Simply fantastic! 24 miles in 4:01. I got lost, about 2 miles from the end, or I would have made it in 3:50 or so. Perfect blustry weather, not wet underfoot, views were out of this world, and all finished off with a pint of Black Sheep at the end, watching runners then walkers coming in for an hour. What an experience!
Antwerp Marathon: 26.2 miles (42k)
3 hours 13 mins 2 seconds
I travelled through some zones of despair I hadn’t seen before on Sunday. It crept up to 21 degrees C with no shade for long stretches - quite nasty, though I know that’s not really hot.
First half was fine and dandy, keeping ahead of the 3:15 pacers and their bright blue balloons, and on course for my optimum time of 3:10. Forgot my handy pace band though so was a little bit lost for some of the time, and too tempted to chase people - a very stupid mistake. Then after a long lonely seemingly endless section of dual carriageway I was started to slow.
All of sudden, at 26 or 27k I heard the pounding of a pack of runners on my tail, glanced round and it was the pacing group - minus balloons. What a horrible moment, I really thought they’d just pass me and that would be that. I could console myself that I’d still make it to the end with a PB, but I think I would have lost so much spirit if I had let them past that I gritted my teeth and stayed in front of them until 38k.
By that point, several of the pack had fallen by the wayside and we were passing runners all the time. The pacer was level with me shouting encouragement in Dutch. He translated one of his phrases to me as
“Everybody feels pain now, so we must make the pain pass quicker”
True but highly annoying words - and he then sped up for the last 3k - by this time my quads were in agony, something I’ve never had before. Our fastest kms were right at the end. Even after the Snowdonia marathon and the infamous descent to the end, my quads were fine.
Post-race I had the traditional relaxing limp around town for hours desperately looking for UNsweetened water, lunch, and general moseying around town. I still can’t remember a thing about Antwerp though, so I’ll have to return another day to do some sight-seeing.
Not sure quite what the reasons for my pain this time were - quite possibly I didn’t take enough water and fuel on board. I was reluctant to drink more because if I’d stopped for a pee, I just know I would never have caught the pacing group up again.
Next goals (there’s always another one) - a 10k race in Oxford in May - nice and short, but again trying to break my PB and dip under 40 minutes, which should be realistic, then an off-road and hilly marathon in Swaledale in mid-June.
Port Meadow loop in the morning for a change, and I remembered my cameraphone. The Nokia N95 is just that little bit bigger and heavier, hence I don’t carry it around so much on runs. The result is I’ve haven’t taken so many photos.
Just a reminder, I’m in taper mode. This means my last long run over 15 miles is done and dusted (18 on Sunday), and the mileage per week drops now for the final two weeks before the big race on April 20th.
It’s a scary time - I feel a bit knackered, so it’s come just at the right time, but doing less running means you end up feeling less confident about your ability to keep going at speed for 26.2 miles. Little niggles emerge too to prey on your mind - stiff calves, sprained ankles. You start being extra careful just getting out of the shower
in case of some domestic accident. After all that’s where most accidents happen. You wonder whether you should eat more food, or less, since you’ll be doing less exercise. You start to worry about forgetting your trainers on the day, or where will you pee during the race, or what if you don’t reach registration in Antwerp in time since you’re relying on others to get you there. Ah, the joy of tapering.
I am really really looking forward to 1.15pm on Sunday 20th April when I should be just beyond the finish line.
Nervous days beginning - last long run done and dusted last Friday, 23 miles at 6am before work in the strong wind and rain. Just three more weeks now. Finally got round to mapping the route - and it’s pretty much dead flat, so the only thing that could go against me is the weather.
Rhayader 20 mile race: 2h40m
That was harder than it should have been. Spent the race trying to recalibrate the garmin footpod, which meant I could see neither the time nor my pace/speed. As a result took it faster than I should have, but not fast enough to count as a race - kind of caught in limbo. Still, it’s a wonderful course through the Elan valley, winding around the reservoirs in this deserted part of the world. Two more long runs now before the big day.
race report time! Last one until April’s marathon.
New toy - playing with the Garmin Forerunner 50 which tracks heart rate and cadence and distance using a footpod thingie, a surprisingly discrete plastic bit that clips onto your shoe laces. Out of the box it was pretty accurate, but I made the mistake of trying to calibrate it by running round a track. Cue my first ever visit to a running track, and there was a football match taking place in the middle! Sheepishly tried a single lap without getting hit by a football or footballer. Now the device is way out, so I think I need to do a bit more than one lap to get it right.
Using the device in conjunction with SportsTrack software though, you can get an incredible amount of info at a glance though.
So, the race: 6:52 average pace = 8.7 mph, 15 miles in 1:42:53. Bang on target for the sub 3:15 marathon attempt - in fact predicts 3:06 but I’m going to be cautious still.
Broadway Tower (above), on top of a bliddy great hill - Fish Hill. You just try running up that, go on, I dare you! 19 miles on the Cotswold Way, absolutely beautiful, but I decided not to wear my orthotics for some reason, and now have blisters on my feet, grrr. Still, 51 miles total last week, so I’m doing well, and can afford a little break.
Despite two pints on Friday night I made it outside at 7.30 for the first of five 20 milers in the next five or six weeks. Decided on the door-to-door country route taking in just the one hill, at Beckley. A grey morning, the earth still wet and the fields all clarty. Saw not a soul until I re-entered Oxford at Shotover. A very slow start because of the terrain, but once I hit the downhill tarmac at Shotover I picked up the pace, trying out the MacMillan technique of running your last five miles at marathon pace-ish. All felt great this week, and a smug feeling of satisfaction stayed with me all day as I attempted to do some work but kept half an eye on the rugby.
Time: 1h 27m 38s
I’m still in shock! I really thought I’d struggle to achieve the sub 1:30 time that a 3:15 marathon target suggests. But conditions were perfect, as you can see in the crystal blue skies in the photos, but with enough chill in the air to cool off perspiration. Started running hard, but it never felt too hard, and kept it up non stop for 13 miles. That’s the whole story - it’s funny how there’s so much else going on in your head over that hour and a half, but there’s little to describe, or little to make it sound any more interesting than “I ran hard for an hour and a half”. No chats with anybody, no time to take in the odd characters along the Brighton sea front. I did get spat upon by one of the runner-spitters you always encounter, the dirty rats. But wow, you can’t beat that feeling of finishing and knowing you’ve achieved your target and then some. Then collapsing into a chair and drinking hot tea in the sunshine waiting for your buddies to finish so you can bounce off and eat and drink. I hardly dare mention that a 1:27 half marathon time predicts a 3:05 marathon time! I’m sticking with the 3:15 plan this year.
