I reckon a road marathon time should be predictable – “simply” a case of knowing what pace you can sustain over a long run and training to ensure you can comfortably stay on your feet a good bit longer than the target time. But, given that my longest training run on the tarmac was only a 10 miler coupled with my only fast run was a 10k event on boxing day, I lined up at the London marathon wondering … Having said that, I had plenty of long hill miles in my legs so did have a larvae of a plan to finish around 3hrs 15mins which would take me just inside my previous personal best set at Loch Ness a few years ago.
A sidetrack …
Way back in 2002, I was one of 24 participants in the BBC television production “SAS Jungle – Are you Tough Enough” which was filmed out in the Sarawak region of Borneo (for the record, I proved without doubt that I was not tough enough by collapsing with heat stroke and getting put on an IV during the third day). I mention this due to literally bumping into another one of the guys who was out in Borneo on the train from Waterloo out to Blackheath on Sunday morning. Last time I had seen Chris was in the jungle and it was great to spend some time catching up on the last 8 years and how the experience had impacted on us.
The marathon …
Not sure what it is about road races but I seemed to leave the toilet only to rejoin the queue to leave to rejoin etc. Eventually time for this ran out and I headed for the start pens. Having a club entry, I was over the moon to find I was very close to start so would be able to get to race pace quickly.
The crowds were great from the start and I recognised different bits of Greenwich as the legs warmed up. I had a mile by mile split pace band and was also monitoring my speed thanks to a Garmin GPS watch. Both helped to keep things steady and not get caught up …26.2 miles on the road is a long way!
With water stops every mile, I got into a habit of three gulps regardless of anything. Took on some lucozade isotonic drink around the 5 mile mark and instantly had a stitch …not good at all – I would rely on Hammer Nutrition Endurolyte capsules to replace salts for the remainder of the race.
Mile by mile ticked away and I was feeling good. Looked in the crowd for Mirsia who was down supporting at twelve miles but could only see a sea of faces. Tower Bridge was impressive …both the bridge itself but also the depth and noise of the crowd – it made me smile a lot!
Through the half marathon I was still feeling good and noticed I had crept a bit ahead in terms of splits and average pace. My pal Joe had planted a target time of 3hrs 10mins in my head and a couple more miles were spent some arithmetic. Cannot remember exactly which mile marker it was but I realised I was up by around 5mins i.e. almost dead on for a 3:10. I also realised that after twenty two or twenty three miles the pace would drop off so got an extra minute up to allow for that.
Had a bit of a “moment” leaving docklands when I thought the wheels were going to come off big style but it was more of a head thing than anything real. The scene along the embankment was one of contrasts …crowds shouting and motivating you to keep going compared with medics treating folks who had succumb to heat problems – I thought back to Borneo and knew I was nowhere near that bad …time to dig in and get the remaining miles over with. Past Westminster, onto Birdcage Walk and one last look at the watch …I was still on target but it was going to be close. Into the Mall and one last effort …
Crossed the line, stopped my watch and spewed (twice actually). The St Johns ambulance folks made sure I was ok before I dared to glance down – 3hours 9minutes and 53seconds.
London is a very special event for sure …
5k – 00:21:50
10k – 00:43:37
15k – 01:05:37
20k – 01:27:40
25k – 01:49:52
30k – 02:12:41
35k – 02:35:44
40k – 02:59:31
Finish Time – 03:09:51
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