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A Slow Journey to Faster Times

yaboya1

So I finally decided on Seville for my Spring Marathon. The date & costs suit me well and the race seems to be pretty well reviewed by anyone who's previously run it.

This is my first attempt at a training log so please go easy on me!

I've run three previous marathons (3:39, 3:35, 3:34). The aim in Seville is to finally go below 3:30. I've had various things go wrong on me in all of the above, so I think my target is pretty achievable. I haven't done any running since Chicago last month, so I plan to ease back into it gradually for the next month by doing a couple of short/medium runs during the week with a long one at the weekend. Then from the beginning of December I've decided to follow the 12 week 'Up to 55 miles per week' marathon schedule from the Advanced Marathoning book by Pfitzinger & Douglas.

My biggest problem in the past has been going too quickly on my long runs. There are 7 different paces in this plan. I have estimated what pace I should be running them at as follows:

MP runs: 8 min/mile
Long runs: 9 min/mile
Med-long runs: 8:45-9 min/mile
General aerobic runs: 9:30 min/mile
LT runs: 7:35 min/mile
Recovery runs: 12 min/mile
VO2 max intervals: 7 min/mile

If anyone has any comments/observations, I'd be delighted to hear them. Otherwise I'll be back as soon as I get back out on the road.

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yaboya1

Calvin Johnson wrote: »

Hurry hurry

It's on the way......

yaboya1

What an awesome weekend!
I must admit I did enjoy the final couple of days far more than the first two. Let me explain.......

History

A crack at sub 3 in this race had been the long term goal ever since I crossed the line in Seville last February. My experience of that race and entire running history before that is available here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=89177632&postcount=248. Since then, everything had gone to plan and left me exactly where I wanted to be going to Germany.

Training

I took three days off after the marathon in Seville, and within two weeks was running significant pb's at all distances up to the HM. I started to train by heart rate using the HADD method, sticking with this style of training until two months out from Berlin, when I jumped into the final 8 weeks of the P&D 18 week 55-70 plan. I was already running more than 70 miles a week at this stage, so knew the high mileage wouldn't be an issue for me. Race results had McMillan predicting a marathon somewhere between 2:48 - 2:53, which was what I had hoped for having trained towards 2:55. This would give me a cushion on the day (which I ended up needing!) for sub 3 should everything not go to plan, while an even better time could be possible if it did. I adjusted my goal to sub 2:55 towards the end of the training cycle, as I nailed every session and that sort of time seemed very possible/likely.

Taper Madness

I've dedicated an entire paragraph to this because it really was that bad. It started on the night I did my last Med-Long run when I started imagining phantom niggles. I had taken the full week off work to allow me to relax ahead of the race, but this just gave me more free time to think about what could go wrong and get paranoid about virtually everything. I was playing golf in 25 degree heat wearing a neck warmer and a jumper, terrified of catching cold. I drank Lemsip instead of tea/coffee to cure my throat (which wasn't even sore). I went to the chemist and asked could they prescribe me something. When she asked what was wrong with me and I couldn't give her a concrete answer, she sent me home with a bottle of Exputex. I was so much more conscious of anybody who coughed/sneezed and almost punched the internet cafe guy in the face as he coughed and spluttered while handing over my boarding pass that I printed on Thursday afternoon. Sunday morning couldn't come soon enough.

Friday

Despite my flight not being until 3:20pm, I headed to the airport at 9am as I figured I could watch the golf for hours on end without distraction, rather than having my viewing interrupted by travelling later in the day. So I spent the guts of 6 hours in the bars out there watching the Ryder Cup, but only drinking water. It did take my mind off things for a while. I had brought my own pasta bake with me to eat before I boarded and hoped to grab something else in Berlin before going to bed that night. I met belcarra & Roisin on the plane and we agreed to get a taxi straight to the Expo once we landed. belcarra made me feel much better (sarcasm) in the taxi by telling me how much pressure was on me. We eventually picked up our numbers and I hit the road soon after to go and get my apartment sorted. I found a lovely Italian restaurant nearby and finished the night off with an accompanying glass of beer to help me sleep. It was around 12:30am when I got to bed. I had a beautiful 8 hour sleep, which now convinced me that Saturday night's sleep would be almost irrelevant and a few hours would be a bonus.

