It's done
now. My first ever road marathon (mountain marathons are in their own
category). And with a decent time too! While reading Helen Palmer's blog about
New York marathon about a year ago I got this stupid preoccupation in my head
that I'd like to do one too. I was stupid enough to tell Helen about it and so
it was soon decided that we would do Divina Pastora Marathon in Valencia. The decision was made long before Jungfrau and I couldn't back off
from it even if I wanted to. For those of you who haven't done a marathon but
dream about it, I can only tell that do it once but don't try to do it
twice within a few months. It can be pretty overwhelming, both physically and
emotionally.
After
Jungfrau I was really fed up with all marathon training and everything around
it. I had no interest in gathering any more tarmac miles and I wouldn't have
trained anything if I hadn't got back to trails and saddle. I had a relatively
easy marathon program attached to the fridge door but I think I skipped more
than half of the trainings. My weekly mileage was everything between 0 and 50. I
was just too bored to do any more marathon miles. Instead I did everything I
found amusing (like riding my new road bike!) and managed to do only a couple
of real marathon trainings. Pace runs are said to be important, so I did one, the Birmingham half marathon. It went quicker
than planned but it was an excellent training and mimicked the last half of a
marathon due to tired legs from a long ride on the day before. And long runs
are equally essential, so I did one long run too.
But that's about it. Naturally I had more on my belt from the summer when I
trained for the Jungfrau.
So to the
race day.. I was feeling humble and slightly horrified but also cheerful. Helen
was wonderful company and made me smile. I think that's important. To feel good
when you're about to race for 3h or more. Leave the worries behind and try to
enjoy it. There are a couple of other things a novice should pay attention to:
hydration and nutrition. Do your homework and do a drinking plan. That's quite
important. I didn't have one in Jungfrau and suffered therefore more than needed.
And train how to drink too. Find out how much you sweat per hour and train how to drink when
running. It's not as easy as it sounds. At least for me it's one of the hardest
things in marathon. To stay hydrated. It's not easy to drink when running fast
if you haven't trained it. So in comparison to Jungfrau my training was shit
but otherwise I was much better prepared.
1K - It was
very crowded at the start. We were somewhere in the middle of the masses and
the first kilometre was quite stressful with lots of accelerations and braking. My first lap was nearer to 5min and I was running together with the
4:30 pacer (4h30min finishing time).
2K - "Don't get stressed, just keep it relaxed"
I kept saying to myself as I passed the 4:00 pacer. "Finish is at the end of the race, there's plenty of time, no need to
hurry!
3K - I get
a glimpse of the 3:45 pacer. At least the hours are right now. There's a bit
more room and I can smile again.
5K -
Someone shouts my name and I turn to look back. How did he know my name? Only then I
remember that it stands on my bib number. It's fantastic to hear the crowds to shout
your name.
9K - I am
just passing a random runner when she suddenly yells "Hey you,
you're English!" Is she
talking to me? "Ehm...not really but I do live there" I
answer. Weird, how can she know? "I
knew it, I've seen you" she says and continues with chatting. I remember
Helen saying something about focusing on your race and not to talk with all random
English or Finnish runners you may meet. So I wish her good luck, lengthen my
stride and leave her behind. Focus,
focus..
10K - 42:37.
A few minutes ahead of my target but slower than in Jungfrau. It should be
good. I take my first sip of sports drink and feel great. Now it's more relaxed
and I'm running with people with approximately same pace. It feels mentally
great to run just a bit faster than the folks around me. Somewhere here I pass
the 3:30 guy.
12K - We've
just come to the old town and it looks brilliant. I ingest everything around me
and give a high five to a few guys with stilts. Only then I remember Helen
warning me about being too enthusiastic and going along with all hype and high
fives. Oh no I've done it again (broken
another of what-you-are-not-supposed-to-do-when-running-your-first-marathon
rules).
15K - 1:04:01.
I realize that it's going faster than planned. But I've taken it
really easy and feel great. I know I'm supposed to run smart the first two
thirds of the race but as far as it goes fast without effort it should be okay.
I pass the 3:15 pacer and take my first gel. It's one of those that can be taken without water. It's easy to swallow and it even tastes good. Why didn't I take more of these??
20K - I
hear lots of "MUY BIEN RIINA!" and "ANIMA ANIMA!". The last
one sounds funny. I have no idea what it means but they keep yelling that a
lot. I cannot help but smile every time I hear it. It sounds like
"animal" and imagine being a cheetah..
21.1K -
Half way in 1:30:00. Oh my, it's 5min too
fast and I'm running at 3h pace! A thought of breaking 3h hits me but I try
to ignore it. Not possible, don't even
think about it! Far too early to
start to race! Just keep it relaxed, enjoy the flow and don't start to race
before the final 10K!
25K - I'm
getting nervous just before the drink station. I'm supposed
to swallow this highly concentrated sodium gel that I've picked at 20K.
I'm very near to vomit but also quite determined to get it down into my throat.
If I fail in this my run will certainly fail at the end. I have to pause for a
second to get it down with some water but I succeed. Done, now I can enjoy the
next 10K before taking another.
27K - I
feel suddenly amazingly good. Music is loud and drums are even louder when we
accelerate down towards a tunnel. I had no idea there was a tunnel but it's
exciting. I think I experience a marathoner's high somewhere around 27-30K. How
can it be this easy?
30K -
2:08:20. I try to do some calculations in my head. It feels I've kept the pace
pretty well. How much time I have?
Can I still do it? I give myself a few kilometres time to do the maths
and a permission to try it when at 32K.
32K - 3h
seems perfectly doable. My legs are getting tired but I decide to ignore it and
push forward. I'm feeling a lot better than I ever imagined feeling at this
phase.
35K - 2:30:09.
Elasticity seems gone now and I need to work to keep the pace. This can be
suicidal but 7k in half an hour seems fully possible. It's the pace I've been
running the last 35k (well, I'm skilfully ignoring a few vital seconds and not quite sure how long the last kilometre is). I swallow another concentrated
gel and start to wait for a miracle..
37K - Oh my god, my quads are really killing me
now! They've stopped working and running gets complicated. My try to break
3h was totally suicidal. I hope I can run the rest of the race but I'm having
my doubts now. It's only 5k left but it's awfully long without working quads. Keep running, this is nothing compared to
Jungfrau! (and that's true!)
38K - My
first kilometre that takes over 4:30. Pace is definitively
dropping now and there's nothing I can do. A few girls who I passed
some kilometres ago overtake me. One looks like an Ironman, other is very
anorectic. I'm nothing like either of them. They both seem so professional.
40K - The
longest kilometre of all. Reality strikes, I know I've missed the magical 3h. I
see many runners around me who've missed it too. Many of them plod
forward like they had nothing to give anymore. I force myself to continue.
41K - My
slowest lap but still under 5min. Okay, I've missed it but it's still going way better than I ever thought. Only 1k to
go. It's nothing! Run run run, it's almost over now!!
42K - I
feel dead and my legs are in agony but suddenly I see the finish line just in
front of me and feel better than ever. I increase my stride, pass the line, and
fall into tears. I get very emotional. My finishing time is 3:03:21. I never thought I
could run this fast this far! I've totally smashed my target (3:15)
and I'm extremely satisfied but it still strikes me: Oh my god, I have to do it
again. 3h was so near that I just need to try to break it.
Once you've
done it you're hooked, they say, and I start to understand why...
