One step at a time

2:59:29 by my watch...will post report later.
gringo finished a few seconds ahead of me and tno a few seconds after....all under the magical 3:00...
Mick Rice was fantastic...spot on all the way.

Cork Marathon 2010 - 2:59:29 - Official Chip Time

Where do i start ?

I got up this morning at 5:25 and had a look outside and it was dull but no rain and i thought...lovely...perfect conditions.
Sungod picked me up at 6:00 and we hit the road to the rebel county.
We got up there in great time....7:45....( but the rain had started hammering down ).....plenty of time for me to make my drinks up and get sungods backpack ready for the couple of place enroute i was going to meet him.
The plan was to take gels at 30 mins,60 mins,1:30,2:00 and 2:20 and the two drinks at 6m and 17m....figured they would not allow bikes in the tunnel and because it was so wwt that i would ne fine on water until then.
All done by 8:30 and i went down to easons to meet a friend of ours who was running his first marathon today...well done Ray on your 3:37...sub 3:30 in Dublin for you after that today !
Got in a club photo at around 8:50...said our goodbyes and good lucks and made our way to our pens.
Sungod was already gone up for the bike at this stage.
In i strolled anyway and without any bumping into people i could have went right to the front if i wished...but positioned myself about 7-8 rows back and low and behold Gringo was standing next to me and introduced himself by his real name which meant nothing to me....i had a sneaky look at the number...i knew he was 1094 or something close...he said tisnotover was around and we duly met him just at the off.

The Race :

What happened over the next 26.49m probably would not have happened only for Mick Rice....i seriously think this man should pace 3:00 for every marathon in Ireland (if he wants to).
I read on here a few times of people referring to him as a mentronome and though people were being nice or possibly over complimentary.....but he was spot on form his first step to last and he made everyones job in that group a whole lot easier....he backed of on the hills and sped up in more favourable parts and really helped us control oursleves when most definitely on our own we would have all been strung out.
Take a bow Mick and thanks very much.
That was me in the Waterford AC singlet shaking your hand as you crossed the line.
anyway...off we went and tno made his way over to have a chat with Gringo and we said a quick hello and kept going....i was just clipping away but keeping an eye on the pace....Dublin still haunting me
.
A few miles passed and i had made my way up to the end of the sub 3 pack,where i slotted in next to Gringo and could only see TNO's white cap right up next to Mick...i said to Gringo..."for a fella who was undecided what to go for,he seems to have made up his mind early"....met Sungod at 6m for my high 5 drink and that was the start of a bad few miles...the legs were perfect,the upper body perfect but the stomach was far from perfect....approaching 9 i said to Gringo that i needed a toilet and he said that at the next changeover they would be available...i decided to go before that at a seculed location beforehand as there might be people in the toilets and time was precious....when i finished i reckoned it took 50s/1min in total...not bad and i made that up over the next 3m gradually,one of those miles though was on the cruel open section by the coast where the rain stung and the wind blew me sideways,i did a 6:31m to close the gap there.....i was a bit concerned to do that at that point but went for it anyway...got back close before halfway but felt the stomach again and decided not to catch them incase i had to stop again...(passed through halfway in 1:29:21)...which i did around 15m...again this cost me around 50s/1min...but i didnt panic as the legs felt good and i gave myself another 3m to catch them which i think i did by 18m.
Meanwhile i had met Sungod at 17 where he gave me another bottle of my drink but i didnt chance a sup and threw it away....i broke the old rule of not trying anything new the day of the marathon.
The drink i used on my LSR's was high 5 4:1 citrus flavour,i got a few free pouches of the summer fruits flavour when i bought my gels,thinking it was the same i went for it without trying it out and paid for it,but not ultimately...thank god.
Back to the race,from 18 on i knew i had it in the bag,miles were being ticked off very fast and i was holding the pace easily (Gringo gave me a salf tablet with water incase the stomach went again,i dont know whether it worked or not but it tasted nice and the stomach behaved after that...thanks)we were chatting away about all sorts for a few miles and before i knew it we were past 20 and i had flashes of Dublin and how different the body was reacting this time round....got to 22...no pain...no slowing down....got to 24....no pain...no slowing down...where is the pain i was asking myself,it nevere reared its ugly head...and then like a true rebel,when i took my eye of the ball for a minute Gringo went for it,left Mick Rice for dust and off he went,i sat and watched him go with another chap,followed by the second lady and thought i would stay put,but as he stretched 20s ahead i said fcuk it,not going to blow up now,and off i went aswell,it felt great to break away from the pack for the last 2.5m.....got to 25m and i only had about 15/16s in the bag after the tought 2m into the wind and rain on the straight road but never panicked as i knew i could up it if needed,the garmin pace was reading 6:48 and i was happy to hold that until 26.....then i opened the legs and legged it in in 6:24p for the last half mile (ran 26.49m).
I cheered,hooted, hollered,gave thumbs up to any camera in sight,got a roar from Sungod and i was revelling in it....after that i did aeroplane actions coming in and finally crossed the line with my arms raised in victory...i did it...Dublin not banished forever as it was a learning curb that got me right for today...but how bad i felt that day...walking,limping,blurred vision,muscles cramping....that monkey off my back.
I was greeted by Gringo and the two of us were in our element....tno crossed soon after and the three of us were over the moon.
Well done lads....nice running with ye and thanks again gringo...your course knowledge was a great help.