Saturday

Had a quick wash after I got up and headed out the door for the breakfast run. Wore my neck warmer again and brought some gloves (Wtf?) on what was an ideal morning for a run. Met Murph_D in one of the U-Bahn stations, before we hooked up with WithCheesePlease at the start. We chatted about the race as we tottered along towards the stadium at 10-11 minute mile pace and were soon joined by belcarra & Roisin. We managed to avoid any incidents that might have caused injury, despite witnessing a girl tumbling head over heels and a man limping as if he'd been shot by the sniper that got AMK in Manchester

. When we got to the stadium, a hearty breakfast awaited and I wasn't shy about gorging on a few doughnuts, a banana and a couple of energy bars. I took some chocolate milk back to the apartment with me, knowing I could use that as a recovery drink after the marathon the next day. After I had showered in the apartment, I headed straight to the Oscar Wilde to watch the golf. There was a very loud stag party there parked in front of the tv, so I sat next to a guy on another sofa nearby where I could see the screen. Then he started coughing every couple of minutes, so I moved. I ordered a baked potato while I was there to continue my carbo loading. As the time passed the pub started to fill up with football fans. Within 20 minutes the place was full with 99% wanting to watch Liverpool v Everton, while I was watching the golf. They had the match on down the back, but the barmaid refused numerous requests to put it on both screens as she knew I was watching the golf. I was getting daggers from everybody but I didn't care. I was sitting there with my jacket zipped up to my chin, more worried about catching a cold from the 20 degree heat outside. I was really on edge. When the morning session finished I left to get some more carbs. I found a lovely restaurant where I ordered Berlin potato soup & a bit of pasta carbonara. I also chanced an apple strudel for dessert. Fully bloated after that I headed back to the Oscar Wilde to meet FBOT01, Ferris B and their wives. I took in some of the inline skating marathon on the way. One of the competitors demanded the crowd's approval shouting out "Applaus, Applaus" as he came on to Freidrchstrasse. It was a bit cringeworthy, kind of like a comedian telling you to laugh at his jokes. The crowd didn't react well, so he tried a different tactic as he moved down the street letting out a roar of "Berliiiiiiin". This got a far better response as the crowd cheered and clapped like a congregation in a church responding to the prayers of the faithful. After watching few more skaters fly by (no sign of TbL), I returned to the Oscar Wilde where I met the group along with WithCheesePlease who arrived soon afterwards. Murph_D, annapr, belcarra & Roisin also appeared in the next couple of hours. I'm normally pretty laid back and wouldn't usually get anxious/nervous about a race (apart from a small few jitters at the start), but marathons are different. I was a complete basket case (on Saturday especially). I can't have been good company (Sorry about that all!). WithCheesePlease did take my mind off things for a while, entertaining us with tales of how he had been preparing that day. Rather than carbo-loading, hydrating and trying to stay off his feet, he had been spending time in saunas with naked German women and picking up random strangers phone numbers in street cafés. But all that's a story for another day

. FBOT01 seemed confident, and he was right to do so considering how well his training had gone. If that was the case though, why wasn't I feeling the same? I think it was more the long, long wait that was bothering me than anything else. The lead up seemed to be really, really dragging. I had planned to grab something small in the same Italian as Friday night on my way back to bed, but it was closed when I got there so I just bought a pan of bread and made some toast. Lucky I had loaded up earlier I thought to myself. I also picked up a bag of Fishermans Friend to clear my unblocked airways. In bed by 11:30pm

