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My London Marathon
I had hopes of sub 4hrs London Marathon. By all accounts the training indicated that I had it in me doing an 18m in 2hr 30min with plenty left in the engine. However it was not to be. A number of factors could have caused this but none more so than the heat.
The start was all a bit rushed really with the massive queues for the toilets meaning that the announcement when leaving them was 5 minutes to the start of the race. This meant a dash to the pen and getting set in a couple of minutes.
The gun went and the masses started to move. There was too much jostling about for my liking. After ¼ mile everyone had to stop and walk due to a big bottle neck of runners. It was a frustrating start.
However after the rush of the first two miles things started to slot into place. It was still hard to get a consistent pace with the amount of people but I tried to keep in a straight line to save energy. This meant the pace fluctuated from 8.5 to 10.5 minute mile pace. The camel back paid dividends with a constant supply of water keeping me going.
I reached halfway in what I thought was 2hrs 13mins. I then conceded that I would not make a sub 4hr so tried to set my mind for a sub 4hr 30. On reflect and looking at the splits I had actually made halfway in 2hrs 6 mins. Not that far from the pace I wanted. However had I known what was to come I would have took my time a lot more.
The water in my camel back had gone at half way so I had to keep catching the water stations when they turned up rather than the gentle flow of water I had taken on over the first half. I cruised to 16 miles without any major problems. There was one point when a tunnel made my eyes feel funny. I hoped I wasn’t ‘hitting the wall’ at the time and realised I wasn’t when I came back into the sunlight. I’d been in the sun for so long previously that I’d forgotten what it was like in the shade.
I got to around 18m when my legs told me they were empty. I couldn’t understand it as I’d had plenty of water and enough energy food to keep me going. Again I wondered if I was hitting the wall but decided I wasn’t as I wasn’t staggering or feeling dizzy. It just felt like my legs had been battered with some rather large sticks. I stopped to walk for 1/4 mile and tried taking on an extra energy gel.
I started running again but at a very slow pace. I knew I was in trouble when Darth Vader passed me at the 20m mark. I reached 22m still with a chance of making 4h 30m. This gave me something to aim for but I think my body had other ideas, especially when it forced me to buckle up with cramp. 22m to 25.5m were a mixture of running (if you can call it that) and walking. The latter seemed to be happening more the closer I got to the finish.
However I picked myself up at the 25.5m mark and made a big effort to run the last bit. The 600m marker couldn’t have been measured right as it seemed like a mile to the finish. Anyway I made it in with a time of 4h 42mins. Not that bad considering the last few miles of pain.
So I guess the question is will I go for the sub 4hr next year? The answer is simply, not on your life. One is enough. I now have a tick in the box and a marathon personal best. Put it this way I beat Gebrselassie as well.
Results
10 km 1:00:57
20 km 1:59:42
half 2:06:18
30 km 3:04:22
40 km 4:26:20
finish 4:42:25
Position (overall) 19161
Position (gender) 14954
Position (age group) 2022
Finish time 4:42:25
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