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Chasing numbers
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Arrived in Berlin late on Friday night, got a good night’s sleep before heading to the expo early on Saturday. Spent as little time there as possible; just picked up my number and headed back to the hotel.
Wandered down to the Start/Finish area, so I knew where everything was located. The streets around the Branderburg Gate were full of other runners doing the same thing. I was trying not to do too much walking around but I was going stir-crazy sitting in the hotel on such a sunny day, so I headed back down later to watch the inline skating and enjoyed a few hours in the sun. Had dinner later with Vagga, and Memo who was struggling with an injury and unsure if he was going to be able to race, and sadly he was right.
Race morning was a calm affair; I walked with the throngs of runners until I made it to pen F about 10 minutes before the start. The worst thing about waiting around for a race start is that it gives you too much time to think, and I was soon navel gazing about my build up to the race.
When I signed up for Berlin, I had planned on it being my A race for this year. After getting under 3:45 in Cork, I though 3:40 would be a realistic target. So I started a 12 week P&D program, and everything went ok for the first month but the mileage started to take its toll. I was training hard but struggling; physically I had lots of niggles and was feeling wrecked; and mentally I wasn't enjoying my running at all. After the Longford half part of me wanted to call it a day but I really wanted to run Berlin so I decided on a softer target time (3:55) which took some of the pressure off.
The announcer calling out the elite line-up woke me from thoughts, and I remember thinking Fook it, that’s all in the past, just go out and enjoy it.
Soon the gun fired, I could see nothing only hundreds of blue balloon drift upwards into the sky. Slowly we were shuffled up towards the start line, it only felt like a few minutes but it was 9:09 as I crossed the start line. It was incredibly crowded and people were zigzagging about the place so I just focused on making sure not to trip for the first mile. I found the blue line pretty much straight away, and although I tried to stick to it I ended up with 26.64 miles on the Garmin.
My pace for the first few miles was bang on, and I soon relaxed and made a conscious effort to look around me and soak up the atmosphere.
I could write for a long time about the support on the course. The crowds that didn't just gape and politely clap, they shouted, yelled, rang cowbells, hit pots and pans and various other instruments. Every junction seemed to have a different band or music of some kind; from samba bands to an old guy with a wind-up music box. From mile 1 to the end the atmosphere was electric.
The miles were flying by, my pace was fairly consistent and I was feeling very comfortable. It was warm enough so I took water at most of the stations, although that cost me a few seconds every time. The water stations were mental, the roads were very slippy and the noise of runners crunching through hundreds of discarded plastic cups was the only thing that drowned out the cheers from the crowd.
I hadn't brought a pace band, I was just checking the garmin at every mile – thought I was doing ok pace wise so I was disappointed to go through half-way just under 1:59. Checked my avg pace and it was 8:55 so I decided to stick with what I was doing and speed up later on if I felt good.
At mile 19 I tried to speed up, by about 10 to 15 seconds per mile. This was ok, and although the legs were starting to tire I was moving nicely. After mile 23 it was a struggle to keep that pace but we were heading towards the finish, so I tried to dig in and keep the pace strong for as long as possible.
My quads were on fire for the last 2 miles, and as my watch beeped for mile 26, I still couldn't see the Branderburg Gate. Finally after one last sharp turn I was running on Unter den Linden; only it looked nothing like it did on Saturday. A line of cheering crowds either side screamed us on. I suddenly realised I was crying (morto!
) WTF? I have no clue why, just a release of emotion I guess. Anyway I quickly composed myself, and started the run up to the gate. I wasn't going flat out now, I was savouring every second of it and didn't want it to end. Under the gate and there was still a bit to go. A glance at the watch and I saw I cutting it tight to get under 3:55 so I had to quit waving and cheering and sprint the last 200 meters to the finish. Home in 3:54:40, avg pace 8:49 min/mi, avg hr 164
Not my fastest marathon but definitely my most enjoyable. I’d still swap the experience for a faster time, and I would love to go back to Berlin and chase a pb someday. But for now, a short break from running and hope to come back with batteries recharged and ready to go again.0 -
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You sound like the queen!!
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