Sunday

Pre Race

I woke up at 1:30am for the toilet (too many pints of water) and fell back asleep until 3:55am. This time I was wide awake. No point in staying in the bed any longer. Up an hour earlier than planned, but that was ok. For the first time in a week I felt good. I reminded myself of my training and all my imaginary symptoms had disappeared. I couldn't wait to get going. In Seville I was fine until race morning and then I got a few jitters before the start. Here it was the other way around. The confidence really began to flow. I had a substantial enough breakfast with two instant pots of porridge, two bagels, a banana and two coffees. Because I was an hour ahead of schedule, I got all my planned toilet visits out of the way before leaving the apartment and made my way towards the Tiergarten feeling better & better the closer I got. I wasn't long getting in through the gates and decided to keep hold of my bag for as long as possible, rather than hanging around in the cold. The only thing was it wasn't cold. On looking back now, I have only begun to realise that even at the start it was pretty warm. I wasn't even getting goose-pimples while standing still in a t-shirt at 8:45am. Fine if it stayed like that, but it was only ever going to get warmer. So I dropped my bag, did some dynamic stretches and headed towards pen D. I took a free foil off a volunteer to wrap around me before we started running, but in truth I didn't need it. I wore it anyway though. FBOT01 & WithCheesePlease were already in position when I got down there. We also had a quick chat with Terry049, before he moved a few yards ahead of us. As I mentioned in my Seville report, I love the start of a marathon. The atmosphere is just brilliant. In Berlin the MC talks German, then says the same thing in English. He was now performing a running countdown: 5 minutes to ze start.......4 minutes to ze start. Then the music came on and they introduced the elites. We laughed between us at how we were able to be in the same race as these guys and 'compete' against them :pac:. They removed the tapes separating the pens as we got closer and closer to the gun. We joked that the hundred yards or so that was now separating us from Kimetto & Co. was as close as we were going to get. Then bang on time, we were off!

The Plan

I had printed two pace bands. One with mile splits for 2:55 and the other with the equivalent 5k splits. I put one on each wrist. There are no mile markers in Berlin. They only mark the course in kilometres. I would check the watch going through each 5k checkpoint, but would need to rely solely on the Garmin for mile splits/measurements. The Auto-Lap was set to one mile, so once each split was around 6:40 I knew I'd be still on target for 2:55. 20:44 was the time allocated to each 5k. I'd glance at the watch crossing each mat for this too. I knew by the official clocks I was almost a minute ahead of what that was reading, so pretty much ignored that and trusted the watch. I would take water at every station, sipping what I felt I needed at the time and soaking the sponge I'd carry in my pocket with the rest to dab my face with. Hopefully this would keep me cool if it got any hotter. After the episode with the stitch in Seville, I was conscious of upsetting my stomach late in the race again, so would get gels out of the way as early as possible to reduce the chances of this problem being repeated. I was hoping the effects would last until the end of the race, despite the fact that the last gel of the three I intended taking would be just after halfway. I had nominated points at 8k, 15k & 22k, knowing that water stations followed soon after which could help wash them down or get rid of any lingering bad taste. I wouldn't be going quicker than 6:40min/mile pace before halfway, and would then make a call depending on how I was going on what to do next.
All sounds good in theory

The Race

0-10k

My intention from the get go was to follow the blue line and gradually work up to MP (6:40min/mile). This was easier said than done, as a lot of people at my pace had decided the same. I knew the first mile or so was in a straight line anyway, so it mattered little until we came towards the first turn. I managed to get onto the line before then and was up to PMP pretty quickly too. I felt fine, but I never really think about how I feel early in a marathon unless it's bad. If you're not going well in the early stages of a race this long, you're in big trouble. Although I knew Ferris & the crew would be at 2k, I never spotted them and continued on knowing it would be halfway before we would see them again. Hit 5k pretty much on target on the Garmin, knowing that the official clock was almost a minute ahead of what my start time actually was. My first problems came pretty early and were totally self inflicted. I ran here in 2011 but my memories of the small details were hazy. The last major I ran was Chicago where the water stations went on forever. So I foolishly expected the same here. When we hit the first one, I didn't make the amateur mistake of going to the first table. I stayed well out in the middle, chuckling at all the mugs moving sidewards and dropping time. When I eventually went to move in to grab a cup, I realised the station had already ended and I was the mug. No harm done, it was the right station to miss but don't do it again! Except I did, at the very next one. I wasn't happy with myself and my mouth now felt like it could do with some moisture. I vowed not to miss another one, even if it cost me some time slowing down as I'd lose far more if I wasn't taking on enough hydration. Got the first gel down around 8.5k and this time grabbed two cups on the way through at 9k. Drank most of one, poured the little bit left over my head and soaked the sponge with the other one. A few dabs and felt reasonably good again. One thing that was bothering me at this early stage was that we were running right into the sun. It wasn't that strong, but it was in my eyes and giving me a small headache. It's something I've tried to avoid in the mornings along the promenade in Clontarf. Nothing major but another small issue, and in the marathon all these small issues can become very big problems when you start to hurt. From what I remember I was through 10k around 10 seconds behind my target which was fine by me. I was moving ok. Not struggling, but not as comfortable as I expected.

