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Off the Fence....and looking to go sub 3 hrs
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ThebitterLemon wrote: »Best of luck M.
You're in great shape (for an auld lad) and come Sunday, you'll finally be off the fence
TbLBest of luck!
Cheers Gents.0 -
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Calvin Johnson wrote: »Good luck FBOT.Best of luck FBOT. Give Zee Germans (or your PB) HellDuanington wrote: »Good luck on Sunday FBOT01 - again, I doubt luck will have much to do with the outcome though, your preparation has been top notchviperlogic wrote: »Best of luck. Do the P&D plan we are on proud!
Thanks for the good wishes, Folks.0 -
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Official Chip Time - 3:00:59
On Jan 1 2014 this was the big one for me.........I was off the fence and looking to go sub 3 hrs (in Berlin)
It was a long 9 months coming but was worth all the hard work despite not actually getting sub 3. The Berlin Marathon was an wonderful experience and I had a great weekend to boot. It was great to be able to enjoy it with old friends and new.........big shout out to Yaboya, Murph_D, Mrs Murph, Marthastew, Mr Stew, the Crusaders crew, withcheeseplease, Loughie, Mrs L, Belcarra, Roisin, Terry049 plus1 all of whom helped make it an event to remember but most of all it was great to share it with Mrs FBOT, Ferris B and Mrs B my very own and very dedicated support crew. As you all know Ferris should have been toeing the line beside me on Sunday morning and I can only imagine how hard it was for him to be sidelined for this one but you would have struggled to find a louder and more enthusiastic supporter than him on Sunday morning.
Prerace
Training had gone well and I was pretty much where I wanted to be by the time I got to the startline. So now it was about getting the job done. The plan was to run my own race and not worry about pacers or anybody else. I had set out my stall to go out at 2:59 pace and if all went well I would nip in under that and if all went pear shaped hopefully I could hang on....forgot my pace band on the day but numbers are my thing so doing the maths on the go kept me distracted......5k split targets where 21.12 and as long as I kept the garmin showing 6:4x min/mile I should be still in the hunt coming down the straight.
0-10k
Great buzz at the start and lined up beside Yaboya and withcheeseplease with Terry049 not to far away. From Block D we were over the line in just under a minute and by keeping down the left hand side for the first straight as advise the congestion was pretty much non-existent. Got a huge shout out from the support crew at about the 2k mark. I don't normally do emotional but this really took my breath away and it took me a few minutes to get my head back in the game. 5k and 10k splits were very slightly under but nothing to be concerned about. I was moving well and was settling in nicely. By the second water station I had refined my technique for getting water from the tables safely. I took water at every station along the way but the cups meant I got relatively small amounts in at each station.
10-20k
Splits here remained consistent and my simple strategy continued...if I looked at the watch and it gave me a lap pace that said 6:3x then I had to dial it back and if it said 6:5x I needed to pick it up. Still feeling good but kept telling myself that this was not what I had been training for, the race I had been training for wasn't starting until 32km.......I had over 2000 mile in the bag YTD training for a 10k that was now less than 50 mins away.
20-30k
The support crew had relocated and they were now front and centre just before the half way point. Great lift when I saw and heard them and was still feeling good at this point. I know that when I saw them again it would be somewhere around 37km and that it would be a different story.
30-35k
This is were the wheels started to come off. Just after the 30k mark I started to over heat. The air felt must thinner and it was harder to get enough air in. I also started to feel a little empty. I had run all my training on water only but had brought a couple of emergency gels just in case today. I took one of these at 32k but dumped the other one as I was afraid two would lead to stomach issues and that there was no point carrying it any further if I wasn't going to use it. Probably a mistake of the day....maybe I should have just held onto it and throw it into me when the going got really tough. It was towards the end of this 5k that withcheeseplease passed me an gave me a shout out. I thought about going with him but thought that I should try to steady the ship....at this stage if I could finish out with sub 7 min miles I would still be OK.
