Seville Marathon 23.2.2020

djemba djemba

noelearly wrote: »

You flying direct?? Made the mistake of flying to Madrid and connecting to Seville so hopefully that goes good. Haven't left much leeway between connecting flights so i might have to train it to Seville.

Yes, direct flights. Out Friday back Monday. Part of me was looking to get back on Sunday but decided to enjoy a bit of seville instead.

event

Do some reports if you can lads/lassies, might look at this one for next year

djemba djemba

A nice night for a bit of acclimatisation training

ISOP

last long run today with 12 miles at marathon pace, horrendous conditions. All good to go now

4Ad

Ready here also, a couple of sprints and a couple of slow miles left..
A couple of minor niggles, but dont we all have them.
The only concern is the weather, up to 18-20 degrees towards the end of the race...

Also wondering how I'm going to fit everything into a carry on bag...hmmm
Best of luck to everyone who's running..Enjoy

Itziger

On YouTube right now if anyone's interested.

Hoping an old friend from here, Eau Rouge has a good day. Noelearly as well and all the other Boardsies of course.

Itziger

Eau Rouge in 33.50 through 10k

NoelE in 38.21

Sounds like both on track at this early stage.

Itziger

Eau Rouge 1.08.15 at km 20. Hope the heat doesn't come into play in the second half.

Itziger

Noel through the Half in 1.20.53 at 3.50 pace the whole way so far in all the splits.... C'mon lads, you can do it!

Itziger

$hite, Eau Rouge has had a problem it seems......

Lambay island

Kevin Seaward 2:10:10 - wow

Itziger

Fook, the two boys I was following have had tough days, especially ER. Shows some grit for him to continue with that last 5k split. I think Noel is suffering too but not as badly.

Itziger

Noel home in 2.47.48.

Faded but that's a big PB as fas as I know.

ISOP

3:48 for me. Very happy with that.

djemba djemba

Off to Berlin... In 2021

noelearly

Itziger wrote: »

Noel home in 2.47.48.

Faded but that's a big PB as fas as I know.

Cheers Itz, no pb unfortunately 2.43 in Frankfurt. Hard to figure today out, felt really comfortable breathing and Heart rate all good until about 27k and continued that way until end, legs just didn't have it in them hamstrings tightened somewhat. Got quiet warm in second half but don't think that was reason for the bad fade.

I'll dissect it more in the coming days and try to do up a report for those interested in doing this next year.

Itziger

noelearly wrote: »

Cheers Itz, no pb unfortunately 2.43 in Frankfurt. Hard to figure today out, felt really comfortable breathing and Heart rate all good until about 27k and continued that way until end, legs just didn't have it in them hamstrings tightened somewhat. Got quiet warm in second half but don't think that was reason for the bad fade.

I'll dissect it more in the coming days and try to do up a report for those interested in doing this next year.

Sorry, lad. I thought you were .53 in Frankfurt!!!

Two solid results all the same. I know yesterday won't have felt as positive.

I could see from the live stream that it was getting sunnier and warmer as the day went on. Not a marathon for the 5 hour Irish runner perhaps. Same as Valencia and the other Spanish races.

djemba djemba

Seville Race Report

I better put more flesh on my previous post from Sunday.
One of my targets for the year was to qualify for Berlin with a fast runners time. I tried it last October in Dublin but missed out, (2:46:06).

My first spring marathon, so usual to be doing so many km over Christmas and January. Largely the weather had been kind. Recently there was some storm dodging but looking at forecasts etc I missed most of the really bad stuff. Training was consistent and some good confidence boosting tempos. Usually in my program I would try get some races in but not too many options this time of the year so only one 10 miler in Dungarvan.

No major injuries really but more on that to come. I did get some acupuncture on a knot deep in my calf but two sessions of that relieved the knot.
Now for transparency; if you want to stop reading now, I was wearing next % shoes for this Marathon.

Logistics
Flew out Friday. Straight to expo from Airport. Note anywhere from the airport is €25. Expo is less then 10 minute drive to the airport. Taxis everywhere else are cheap. Expo was fine. Nothing stand out. In job done.