10k-20k

Between 10-11k we turned right so that we weren't going towards the sun any more, but then we made a quick left and it was in my eyes again. I should probably start wearing sunglasses but it's not something I've ever done and I don't think I'd enjoy it. I knew from studying the map beforehand that we hit a roundabout at 12k which took us back towards the south and west of the city, meaning the sun wouldn't be shining directly at us again until we turned back at around 30k. I enjoyed this part of the course. The streets are pretty heavily lined in most places, but this roundabout especially seems to be very loud. As we moved south under the shade of some trees I consciously felt a little better moving at the same pace. Not a lot to talk about between here and 15k. Coming up to that mark, I took my second gel and made sure to move towards the side of the street in preparation for the next water station. When that came upon us I grabbed two cups, drinking most of the first one, before pouring the remainder onto the sponge. When that had absorbed it's capacity of water, I used what was left in the second cup to pour over my head. It had a lovely cooling effect, but now my t-shirt was also wet and I cursed myself as I may now have to deal with chafing. I spent the next minute wiping the sponge across every part of my face, neck etc. It definitely created a relieving effect when I did that, which goes to show how warm it was becoming. Anyway I now relaxed back into my stride and coming up under a railway bridge at around 20k got a massive shout out from Ferris B and the crew. I waved back and continued along the blue line. Almost halfway there.

20k-30k

There's a few subtle lefts and rights around the halfway mark and my concentration here was solely focused on staying on that blue line. We moved through the throngs that were gathered among these parts, with numerous bands blaring out music and the MC giving runnners encouragement. I kept my eyes peeled on the road ahead, knowing the next water station was just after 22k. I took my last planned gel here (but I did have a fourth on me just in case). The next couple of miles are a bit blurry, but I know I was pretty much still on target for 2:55 after 15 miles on the Garmin. I did notice at 25k that I had fallen slightly behind on as I passed through that checkpoint, but not by that much so it was nothing to worry about. I continued along at the same effort as we hit the most southerly part of the course. Then I noticed that my mile split was hovering around 7:00 for the first time. This was a problem as my effort level was the same, if not slightly higher. 6:50 flashed up as it beeped for 16 miles and I started to get a little worried. Slowest mile of the race so far. It was too early to start piling pressure on. I had more than an hour of running left. I needed to dig in, but not too much, yet. Remember this race doesn't start until 20 miles! Early in Mile 17 and I was above 7:00 pace. I knew I was cooked. The legs were weakening and it was harder than it should have been. Earlier in the race I had dropped time at water stations and been able to gradually get the mile split back down over the next 500m or so. Here I was slightly upping the effort and the predicted split wasn't moving. I knew at this point I wouldn't be capable of 2:55. But this was the reason I had trained for that time. To allow me a cushion I might need for sub 3 if everything didn't go exactly to plan. Some quick maths in my head told me 7:00 per mile all the way in was still good enough for sub 3. I could do that. It wouldn't be easy, but a slight drop in effort would allow me to last longer and I had done so much good work up to now that I didn't feel I could allow myself to let it slip. This was the new plan. Keep the miles in the 6:xx's. Do that and you're a sub 3 guy. Good luck :eek:. Past 29k and we made a turn back towards the city from the furthest point out in the course. Let's see what you're made of yaboya. 8 miles of real pain ahead!