35-40k
Next came the 3 hr pacer. He passed me like a steam train with a very small tailing group. I didn't panic though as I was still OK and I know the pacers were a bit all over the place . Much needed shout out from the crew at 37km with Ferris B reminding me that I only had a parkrun to go....I really thought that I could still hit the sub 3 at this stage. By the time I got a shout for annapr at about 39km I had slowed badly. The life/energy just seemed to drain out of me in mile 24 and it felt like I was going backwards but rightly or wrongly I still wasn't giving up the ghost. If I could hang on until the finishing straight then maybe I could muster a last dash at sneak in under. Mile 25 didn't get any better and as we headed into the last mile I was almost spent.
40-42k
The many turns at this stage were torture. I didn't know the city or the course well enough to know which one would eventually bring me on to the final straight. When I eventually turned the corner and saw the Brandenburg Gate for a brief moment I thought that the clock and finsh line were at the Erdinger sign before the gate. This gave me a lift and I checked my watch I was still in with a shout. As I got closer I could see that I had it wrong and that the sub 3 was indeed a job for another day. However, I decided that 3:00:xx might not be as good as 2:59:xx but it was better than 3:01:xx. I dug in and kicked on for the finish line. I took a small moral victory from being able to drive for the line and at least be able to say I was a 3 hr marathoner at the end of the day. I crossed the line ala Marthastew with my hands in the air to bring to a close my first international Marathon.
Full splits available here : http://http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/602360163
Aftermath:
I met Mrs FBOT, Ferris B and Mrs B just after the finished and after a brief break in the shade to cooldown and start the rehydration process we headed off with Yaboya and withcheeseplease to meet up with plenty of happy runners and supporters in the Oscar Wilde. We celebrated some great times and performances among which was the legend that is now Yaboya, withcheeseplease, the Crusaders crew (including the Stews) and two men that smashed their targets on what I felt was a very tough day Loughie and Murph_D. Well done to these and everyone else from here and elsewhere that came and concurred in Berlin
Monday was spent enjoying the sites of Berlin and mulling over the events of the day before. Body held up well and recovery is going well.
Reflection
I believe that I was in good shape and well placed for my first attempt at sub 3 when I toed the line in Berlin better than at any stage of my short running career. I would put my failure to complete the job down to one of two things or a combination of both. Firstly, I found it very warm/humid in the latter stages of the race and struggled to take on water and secondly, unlikely my previous marathons I trained for this one without the use of gels, etc. and didn't have a structure plan to take them during the race. Nor did I carb load at any stage either during the cycle or in the days before the race. On the plus-side I didn't suffer from any of the stomach issue that I have previously experienced from 16/18 miles onward.
At the end of the day, am I disappointed by missing the sub 3? Yes. But am I happy with a 12min+ PB? Abso...fooking...lutely. But in the big scheme of things I am thankful that I could stand on the start line, cross the finish line, give it a good lash in between and enjoy it all with family and friends afterwards.
Where to next? Who knows?............I will enjoy a little rest before pacing at DCM and hopefully, catching up with the Berliners and others in McGrattans afterwards.
It is late and I am off to bed so please excuse the typos, etc.
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Good stuff M. Unlucky regards the sub 3, but on the plus side you don't have to change your log title
(too soon?)
Seriously though, the more I look back at this, the more I think the heat was a factor, especially in the second half. Too many people seem to have been affected by it not to be a legitimate reason for slowing us all down. On another day we all come home below the pre-race targets. As both you and I have alluded to though, it just makes loughie & Murph_D's performances look even more spectacular.0 -
Great report FBOT01 and a great PB
Delighted with your outlook on it and not being to hard on missing the sub 3. As was mentioned earlier the heat wouldn't have helped and as Ecoli said, your 12+ min PB is the main point along with your enjoyment of the race.
Well done again..0 -
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