Send in the Clowns - BAC 10K Challenge

Chip Time: 2:48:11
Half splits: 1:23:53 / 1:24:18
2nd Irishman home.

So... That happened...

By the time we got two blocks from the hotel at 7:45am, we were already pretty soaked. The weather couldn't have been more Irish. Perhaps a few more gusts of wind, and a few hills, and you could be in Dublin. Such a massive contrast from Berlin a year ago, when the temperature was hitting 24'C. Still, the mood was good, and some of our group even welcomed the Irish rain, as it washed away Friday's humidity. We had a well chosen hotel, so enjoyed a 20 minute easy walk to the start of the race, sipping a bottle of PowerAde. The city was awash with runners, all headed in the same direction, all glancing nervously at the blue race line painted on the road that would guide us back into the Tiergarten at the end of the race.

Berlin marathon is a massive spectacle and heading to the start line, you can't help but feel you're at a rock concert, rather than a road race. While my friends settled in at the rear of the gig, I made my way to the front row. Very little room to warm up with the crowds, but I managed an easy shuffle. After the chair athletes got started, the officials opened up the A and B starting pens, and I spied village runner clambering over the race barrier to make his way to the front of the race. I couldn't get near to him to wish him well though, as there were hundreds of runners between us and he disappeared into the throng.

I did have a chat with two runners from my hotel, who were both 4+ hour runners making their way into the sub 2:40 pen. :eek: They managed to *cough* somehow get lost on their way to pen H, possibly when they had to climb over several barriers to get into the front of the field. Can you imagine getting passed by 25,000 people during a race?

Race strategy:
The goal was 2:48, for no other reason than a 5 minute pb just didn't seem like enough. I had done the training and I figured it was achievable, if I could make it to the start line in good shape. For every marathon the training gets tougher though, with more miles and faster targets, so the risk of injury also goes up and I certainly had my share of niggles. The most recent of these was pain in a tendon in my left foot, from a heavy mileage weekend two weeks earlier (10k race and long run combination). The pain wasn't sharp, but everpresent, so I was concerned that during the marathon it might bring my race to a sudden conclusion, but what can you do, but run and find out?

I had a pace band for 2:48, but it was more for a distraction during the race than any other purpose. The plan was just to run at a comfortable pace, and hopefully that pace would be around 6:20-6:25 per mile. The training plan I followed was my own variation of the Pfitzinger and Douglas 12 week / 70 mile Advanced Marathoning book, where the only tweaks I made were to reduce the mileage a little in the mid week long runs (I maxed out a 63 miles) and ran slightly longer and faster weekend long runs (20, 21, 22 and a 30.5!). I had also followed a 10k plan before the marathon plan, which I find gives me the edge I need when trying to hit intervals and tempo runs, so it's really the guts of an 18 week plan.

The race:
After the familiar large spectacle race start, around two thousand people streamed past me over the course of the first mile. This didn't bother me hugely, as I like having people to work off during a race. Despite the lashing rain the crowds were out, and I soon gave up trying to avoid the puddles. This was going to be a very wet one. First mile was ticked off in 6:38, and the next was a 6:26, but I only had average pace on the watch to look at, and getting my average pace down to 6:2x seemed like a big ask, but as the miles ticked off and the body warmed up, the average pace began to drop to where it should be, around the 6:25 mark. I felt nice and comfortable, exactly where I wanted to be. I recognized vr from the yellow singlet that we both donned for pacing the 3:30 group in DCM last year, and we exchanged a few words before he ushered me onwards.

This race has proved a little different to other marathons, possibly because I have run it before, but also because this was my ninth marathon, and fifth of the year so far. I have stopped thinking of 26.2 miles as a long distance and no longer sub-divide the the race into small segments. I don't see the goal as running each mile well, but instead, focus on trying to run the entire race well. So when miles 6-10 passed, I barely noticed, preferring to enjoy the race experience, and checked the pace band occasionally when I saw a distance marker, but didn't let it influence my pace. This probably explains why the next time I checked my watch, my average pace had shifted to 6:18. But everything still felt comfortable so I stuck with it. When I reached the half way point, I could see that I was bang on the pace, despite the watch reading 6:18, so I had a good idea that either the markers were wrong (very unlikely!) or the watch was inacurate (very likely!), so I just stuck with the plan and largely ignored the average pace, just keeping an eye on it to monitor speed increases or drops.

The water stations were positioned approximately every three miles, and running 12 minutes faster than last year meant that I didn't have to suffer any of last year's commotion and bustling, so along with my four isotonic gels (miles 6, 12, 18 and 23) I had no need for anything else on a day when stayling cool wasn't a problem. Any time I felt the effort levels picking up, I dropped in behind a runner and took 20-30 seconds to recover, before pushing onwards again. This is a strategy that works really well for me, and in such a large field, there were plenty of runners to target. unfortunately I slipped a little in miles 16-18, where I failed to notice that the people I was running behind had dropped off the pace, so I was in effect running behind guys that were running closer to 6:30 pace. When I realized my error, I pushed on, and stayed mindful for the rest of the race.