30k-40k

In the two European marathons I've run before, I've found that the kilometre markers are a real pain when you start to hurt. You pass 30k, 31k, 32k knowing you've still got a double figure amount of kilometres still to cover. 20 miles is a much more pleasurable marker to see than 32-33k. My mind is beginning to talk to me at this stage. The mental battle begins. Here come the voices: "You're knackered. Can you do 10k in less than 45 mins? I mean 44:xx was your PB a year ago. Now you need to run that just to stay on target, and you're already spent. Just slow down. It will be way more enjoyable." Me: "F*ck off brain". It was getting really tough now. Harder and harder to keep the miles below 7 minutes. As we moved past 33k, I knew that we had more than four miles virtually in a straight line moving in the opposite direction to the finish. It's a horrible feeling. Like when you move down Clonskeagh Road in Dublin and you can see the RTE aerial on your left getting further behind you, knowing that you need to go back that way to get to the finish line. I was out on my feet at this stage, but knew Ferris B and the crew were going to be around 37k and hoped they'd give me a boost. They gave me a brilliant shout out passing, but my mind used Ferris's words of "Come on Peter, only a parkrun to go!" against me. My brain: "Did you hear that? Only a parkrun to go. parkruns are 5k's. You hate 5k's. You know why you hate 5k's? Because you're in constant pain from start to finish. You're already in agony. Imagine how painful another 5k is going to be.....lol. Just slow down. You won't regret it." Me: "F*ck off brain!" What kept me going here moving past 38k now was my knowledge that we turned left at 40k back towards the finish. I used that to drive me on. "Come on Peter. Get to that point on target and there's no way you'll let it slip. You're far too stubborn to be on pace at 40k and fade. You'd rather collapse trying than slow down then. Dig in you windy b*stard" I don't know where this part of my brain had been for the last 15k though? While all these voices were going on in my head I think I was drifing on and off the blue line as I moved up the street. Passing 39k I got a shout out from annapr, which I barely managed to acknowledge. She confirmed later on that I looked "terrible" at that stage. Thanks Anna. No sugar coating there

. Coming up towards 40k I noticed the Coca Cola sign in the distance on top of a building. I knew the left turn was way before that and it gave me a bit of a filip. I then saw Terry049 about 100m ahead. He had been gunning for 2:52, but couldn't be on that pace now. He was coming back to me fast and I wasn't speeding up. I couldn't let him miss out on the sub 3 now, after doing so much good work. As I moved up alongside him, I patted him on the shoulder and said "Come on Terry, 7 min/miles from here and we've got the sub 3." He acknowledged me with a nod, but didn't seem to have the energy to reply. As I passed him I sensed him moving into my slipstream and now felt responsible for keeping the pace up to what was required. This was a good thing. Now if I slowed I wasn't only letting myself down, I'd be letting him down. Good presure

. I soldiered on up the blue line as we finally got to the turn at 40k. My eyes lit up. Almost there!

40k-Finish

After you turn, the next kilometre is a series of twists & turns until you move out onto the long stretch up towards the Brandenburg Gate. I felt like I was really flying here, but it was obviously just the excitement & anticipating of reaching the finish line, as the watch shows my pace barely changed. I was passing people though, which is probably what created that effect. We finally moved back on Strasse De Juni 17 and the Brandenburg Gate loomed in the distance. I looked at my watch, 2:54. I had five minutes to cover little over a kilometre. I knew then I had it in the bag. I tried my best to enjoy the run up the straight, but having had visions of doing windmills and throwing my arms in the air, the reality was I was so, so tired that I couldn't muster the energy to do either. On thing I couldn't understand here was the amount of walkers. Sub 3 was on for me and obviously anyone ahead of me. People had 600m to go and were walking? If they were a bit further out I'd understand it better, but surely you can find energy from somewhere with that target in sight with such a short distance to cover? Anyway, I got a bit peeved as we approached the gate, as the blue line was now blocked by a marshal with a barrier that had been moved to allow the crowd to come closer. The extra yard or two I now had to cover could cost me vital seconds!! I almost relaxed for a minute having passed under the gate until the clock came into view and I could see it was still below 3 hours. Wouldn't it be nice if my gross time was below 3 hours too? I sprinted the last 100m or so, diverting to the left side of the finish at the end as the guy ahead drifted into my path. I thought it was 2:59:57/8 as I crossed, but the results say 2:59:59, which is even sweeter I suppose. I slowed to a walk after crossing the mat, truly delighted with my achievement and feeling a sense of victory over my doubting mind

. My attention quickly turned to my boards compadres behind. I tried to hang around to see FBOT01, Terry049 etc., but was kept moving by the stewards. I continued on, grabbing a foil and some water further up as I performed my normal post marathon routine knocking it back as if there had been a drought. I poured 5 or 6 cups over my head too. Man it was warm! I didn't feel it was that bad out on the course. Then Terry appeared with a cup of water for me. He thanked me for the nudge, saying his watch had auto paused at a toilet stop and he actually thought he had more time in hand. We both agreed that the marathon was a complete c*nt and we would never run one again. I had already paid €70 to enter Dublin, but there was no way I was going to run that. Still no sign of the others. I went to collect my bag and eat/drink some post race energy. When I eventually felt up to it, I went to a portaloo and changed out of my now soaking wet gear. I texted Ferris and he informed me that FBOT01 had run 2:60:59. I was gutted for him. I dropped my chip back and went to meet the group outside.

