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Thanks folks, not my day out there today. Will do proper report when I get home. Dodgy tum raised its usual marathon-spoiling head between 25 and 30k. Puked at 35,36 and 37k. Tried very hard but couldn't make up time. Strangely, I'm not gutted because I know I literally could not have given more today. Think it's my body's way of telling me that the marathon is not my distance
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Well done Rachel considering those stomach issues!
What is your fueling like in a marathon?
I had a sip of the Powerade after finishing and almost got sick! Have to run nowadays without almost anything or I get a dodgy stomach. Even water in small quantities can lead to issues.
Stick at it and you'll get there!
I've tried a few different things - gels, jelly babies, sweets. Didn't go near the powerade today - knew it would make me worse. It seems that it doesn't matter what I try, even if I train with it. So I'm always in a dilemma - go without and bonk because of lack of fuel; or try something and risk having to apologize to a very nice German lady for puking in front of her
Well done yourself, great time out there today 0 -
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So the dust has settled from Sunday's run. We got back late on Monday night and Tuesday was all about getting back into the normal routine (and doing 3 loads of washing - who knew that 5 people could wear so many clothes in 4 days :roll eyes:)) Time for a review....
We got to Berlin on Friday afternoon after a very early morning flight. The kids amused themselves in the airport by pointing out people and saying "they're running the marathon, he's running, she's not, she is" etc etc etc. I got talking to a woman on the flight who was running and nervous, we eased each other's nerves as the flight went on. After finding the apartment we were staying in, we headed to the expo. Jeez it was busy... and HUUUGE. Eventually got my number and we had a wander around. Lots to buy but I resisted the temptation Early to bed on Friday and took Saturday very easy. Alarm went off bright and early on Sunday morning and off I went.
Our apartment was about 3 minutes away from an S-Bahn which brought us straight to the Hauptbahnhof. It was easy enough to find out where I was going - it was as simple as following the hordes
Took a while to find the clothing drop off point - I didn't realise there was a separate female area till I got to where I thought was my spot and the man looked at me and said "No, you are woman" 
He pointed me to the proper tent and off I went again. Eventually found my spot and headed to the start line.
Nerves started to really hit me about now. I was very close to tears a few times and I was shivering badly. It was a bit chilly but not enough to warrant the amount of shivering that was going on. I did a bit of deep breathing and tried to take in the atmosphere. I spotted someone I knew a long time ago in the crowd and went over to have a chat with her and her friend. She's a Bros Pearse woman and we compared our goals and chatted for a while. It distracted me away from tears for a while which was a definite benefit Very soon, it was time to go...
I had decided to try to follow the pacers for as long as I could. I had read in the Berlin thread about the 3hr pacers being a bit nuts so I was ready to hop off the pacer train if need be. First 5k was fairly uneventful. It was already quite warm and fairly congested - I felt that I had to keep watching my feet to make sure I didn't catch anyone and wasn't caught myself. About 6-7k I ran beside an American woman for a little while. We had a chat for a while and it passed a few kms. She pushed on after 10k but I was keeping an eye on a balloon so I stayed steady. 10 to 15k was still ok. I felt fairly well in control and all was relatively ok. I was taking a cup at each water station - just a few sips and the rest over my neck to help cool me down. I was carrying a little bottle and I tried to get some of the cup into the bottle at one point - it didn't work too well :rolleyes: Anyway I was ok and still ok till half way.
I went through halfway in a tip over 2hours. At this stage I thought I still had a reasonable chance at 4 hours. From 25k things started to go awry a little bit though.... I had the 4hr balloon beside me for so long but from here, he was pulling away a little bit at a time and I just couldn't catch him. The dry retching also started at around this point. 25, 26, 27, 28 passed. Balloon man gone, long gone 29 was crap. 30 was worse. Think I've blocked out 31 to 34, I honestly can't remember any of them. I know I walked through a water station around here and took a piece of banana to try and boost myself up. I took a bite and spat it out again as quick - it definitely wasn't going down!
I felt horrendous and just kept going. My cheerleaders had been at a good few points on the course, and they were back just after 34k. I stopped and gave them all a hug. I told my husband 4hrs was gone but I didn't care. He hugged me, told me I was brilliant and he knew I'd finish, it didn't matter how. A few tears were shed here if I'm being honest. Stomach heaving now - 35k, first puke stop. Started jogging again and tried to keep moving. 36k, puke number 2. Veered off the road and leaned up against a tree. A very elegant German woman put her hand on my back and said "ok?" I managed to say "yep, ok, entschuldigen", moved back onto the road and then said "eugh no I'm not!" Once again, back on the road, doing a sort of jog-walk shuffle. It was too hot for me at this point and it looked as if other people were suffering as well - I was muttering to myself, just keep going, just keep going and I looked around. There were at least 4 people doing exactly the same thing, it was a like a scene from the Walking Dead 
Final puke at 37k, nothing left inside me at this point and I felt massively dehydrated. Just before 39k, an Irish guy ran beside me and we started to talk. He was telling me about a friend of his - 42 years old, 3 kids - who died last week. It gave me a massive reality check and a much needed kick in the a$$. We decided to keep each other company and get to the finish line together. We were very slow but at least we were moving. I knew that sub4, 4:10, 4:15 were all gone at this stage. I wouldn't even pb. But I didn't care - and I'm not just saying that, I genuinely didn't care. I just wanted to get to the finish line. 40 to 42 seemed to take about an hour but eventually the Brandenberg gate was in sight. Under the gate and on to the end, finally finally. I had the biggest smile as I crossed the line with my arms in the air and then I bawled like a baby. 4:18:13.