The race
The race starts on a wide flat road. I would imagine it would be like Dublin Marathon starting at Donnybrook Church and run towards Bray for 4 or so kilometres. My plan was to go with the 2:45 pacer. When I got into the pens I was a bit further back then I would have like but no major panic. I have over 42,000 metres to get ahead of him. We set off and soon I am close to the pacer so much so his balloon is hitting my head. I was surprised to see just one pacer for 2:45 but so be it. My Spanish is non existent but I could sense a few lads around me were not happy with his pacing as we set off. He was closer to 3:50 per km rather than 3:55 per km.

I broke the races in to thirds. The first 14km are all about just keep calm and relaxed. Having the the pacer got me of the right start. No hero stuff needed. I was telling myself to take a look around and take it all in. From the start you run down the dual carriage way and over a bridge to another side of the city. The bridge I felt was windy but we are over it quick. This side of the city is where the marathon used to start/finish I was told. Its fine. I did notice the sun high in the sky and could feel it would get warm. The forecast had 16 degrees at 11am, so bargaining with myself before hand it was sure that is only 15 minutes in the really strong heat.

Water stops were every 2.5km ish. Some stations had bottles with a long neck and some stations had cups. Turning back at around 10km I found myself a few seconds ahead of the pacer but felt I was holding myself up to let him catch back up with me. This continued for about another km or so but then I realised we had a little splinter group of 7 or 8. All tipping away nicely without doing too much work. So I stayed with it.

At 12km you cross another bridge and come back across the river about 200 metres away from where the race started and you are running down the same dual carriageway again. A nice long stretch ahead now. Sun is largely sheltered by the buildings.
The racing line is also painted on the road. So I was juggling between following that and staying in the shelter.

At 14km we went to the next phase. Again nothing hectic just a bit more graft needed. Looking around has stopped. The route has nice long straights on wide roads so no major clipping or getting crowded. Even when you do turn it is at a roundabout and you take the first exit so gradually turns.

Through have way with sometime in the bank and feeling like we haven’t even got going yet. At some point I saw a traffic sign. Time 10:20; 17 degrees. Jumping in and out of buildings it doesn’t feel too bad and the wind is cooling too.
At 32km you come up to the finish line but from the other side so you can hear the PA, but you turn right and away from it. Here is when the games begin. You are in the old town now. So its part cobblestone in places, tramlines, shoppers, tourists all in the mix. After 32km of little and light turning you are now in to twists and turns.

At this point I am now bargaining with myself. I have enough time in the bank that I gave back 10 seconds per km I still hit my target time. A big note here is at this point my maths maybe dodgy. So I changed it again at 6 km to go. 4 minute per km gets me home in 24 minutes. Still well under target time. My time per km is dropping now, and I am working hard. A few times I see circa 4.05 per km in the last 4kms. But I am close now.

Thought going through my head now is, I can only get a qualifying time if I get to the finish line. So keep it steady, I have time in the bank. The finish line you only see for not even 100 metres. You turn a corner and it is just there. It was at that corner I realised I had my time and began to give a little shout.

Crossed the line with a net time of 2:43:10 and delighted.

Great event and one I would do again. Very little support around the course compared to others and probably the most reserved. If I was to make a spring marathon a regular event this one will be it. Tapas...A1.

I mentioned injuries earlier; I had two niggles, both of which became worse in the taper. So much so I was worried about being able to run or not, (really it was never in doubt though). As if you didn’t have enough pressure pre-race staring at the ceiling on Saturday night…I started thinking if I don’t go sub 2:45 this time, that puts a lot of pressure on Dublin 2020. Going in with 2 attempts at it and to miss them both but that’s not a concern now. Taper madness.

Went through the half at 1:21:45. First time I did a negative split. Splits every 5km all were either 3.51 to 3.53 per km.

Itziger

That sounds like a solid run, Djemba. Shame I couldn't track you. Lovely little neg split an' all.

4Ad

djemba djemba wrote: »

Seville Race Report

I better put more flesh on my previous post from Sunday.
One of my targets for the year was to qualify for Berlin with a fast runners time. I tried it last October in Dublin but missed out, (2:46:06).

