The main thing is keeping the main thing, the main thing

Massive thanks for the support on here, fb, Strava. Some on all 3

Official time is 2:58:00.
Should've sprinted the last meter

Report to follow during the week.

Jaysus its sore to walk.

Build Up
There is a sign in Dublin Airport that says “it’s better to say ‘ooops’ rather than ‘What if’”.
This was in my head as I flew out to San Sebastian to tackle the elusive Sub3 for the 2nd time.

My preparation was very good. I had a knee injury over the summer so was starting from a low base.
The 1st 6-7 weeks were spent building up again, I was utilising the Hansons Advanced plan but after a few weeks of this, the speed-work was aggravating my knee.
In this 6-7 week period I ran the Frank Duffy 10 at MP with a few miles before hand and felt strong. I also ran a club race on the Munich laps coming 5th overall.
After 8 weeks I ran a controlled 1:24 in the Athlone Flatline – So all positive signs that I was on progress.

So with 10 weeks to go – I began using a mixture of P&D 55-70 and the Steve Way sessions. This mixture worked out really well.

I ran the race series half at MP with a few miles before hand and had a good run at the Longwood ¾ Marathon where I ran an average 6:58 for the 19.66m. I jumped into DCM at 4m and done 22.5m with the final 13.1 at MP.
I had also done tough 16m sessions in the same week as those last 2 runs – so I knew what tired legs meant.

So overall my build up had 8x20m runs with 18 runs of 16 miles or more. I peaked at 80 miles.
TBL asked me during the week how many MP miles (or faster) I had done – just worked it out today at 169MP or faster.

Race Prep

The travel over to San Seb was long – left the house on Friday at 6:30am and got to my hotel at 8PM. A lot of waiting for plans & buses.

The main worry I had with the race was fear of cramp. I had hoped that the sessions and MP miles would help with this but also supplemented with Magnesium shots.

I met TBL on Saturday morning to go to the expo – it was a wondrous experience as we ‘wondered’ “was this it?” – took us about 5 mins and that including visiting all the stalls . Nice T-Shirt though.
Coffee and lunch with the bogger was comical – but that’s for another day.
Dinner that night – was possibly too late and too much food – felt bloated all night and the next day.
A learning for the next time.

Race Day

I woke up at 6’ish and went down for brekkie – simple carbs were on offer – no porridge – I was still full from dinner so made sure I had a lot of coffee to help with that…..ahem.

After the coffee helped (3 times :P ) I put on the gear and made my way to the startline – about 400m from my hotel. Done a little warm up & stretching waiting for TBL, but didn’t see him.
I did discover that Europeans of both genders have no qualms about peeing in public. Anywhere.

I made my way to the start line and lined up right at the back of the 3hr pacers.
I was going to run my own race and not worry about them.

At 9am the 1st wave started and we crossed the line a little later.
My first thoughts was how fast the 3hr group took off – my God.
I didn’t try to keep with them – just settled into it – it was going to be a long race and I had plenty of time to catch them.

The 1st few miles were strange – I had a nagging doubt and was already making excuses for failing. The effort seemed a little high for the pace.
Despite my best intentions – my 1st 5k was quicker than I had wanted.

Mile 1-3: 6:49/6:45/6:50 (21.10 for 5k)

At this stage I couldn’t see TBL but I did notice how far ahead the 3hr pacers were as we went through the tunnel for the 1st out & back loop. I noticed TBL looking comfortable ahead of me as he came towards me on the far side of the road.
I caught up to him at about mile 4-5 and moved along – the negative thoughts were gone and I was feeling comfortable. I caught the 3 hr pacers and stayed in the group for a while.

Mile 4-6: 6:54/6:37/6:39 (5k: 21:03) (10k in 42.13)

Running with the pace group was a bit troublesome as there were a lot of people and was certainly a trip hazard. On the plus side I didn’t have to reach for water at the stations as the other runners were offering it around.
Mile 7 brought us by the sea for the 1st time.
Took my 1st gel at mile 8 or 9. A thick cliff shot one – took me about 2km to finish it.