I rang my husband and cried when he told me how proud he and the kids were of me. I ran my mam and cried again when she told me that her and my dad didn't give a sh!t about my time, they were delighted for me. I got my medal and smiled for a picture before working my way back to get my clothes. Eventually got back to my cheerleaders and cried a bit more -honestly, as if I needed to be more dehydrated than I already was
So as I said at the start, the dust has settled. I keep checking myself to see if I'm disappointed with my time - sort of like the way you probe a mouth ulcer to see if it hurts I keep seeing 4:18 in my head but I'm not gutted. Honestly. I really thought I'd be devastated - sub 4 was my goal for so long and I worked so frickin' hard to get there. And I didn't. I don't have any excuses - I could say that maybe the fall I had in August affected my confidence. Or the cold I had two weeks ago sapped my energy. But it's all shoulda woulda coulda at this stage. I don't think I pushed too hard at the start, I was steady and under control up till 25k. I do think I put a lot of pressure on myself which didn't help. Other people thought the weather was good, I felt it was too hot from early which whacked me. Also the congestion was a bit of a killer further back where I was. I know I couldn't have done any more - I left everything out on the course, including my stomach contents I also think that no matter what I do in training, I can't replicate race day nerves and conditions and my stomach always seems to rebel. 7 marathons, 7 vomits - it's a bit of a pattern at this stage
When I finished, oldest child asked me was I done with marathons. I said, of course, that's it, job done. By the time we got back to the apartment I was thinking, hmmm maybe. Two hours ago, I registered for DCM. I'm not going to blast out a sub4 attempt, I'm just going to see what happens on the day. I got out for a recovery run yesterday and today, and the legs feel ok. I'm tired but hey, so is everyone else. A few decent runs over the next few weeks and then a nice run around Dublin. Sure what else would you be doing on a bank holiday Monday 0 -
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Great report!!! Brought tears to my eyes too! Certainly wasn't expecting the last line... DCM, you mad thing!
Why do you think you were so nervous at the beginning? Were you like that at all your marathons?? Just wondering if that's what affects your tummy?0 -
+1 to the above, damn watery eyes! Well done on slogging it out. In many aspects, your race sounds like my experience last year (minus the pukes thankfully), even down to someone towing me in the last few km...and the last 4 taking forever!
And DCM?!...stranger things have happened 0 -
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Why do you think you were so nervous at the beginning? Were you like that at all your marathons?? Just wondering if that's what affects your tummy?
I think I was extra nervous this time because it had been my sole focus for months - every run for the previous few months had been leading to Berlin. And as a result, I was putting more pressure than necessary on myself. I kept thinking to myself, I don't want to let people down, people will be tracking me, I don't want to slack off and disappoint them. Of course, at the end of the day, the only person really bothered about my time is me - and the world didn't end when I finished in 4:18
Re the dodgy tum: I've had a sensitive/dodgy tum for years. We lived in India for a year and I picked up a parasite that caused me some issues. I can be fine for ages and then I can be sick. Nerves don't help and I try to calm down, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't :rolleyes:0 -
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Quick update:
Easy miles last Thursday and Friday.
Ran for just over an hour on Saturday.
Took Sunday off because legs felt heavy and head a bit migraine-y.
Monday, 45 mins easy enough.
Tuesday, 45 mins with strides at the end.
This morning, headed out for between 80 and 90 minutes. Ran from my house to wooden bridge in Dollymount and back, 83 mins, 8.6 miles all told. Absolutely gorgeous morning for it, Dublin looking only massive this morning
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Almost 3 weeks since my last update, not a lot to report. Four weeks today since I ran Berlin and I've recovered well. A few miles covered, a few steady runs, a few miles at pmp, that's it really.
Oh and of course, I'm running DCM tomorrow :eek::eek:
My feelings at the moment are somewhere between "absolutely terrified" and "couldn't give a fiddle". I haven't decided on a plan yet - I'm currently torn between giving sub4 another go or trotting around Dublin at a reasonable pace and highfiving every child on the way Ideally I'd like a pb so something under 4:07:23 would be lovely. In a perfect world I'd love love love a sub4. However it doesn't look like the weather will play fair tomorrow and I'm already sort of dreading the run up the Crumlin Road wind tunnel.
Haven't decided about my race attire either. The shorts I normally run in (and that I ran Berlin in) aren't great when it rains. And the other shorts I have used for long runs don't have pockets for me to carry the gels I may or may not bring. I found a little gel belt that I used before, but I haven't used it in the this cycle so it probably wouldn't be a good idea to use it tomorrow.
I haven't decided about nutrition. No matter how I train, I throw up in marathons. That's just the way it seems to be. So I have a choice - try the gels and expect to throw up; or go without and expect to run out of energy before I hit Clonskeagh.
So to sum up: I don't know what pace to go out at, I don't know what I'm going to wear and I don't know what I'm going to eat. Happy days
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I hate writing this because I've reading this log and know you've been hunting a sub-4 for a while, but with that wind forecast would probably be safest to set out at 4:10 pace and pick up the speed halfway if you can .... feel free to pay no attention, I've never even done a marathon myself.
hope your stomach will behave tomorrow, and that you will enjoy the day 0 -
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