At mile 21 things started to go a little wrong, as a couple of things made life a little less comfortable. I must have been subconsciously avoinding putting too much pressure on my sore foot, so I had building pain in my calf and hamstring (I've never had trouble with hamstrings before). Suddenly I was paying attention to the distance markers again, and was willing the finish line forward, so I could cross it before I was forced to really slow down. The last couple of miles were just a case of keeping the head down, and ticking off the remaining kilometers. I didn't really get to enjoy the crowds as much as I should have, as I just wanted the race to end before my leg got
worse. The final turn onto the finishing straight just wouldn't come soon enough.

Finally, I could hear the cheers from the crowds reverberating around the corner and I knew that I had made it to the finishing straight. Nothing was going to stop me from crossing the finish line in a solid time, so I was able to pick up the head and enjoy the last km. I figured that sub 2:48 was off the cards, but it didn't matter, the goal was a loose one. With around 250 metres to go, I took a glance at the watch and realized I had about 30 seconds to cross the finish line to get under my target. Stupidly I decided to go for it, and picked up the pace, finishing at 5:35/mile, with 2:48:11 on my watch! Maths was obviously not my strong point during the race! No matter, delighted with the time.

The aftermath: I soon met up with Peckham, who ran a fantastic 2:58, then Kiwirunner and T-runner, Opus and Emer911 and a couple of home buddies and being the generous spirit I am, decided to enjoy beers with everyone, followed by more beers, pork products and more beers, followed by more beers and topped off with some beers. Messy, very messy. But it didn't matter. My work was done.

Summary: 26.2 miles in 2:48:11, average pace (race time): 6:25/mile.

village runner wrote: »

Passing me at 4k was enough but the friendly smile was tempting to follow you. Sure glad I didnt. Well done. Didnt think 2.48 was possible based on a 60 min 10 miler.........Would like to see others do it because I dont think it would be done by many so hats of on that.
Any lurkers know of a 60 min 10 mile man that can run 2.48 ? I dont. If i am honest as i aloways am I think the 20 miler 4 days before the 10 miler which was more important(re berlin as you were heading away on hols) might have cost you a min. Maybe I am wrong.Therefore I think you are A 59 min 10 mile man.
In fairness you picked the target and nailed it. Hats off.
Your def carrying the fcuking baloon and when my hand gets sore you can carry my bamboo stick in your other hand.
Now wheres this report. The whole country is waiting for it. Met a finbars ac man after it and said he had a great battle with a cocky dub;);). I asked did he have a red singlet ??;);)

Hey VR, I still think it's strange that you can spot someone you know in a crowd of 46,000+ people. Mad! Yeah, I'm sure that the 20 miler may have cost me some time in the 10 mile race, but I reckon the wind and hills probably hit me more. Would love another shot some time soon. As Gringo pointed out above though, McMillan's equivalent performance for a 60 minute 10 mile race is 2:48. Then again, if Macmillan had said it was 59 minutes, maybe I might have tried a bit harder!

Yeah, I met the St Finbars lad at around mile 23 (I think). He seemed to be slowing a little. Didn't see him again until after the finish. He said he'd finished in 2:47, but I don't know how he could have, unless he started a good minute or two back from me, and sneaked past me during the race (and there weren't too many passing me during the race). Didn't catch his name, did ya?

Never mind.. I found him in the results (listed as German). Damnit, I've been downgraded to third Irishman over the finish line!

opus wrote: »

Fantastic run & a great read, well deserved congratultions!

Cheers for tracking me down in the melee afterwards, really enjoyed the post-race beers. Btw we made it along to that bar you mentioned that evening but it was 11ish when we got there so guess ye had already left. Nice place, managed a few extra rounds of schnapps to finish off the night

Ah, right. I'm not sure what time we left at, but we went to an Italian bar/restaurant across the other side of the square, where we finished out the night. Had some amazing beers in the Bavarian bar, including a massive tankard of weis bier and a lovely chocolaty malty dunkel, all wasted on the wasted clown. Congrats again on the new pb and it was good to meet you after the race.

osnola ivax wrote: »

Un - bloody - believable, Roy Castle was absolutely right.

LOL. Took me a minute there!

A supportive family, sympathetic job, a large amount of luck, a well-fitting pair of running shoes, a healthy diet, 1,700 miles, a good physio, a knowledgeable and enthusiastic community, the benefit and hindsight of having run 8 marathons previously, and yes, a certain amount of dedication's what you need....

(it just doesn't have the same ring to it as the original).

Thanks Seres. I have no goals at the moment, and am going to resist the urge to set any in the short term. It's all about the recovery for a while. I am feeling a certain amount of discomfort though with regard to my marathon pb, which is a bad sign, and probably means I'll end up starting marathon training in December/January for a spring/summer race.

Other goals include a 35:xx 10k, sub-60 10 mile (just to keep village runner happy and balance the books), and one of these days I'm going to have to race a half marathon, just because I haven't raced one since early 2008 and my PB is due a bit of a killing. Then there's the Two Oceans Ultra next April. Other than that, nothing....