My first spring marathon, so usual to be doing so many km over Christmas and January. Largely the weather had been kind. Recently there was some storm dodging but looking at forecasts etc I missed most of the really bad stuff. Training was consistent and some good confidence boosting tempos. Usually in my program I would try get some races in but not too many options this time of the year so only one 10 miler in Dungarvan.

No major injuries really but more on that to come. I did get some acupuncture on a knot deep in my calf but two sessions of that relieved the knot.
Now for transparency; if you want to stop reading now, I was wearing next % shoes for this Marathon.

Logistics
Flew out Friday. Straight to expo from Airport. Note anywhere from the airport is €25. Expo is less then 10 minute drive to the airport. Taxis everywhere else are cheap. Expo was fine. Nothing stand out. In job done.

The race
The race starts on a wide flat road. I would imagine it would be like Dublin Marathon starting at Donnybrook Church and run towards Bray for 4 or so kilometres. My plan was to go with the 2:45 pacer. When I got into the pens I was a bit further back then I would have like but no major panic. I have over 42,000 metres to get ahead of him. We set off and soon I am close to the pacer so much so his balloon is hitting my head. I was surprised to see just one pacer for 2:45 but so be it. My Spanish is non existent but I could sense a few lads around me were not happy with his pacing as we set off. He was closer to 3:50 per km rather than 3:55 per km.

I broke the races in to thirds. The first 14km are all about just keep calm and relaxed. Having the the pacer got me of the right start. No hero stuff needed. I was telling myself to take a look around and take it all in. From the start you run down the dual carriage way and over a bridge to another side of the city. The bridge I felt was windy but we are over it quick. This side of the city is where the marathon used to start/finish I was told. Its fine. I did notice the sun high in the sky and could feel it would get warm. The forecast had 16 degrees at 11am, so bargaining with myself before hand it was sure that is only 15 minutes in the really strong heat.

Water stops were every 2.5km ish. Some stations had bottles with a long neck and some stations had cups. Turning back at around 10km I found myself a few seconds ahead of the pacer but felt I was holding myself up to let him catch back up with me. This continued for about another km or so but then I realised we had a little splinter group of 7 or 8. All tipping away nicely without doing too much work. So I stayed with it.

At 12km you cross another bridge and come back across the river about 200 metres away from where the race started and you are running down the same dual carriageway again. A nice long stretch ahead now. Sun is largely sheltered by the buildings.
The racing line is also painted on the road. So I was juggling between following that and staying in the shelter.

At 14km we went to the next phase. Again nothing hectic just a bit more graft needed. Looking around has stopped. The route has nice long straights on wide roads so no major clipping or getting crowded. Even when you do turn it is at a roundabout and you take the first exit so gradually turns.

Through have way with sometime in the bank and feeling like we haven’t even got going yet. At some point I saw a traffic sign. Time 10:20; 17 degrees. Jumping in and out of buildings it doesn’t feel too bad and the wind is cooling too.
At 32km you come up to the finish line but from the other side so you can hear the PA, but you turn right and away from it. Here is when the games begin. You are in the old town now. So its part cobblestone in places, tramlines, shoppers, tourists all in the mix. After 32km of little and light turning you are now in to twists and turns.

At this point I am now bargaining with myself. I have enough time in the bank that I gave back 10 seconds per km I still hit my target time. A big note here is at this point my maths maybe dodgy. So I changed it again at 6 km to go. 4 minute per km gets me home in 24 minutes. Still well under target time. My time per km is dropping now, and I am working hard. A few times I see circa 4.05 per km in the last 4kms. But I am close now.

Thought going through my head now is, I can only get a qualifying time if I get to the finish line. So keep it steady, I have time in the bank. The finish line you only see for not even 100 metres. You turn a corner and it is just there. It was at that corner I realised I had my time and began to give a little shout.

Crossed the line with a net time of 2:43:10 and delighted.

Great event and one I would do again. Very little support around the course compared to others and probably the most reserved. If I was to make a spring marathon a regular event this one will be it. Tapas...A1.