Mile 7-9: 6:46/6:48/6:42 (5k: 20.53)

By mile 10 I had enough of the pace group and the trip hazard (me tripping them) so moved ahead.
Back by the coast again. At this stage I noticed that when in the sun, it was getting warm, despite the various temperature gauges around the city telling me that it was 7c.
There was a notable difference when running shaded by the buildings. I was pouring water over my neck/back from this point on.
As we got nearer to the Stadium and the halfway mark – I was getting slightly agitated. I wanted to be past the halfway mark.

Mile 10-12: 6:47/6:44/6:41 (5k: 20:59)

Approaching the Stadium and going through it was cool – plenty of people around – the halfway clock was outside the stadium and ticked by 1:30:10 as I went under it – I knew I was probably 1min or so under that.
Strange sensation at this point where I felt like I wanted to sleep – I turned off for a bit and relaxed – took a caffeine gel and woke myself up :cool:.
The next couple of miles were uneventful as we approached the tunnel again.

Mile 13-15: 6:59/6:41/6:35 (5k: 20:52)

The tunnel is an out and back and plays havoc with the pace on the garmin. As I turned around I could see the gap I had on the 3 hr pace group – not a large gap – but enough.
I was settled in with a group for a couple of miles but when I left the tunnel and the pace showed close to 7:00 I moved past that group and onto the next one.
At this stage I feared the worst for TBL as I didn’t see him anywhere as we turned on the out and back loop.

Mile 16-18: 6:44/6:57/6:35 (5k: 21.10)

The next few miles are a blur as we went by the coast again and towards the last turn around.
It’s a strange sensation,similar to waiting for the half way point, I was willing the last out and back point to come sooner. It was a comfort thing for me, knowing that the finish was near.
At this stage, the usual mantra of “its only a lap of the PP to go” come into play.
I also took my 3rd and last gel – caffeine and Sodium on tap.

Mile 19-21: 6:41/6:42/6:37 (5k: 20.42) – fastest 5k split

The final turn around happened at the 22m mark – again I was searching for TBL, but no sign of him on this long stretch. My initial thoughts was his niggle became a bit more serious.
I also noted that the gap I had on the 3hr pace group was large enough.
I felt good at mile 23, knowing there was only 5k left with no more turn arounds.

My thoughts came to closing out the race. I needed to be a bit cautious to avoid cramp.
Although I didn’t feel like I was going to cramp, I was paranoid so slowed down a tad.
I knew I had it in the bag – DFIU came to mind.

Mile 22-24: 6:46/6:50/6:51 (5k: 21:16)

The next 2 miles were wonderful. The crowds were cheering and I was feeling good – tired but good.
I didn’t want to push the pace, just finish it out.
I couldn’t see the stadium for ages, but then finally it came into view.
We rounded the corner and entered the stadium, I had no idea what the time was. I was savouring it.
I held up my arms and crossed the line.
Job Done – no cramp, no wall, just damn good execution.

Mile 25-26: 6:56 / 6:59 / 1.54

Official time: 2:58:00 (ave pace: 6:47)

Post-Race:
Immediately post-race I felt so alone. Didn’t know anyone and had no one to celebrate with. A couple of tears came and I didn’t know if they were from happiness or sadness – maybe both.
But that only lasted a couple of mins.
I waited til the 3:15 crowd came in in the hope that TBL was in there, but it wasn't to be.

I didn’t cramp at the end and I could stretch with no fear of cramping.
This is hugely significant for me as I now have a formula that I know works.

I’m fairly sure I left a couple of mins in San Sebastian – but I’m extremely happy and proud of my training & execution and wouldn’t change it.

So – is it better to say “opps” rather than “what if”?
Neither - “stick to the plan” works for me.