Garmin data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/602337017

Post Race

I met Ferris, Mrs B, FBOT01, MrsFBOT01 and WithCheesePlease beside the Reichstag, and we started walking straight towards the Oscar Wilde for some post race pints. WithCheesePlease told me of his awesome sub 3, which got me thinking about using his race eve approach for my next marathon

. We trudged along before enjoying the first of many PB beers. Ferris had the tracker on most of the boardsies and told us of the two excellent runs from loughie & Murph_D. It wasn't long before those two, annapr & Mrs loughie joined us. We then headed for some food while regaling tales of our amazing marathon journeys. Although a few of us were a little outside our targets, I think we all BQ'd, which is no mean feat imo. There were a fair few candidates for hero of the weekend with some amazing performances (running & supporting), but Murph_D takes the honours cruising to a BQ and then edging it by loaning me €20 (which I still haven't paid back) to buy a round when I ran out of money

. When we got back to the pub, the inspirational Marthastew and equally heroic Mr Stew (I still love that comment from the hospital bed) were there, along with belcarra & Roisin. MS thought we should celebrate at Murph_D's exoense the fact that, in her own words "for once her & Mr Stew weren't the oldest people there". She still couldn't get Murph off cloud nine though. One thing I didn't see in the media was the fact that there were two world records broken on Sunday. Obviously Denis Kimetto got all the coverage, but this is actually the first race Marthastew has competed in without winning a prize :pac:. Berlin 2014 will go down as a truly momentous occasion. We celebrated long into the night and a great time was had by all. The pressure is now on annapr in the DCM after loughie kept the Donegal flag flying high with his superb 2:56. Best of luck anna :cool:
On a more serious note, I said some insulting things which I regret and I want to put that right with a written apology:

Dear Marathon

I uttered some really horrible & offensive things about you in the immediate aftermath of the race last Sunday. The comments were made in the heat of the moment and I didn't mean them.
I still love you and I think you know that.

Yours sincerely,
yaboya

Monday

I woke up early and as fresh as a daisy on Monday. Felt really great which doesn't make a lot of sense? I stuffed my face all day with German food (as I'd been living in Italian restaurants all week!) and had my fill of German beer, before heading to the airport for my late-ish flight. Saw Ferris & FBOT01 in the airport before they caught their flight and we said our goodbyes (until next time

). Home in bed by 1am.

Verdict

I love Berlin. I love the Marathon. I love the Berlin Marathon! I have no complaints about this race. I didn't expect to. Maybe the water stations could be as good as Chicago but that's all. Everything about this race is awesome. The crowd, the bands, the city, the course. I love it. I'm not in a hurry to run it again, having already done it twice now and with others higher on my list of priorities, but I may be back someday.

Thoughts

I've had a couple of days to reflect on this now, so my opinion now is more measured than it was immediately afterwards. I was confused as to why I was finding the race so difficult from such an early stage. I ran a 1:20 HM and completed and 18 mile MP run in two hours (where I was speeding up at the end) within the last 6 weeks. On Sunday I was cooked after 16 miles moving far slower than the HM and at the same pace as the MP run. Considering this was a big city marathon with a crowd, and the 18 miler was on a Sunday morning on my own, it seemed pretty odd. I thought at first maybe I wasn't 100% on the day, but then I analysed the results and read the race thread on here. People seemed to be commenting that it was a really tough day. It was mentioned that Shalene Flanagan was slowing badly in the second half. FBOT01 had run 3:00:59 and I had made him a strong odds-on chance to break three hours, having followed his training closely. Maybe it was a hotter, more difficult day than I realised while I was out there. That could be why I struggled. External factors rather than internal. I've run a time I never thought achieveable on what seemed like a tough day and I'm complaining - I'm beginning to sound like dublin runner! :P. I just thought I'd give 2:55 a much more serious go, but it wasn't to be on the day. Don't get me wrong though, I am over the moon with my result. Without wanting to sound egotistical, I am extremely proud of how I ran my race. Bar missing the first couple of water stations, I think I executed the race plan to perfection and made the right calls at the right time to ensure the sub 3. I know it may have looked dodgy on the tracker, but I never once thought I wasn't going to do it (despite the demon voices in my head). Although it was extremely difficult I always felt I had it under control. I do think I can go faster in more suitable conditions. When that will be though, I don't know. I'm taking 8 days off running and going on a boozy golf weekend to Killarney on Friday, so my prep for Dublin won't be ideal. It's also only 4 weeks away so I'm not guaranteed to be fully recovered after such a tough race. Other than that, it's onwards and upwards for me. I've hit another milestone in my running career and joined two of the more exclusive clubs (sub 3 & BQers). I may go back to some HR training during the winter after the DCM. Nothing set in stone yet though.