I mentioned injuries earlier; I had two niggles, both of which became worse in the taper. So much so I was worried about being able to run or not, (really it was never in doubt though). As if you didn’t have enough pressure pre-race staring at the ceiling on Saturday night…I started thinking if I don’t go sub 2:45 this time, that puts a lot of pressure on Dublin 2020. Going in with 2 attempts at it and to miss them both but that’s not a concern now. Taper madness.

Went through the half at 1:21:45. First time I did a negative split. Splits every 5km all were either 3.51 to 3.53 per km.

Great report.
I dont know how you remember things !! I PB'd and did great in my category, so I'm still thrilled, and in Seville having a wine. I found time flew by...I hardly look at my watch, I keep it slow for 2-3 miles then plough on, passed 3hr pacer early enough and never looked back..
Some lad clattered me late on, he obviously didn't mean it, his brain was probably gone...
It was only my 3rd marathon, the atmosphere isn't a patch on Dublin though.
Met lots of Irish afterwards..
Hugh's Armstrongs parents were in my hotel, he did 2.12.26, was hoping for 2.11, not sure how he stands now in Olympic Qualifying time.

A short Ultra for me next hope .
Well done to everyone..

noelearly

Had a full report writing out cant be doing it all again. To keep it simple.

Pros
Good course
Nice weather got a bit warm second half
Nice expo
Great organisation
Nice City
Good food

Negs
Transport awkward
Plastic cups


MY Final thoughts
Fly direct to Seville don't make mistake i did and rely on Ryanair to make connections. I won't leave home without the Mrs again, nice to get proper hydration on board and take the stress of plastic cups and water stations out of the equation. For me i won't be doing a spring marathon again, work wise and training during January and February just didn't suit me. Don't get fooled into thinking your in pb shape because Dungarvan 10mile went good. Looking back i was probably in 30k shape pity about the final 12 haha.

Until next time

ISOP

The last 10k was getting fairly hot for a plodder like me, there was two long stretches about a mile long each where it was baking, one after the real betis stadium where there was no hiding in the sun, overall, I loved it. Was hoping for 3:44 but suffered the last 2 miles, and it slipped away when my right thigh started cramping. Had to shuffle in, in case I seized up totally.. slight inclines here and there compared to pancake flat Valencia and a few unwelcome cobbles/tram lines in the last 7k. The food is savage and I will stay longer than one night when I do it again. A breath of fresh air with the good weather compared to the rain in Ireland and UK the last weeks. Highly recommended but I agree with the comments that training in December/January is not the most pleasant..

djemba djemba

Itziger wrote: »

That sounds like a solid run, Djemba. Shame I couldn't track you. Lovely little neg split an' all.

Thanks. It was definitely the most measured I have being at the start of any race. No taking of like a hare.

I was going to put up my race number on Saturday but with the waiting around all day doing nothing somehow, I never go around to it.

4Ad

Were'nt we lucky to get one in !!
Cant wait til the next one..
I just love running but I think I need a goal/ race to aim for...

healy1835

Is 2021 sold out?

MrMacPhisto

healy1835 wrote: »

Is 2021 sold out?

I don't think it has officially been announced or started taking registrations as of yet. They are probably delaying to see how things develop I am guessing.

healy1835

MrMacPhisto wrote: »

I don't think it has officially been announced or started taking registrations as of yet. They are probably delaying to see how things develop I am guessing.

Cool. Couldn't see a link on the website. (was asking for a friend )

MrMacPhisto

healy1835 wrote: »

Cool. Couldn't see a link on the website. (was asking for a friend )

Funnily enough, I just got a message on Instagram (of all places...) to say the half marathon is planning to go ahead in January 2021, but they don't mention a date as of yet. So maybe there will be news on it soon

djemba djemba

healy1835 wrote: »

Cool. Couldn't see a link on the website. (was asking for a friend )

You can tell your friend they have a 2.45 pacer, just in case that might be of interest to your friend

healy1835

djemba djemba wrote: »

You can tell your friend they have a 2.45 pacer, just in case that might be of interest to your friend

I was reading your report this morning as it happens! I'll pass it on...