kind of paces that I wasn’t expecting to run – so if I go into a big city marathon I’ll run faster off a more even pace.
I thought my run was a pretty good result considering it was a championship race.
I’m definitely looking forward to getting out there and having a crack at another one.
How the body is feeling:
Well, it’s absolutely buggered.
I’ve been struggling to walk around the last couple of days – the quads are both dead.
I did feel my hamstrings near the end of my race but not as much as I thought it was going too given I had some neural pain there in my build-up.
Unfortunately, my room is on the second level so whenever I need to go anywhere I’ve got the battle of the stairs – it’s pretty much like climbing a mountain!
Australian team experience at a Championship:
It’s been great to get to know everyone from all the disciplines.
They are all great people, all friendly and we are all supporting each other.
Post-race:
It took probably nearly two hours and about eight Gatorade bottles to get my sample for a drug test – so that was annoying!
After that I quickly went to see my parents before they went to Belfast.
Then I made a quick dash to go and see Michael and Jess get their medals before watching Collis in the 5,000m and the other guys compete.
I was looking forward to getting to sleep from about midday – my hamstrings were screaming.
I enjoyed every aspect of the day, it was great to see Jess and Michael get their medals, and inspiring.