Anyway I hope you can see why Sunday & Monday were far more enjoyable for me than Friday & Saturday. That was the purpose of this post right?

tang1

Epic report, the sub 3 was totally deserved from the dedication & meticulous training you put in. Enjoy the break & golf.

AuldManKing

Great honest report.

Do you think the pressure of the Boards community was on you prior to the race??
Would you have been as tense etc if you weren't on Boards?

If you were doing your last 8 weeks training again - would you change anything?

yaboya1

AuldManKing wrote: »

Great honest report.

Thanks

AuldManKing wrote: »

Do you think the pressure of the Boards community was on you prior to the race??

Any pressure that is/was on me is totally self inflicted. I like to set aggressive targets and I'm not really influenced by what other people say. I only aim at what I (not anyone else) believe I can achieve. I got wonderful pre-race messages (as I always do) and understand that anyone commenting here wants me to do well and is not trying to do anything other than offer encouragement. People wanted me to do well, but weren't trying to pressurize me. It's not pressure, It's good wishes and support. The amount of people congratulating me afterwards just goes to prove that point. I have always put pressure on myself as I think I perform best in those circumstances (in all sports).

AuldManKing wrote: »

Would you have been as tense etc if you weren't on Boards?

Short answer: yes I would have been.
Long answer: I think it's normal to get nervous about something that really matters to you. If I wasn't training as hard, I wouldn't be as nervous because I wouldn't feel I could be as disappointed afterwards if everything didn't go right, having not put in the work beforehand. If I was training as hard and wasn't on boards I'd be feeling the same way for the same reasons. My log has really helped me stick to solid training because I feel more obligated to report each session, so am far less likely to skip one than if I wasn't logging. If I wasn't on boards, my training almost certainly wouldn't be anywhere near as good and I wouldn't have the support, advice and general good feeling from so many people. I would probably be still struggling to break 3:30, probably suffering a few injuries in the process. I have said before there is no way I'd be where I am without boards, and I want to re-iterate that. I do not see it as negative at all. Just one more thing to add, although I was nervous pre-race here and in Seville, neither time did it affect me during the race. When the starting gun went both times I was fired up, confident and raring to go. So they're not that much of a bad thing really

AuldManKing wrote: »

If you were doing your last 8 weeks training again - would you change anything?

I don't know. Can I answer that one when I've had some more time to think about it?

Tigerandahalf

Well done and a great report. There is a book in you I'd say!
Out of interest how hot was it in Berlin and how humid. The humidity can be as bad. The Mullingar 10 race was a very warm day. Was it similar to that?
Even a 10 second drop per mile due to heat would account for over 4 minutes over the marathon distance.

Terry049

Great report Peter, don't know how you can remember the race in such detail. It's pretty much a blur for me!

Thanks again for the nudge at 40k, I really did appreciate it!! Even do I mightn't of been able to acknowledge it at the time!

Get a good recovery and good luck with your next block of training!

career move

Congrats Yaboya. Loved the report. You showed plenty of guts and determination in Berlin and your progress is unbelievable. Plenty more to come

yaboya1

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

Well done and a great report. There is a book in you I'd say!
Out of interest how hot was it in Berlin and how humid. The humidity can be as bad. The Mullingar 10 race was a very warm day. Was it similar to that?
Even a 10 second drop per mile due to heat would account for over 4 minutes over the marathon distance.

