Melbourne Half Marathon completed

Apologies to all who have been anxiously sitting at the edge of their seats biting their nails for this most riveting review of the Melbourne Half Marathon.
I can’t believe I achieved a semi-goal of running 3 half marathons this year! I only wish I had achieved my other goal of actually hitting a sub-2 hour. Alas, I seem to have difficulty with this elusive time. It always seems so achievable…for the first couple of kms.
My first “destination” race! Yes, I know I did the Gold Coast…but it didn’t feel like a destination race as this one did! My time in Melbourne was fabulous, despite the unfortunate race I ran on Sunday. I was feeling good in the lead-up to it, but in my excitement made a couple of very silly mistakes.
1. I started the race dehydrated. I should have drunk a lot of water this past week, especially the day before the race, but I didn’t. Fearing the need of a toilet break in the middle, I certainly didn’t drink a lot the morning of the race!
2. I didn’t check my ipod. Although charged, it must have been bumped during my travels and turned on by accident. The battery was dead, which I didn’t realize until a few minutes before the start. No upbeat music for me!
3. The big one…I went out too fast. This one was the real shame, as I knew – and know! – better. Caught up in the excitement, I tried to keep pace with some friends and we were flooring it for the first few kms. Silly, silly me. I certainly paid for this mistake in the 4th km where a massive stitch (such as I have not seen since my first half marathon) nearly doubled me over for the next 3kms.
I knew I was in trouble when I barely hit the 10k in a sub-60min mark – def not on pace for a personal best! (During my personal best race, I hit it in less than 54min). I also noticed how the dehydration affected me. The water stations were every 3k. After every one I perked up and ran a full minute faster over the next km before slowing down once again. At one point I was doubtful I would finish with a sub-2h30min time. It was disheartening, for sure. But I kept plugging on, not once stopping to walk (I did slow down at the water stations to grab some water, and the congestion made me a bit slower than I might otherwise have been).
My kick at the end was nearly non-existent. I normally pick it up in the last 3kms, with a strong kick in the last 500m or so. This time, I barely had any kick. This may have been made more difficult by the narrowing of the trail (I could have beaten one girl if I’d had a bit more room to manoeuvre) and by the fact that it was on a slight hill.
“Official” time: 2.13.17. I would like to point out that the track was over 200m longer than the 21.1k it should have been. This may not seem significant, but I estimate it did add on an extra 2.5min to my final time.
For those who would like to see some race photos & videos of my finish. (To help you orientate, I finish near the lefthand side of the screen, amongst the big crowd of finishers. I am wearing a blue shirt and a bright green baseball cap – but that doesn’t show up so well in the video).