So to answer your question Krusty.....
Yes i did have a good experience....i had an unbelievable experience,even with the two toilet stops i never panicked and as soon as i went by about 17m i knew i was going to do it....just to be patient and it would happen.
I trusted my training...i counted Sunday night that i had done 136 miles at between 6:35 and 6:45 over the 13 weeks...and that took in my half marathon taper,recovery week after,and 3 week taper for today.

It just shows....if your training for a 5k....you do 5k specific training...and the same for the marathon...marathon specific work...pmp miles...long runs slow,finishing fast....it works !

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/36042103

Just noticed my moving time was 2:55 something,there was no way the toilet breaks were 2mins each....at least i dont think so anyway.

Abhainn wrote: »

Job done Sosa. Take a bow. Great commitment since DM. Enjoy!

Thanks Joe...i actually thought of you after the race,in your report after Dublin you said that it was the easiest race you ever had...i found that very hard to believe at the time,but i see where your coming from now....
-Thanks

Gringo78 wrote: »

Can't have ye waterford lads coming in and sh*tting on our patch....since you had done that twice literally in the preceding 2 hours I had to do something about it. I hadn't really intended to hare off at that point but after pushing up to the front and having a few words with Mick Rice and a fellow club mate I thought to myself, hell, I'm front running anyway at this stage may as well learn a bit about myself for the last 2.5 miles. I introduced myself to my clubmate (neither of us had ever met before as he's new enough to the club) and I knew once he knew who I was, he'd go with me if I made a move so twould make things interesting. He had plenty in the tank and beat me by a good 10sec....twas his 3rd sub 3 in a row, 2:58 in Dublin '09, 2:59 in limerick 5 weeks ago, fair play to him. I thanked Mick before making my move and told him I was heading off, he said go for it, that I was looking strong, so thanks for those parting words of encouragement Mick.

I expected you'd go with us aswell Sosa, but as you said you took your eye off the ball....wouldn't be the first waterford lad to take his eye off the ball in Cork and get punished for it.

Well done though, the last 6 miles flew by running with you. I feared for you after the first toilet stop, you must have been strong to run miles 12 & 13 (the toughest part of the course) on your own and catch back up ...i remember you asking had we passed the 22 mile marker a half mile after we had done so and i knew you were in good shape then, that you were not counting down the miles. Hopefully run with you again some time but not in a marathon anytime soon...something between 5-13.1 miles in length down waterford way maybe...keep your eye on the ball next time

If i was next to you at the time i probably would have went with you but didnt realise for a while,i was looking for you....then saw you scampering up the road....:D
I remember that whole 22m mark thing...i stopped looking at the distance from 20 onwards...just kept an eye on the pace.
i have a fleeting thought just as i ran to the first toilet stop that i would never get back to the pack but for some reason i never doubted it after the second visit....i was very happy with the way things were going all the way through.
You were coasting yourself....i was thinking about it last night...we were chatting alot of the time even after 20/22m....it was a nice way to be.

As for eye on the ball...we will see in the Munster Final

tisnotover wrote: »

And the banter continues

Great report sosa...didn't realise you;d to stop for toilet at all, fair play to ya for running that stretch by river on your own. yourself and gringo looked so comfortable in the last 10k, savage going !

I reckon the 3 of us should aim for either the Cork/Waterford half marathon and have a proper race of it

Im up for that....i have home advantage next time