Thanks. I didn't see any figures but I'd say it was hotter in Berlin than in Mullingar. FBOT01 & belcarra ran in both races too. Maybe they can back this up? No idea about the humidity.
If you knock 4:12 off my time, I run 2:54:59, while FBOT01 runs 2:56:47. They don't seem a million miles away from what I was expecting beforehand.
It just goes to show you how good the runs of loughie & Murph_D were though!

yaboya1

tang1 wrote: »

Epic report, the sub 3 was totally deserved from the dedication & meticulous training you put in. Enjoy the break & golf.

Cheers tang

Murph_D

Brilliant report and great performance P, you're a class act!

Tom Joad

Super report yaboya and brilliant running. Delighted for you.

yaboya1

Terry049 wrote: »

Great report Peter, don't know how you can remember the race in such detail. It's pretty much a blur for me!

Thanks again for the nudge at 40k, I really did appreciate it!! Even do I mightn't of been able to acknowledge it at the time!

Get a good recovery and good luck with your next block of training!

Thanks. You too. A lot of it is a blur for me as well. I'm elaborating on what I remember to make it sound exciting

.
No problem for the nudge. Runners are a tight knit bunch. Everybody wants everyone else to do well.

yaboya1

career move wrote: »

Congrats Yaboya. Loved the report. You showed plenty of guts and determination in Berlin and your progress is unbelievable. Plenty more to come

Thanks CM.
I'm going to stick with the boring marathons for the foreseeable future

yaboya1

Murph_D wrote: »

Brilliant report and great performance P, you're a class act!

Haha cheers Murph, you're not so bad yourself

I'll give you that €20 when I see you.
Hold on to that wife of yours. She's a keeper. Nothing like someone who gives it to you straight. Love it

yaboya1

Tom Joad wrote: »

Super report yaboya and brilliant running. Delighted for you.

Thanks TJ

yaboya1

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FBOT01

Excellent report and super performance, P. I have to echo Murph_D's sentiments you are indeed a class act and I look forward to following your progress as your love affair with the marathon unfolds in the coming years.....

yaboya1

FBOT01 wrote: »

Excellent report and super performance, P. I have to echo Murph_D's sentiments you are indeed a class act and I look forward to following your progress as your love affair with the marathon unfolds in the coming years.....

Thanks. You're all too kind

MKDTH

Mug

yaboya1

MKDTH wrote: »

Mug

Thanks :pac:

Did you read this btw?:

yaboya1 wrote: »

** Never, ever underestimate the marathon!!!!

MKDTH

yaboya1 wrote: »

Thanks :pac:

Did you read this btw?:

Yeah some bloke at work tends to say it a fair bit!

ThePiedPiper

Hell of a report on a great race Peter. Sub-3 on a bad day at the office, nothing wrong with that!! The progression is remarkable, just reward for the absolute dedication of the last year.

MKDTH

Hope you have ordered in some dirty take away as a way of celebration???

It's the law!!!!!!

Pacing Mule

I love your race reports. Always a great read. Keep them coming !

SamforMayo

You are some man! Inspirational stuff and you are the cause of the dinner been late to the table this evening! Enjoy the break, truly earned.

yaboya1

RunForestRun wrote: »

Hell of a report on a great race Peter. Sub-3 on a bad day at the office, nothing wrong with that!! The progression is remarkable, just reward for the absolute dedication of the last year.

Thanks RFR.
You have to take a lot of credit for this imo. After just running an 8 minute PB of 2:50 in Chicago, you assured me that massive improvement was possible for myself with proper training. You told me that your first marathon time was very similar to mine and that proper structured training was all that was required to ensure large improvement. You were the first one to make me doubt my own belief that I could never get near these sort of times.
Did I ever say thanks? :rolleyes:

yaboya1

MKDTH wrote: »

Hope you have ordered in some dirty take away as a way of celebration???

It's the law!!!!!!

Na, a dirty take away would be a massive step down from the pork knuckles, sauerkraut, currywurst and Bavarian meat loaf I was eating yesterday. My body would most likely punish me by bringing it straight back up

yaboya1

Pacing Mule wrote: »

I love your race reports. Always a great read. Keep them coming !

I'm glad you enjoy them.
I like writing about things I feel passion for

yaboya1

SamforMayo wrote: »

You are some man! Inspirational stuff and you are the cause of the dinner been late to the table this evening! Enjoy the break, truly earned.

Thanks SfM.