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The "what the hell do I call my training log?" training log...
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your only previous Marathon was 3:54 and 3:30 is already almost a min/mile faster.
Actually my first was 4.58 - 3.54 was my second.
Not likely to knock the same margin off this time (more's the pity) but I'm not adverse to aiming reasonably high when I've confidence in my preparation. In this case I do but it's six months work and I'm not confident enough not to be concerned about blowing up before the end. 0 -
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Ok. Number picked up, quick chat with Meno, strange "I should recognise you but can't think where from" look from Belcarra and out of dodge - not a huge amount to keep me there to be honest.
The training was completed this evening with a 3.3k jog around the block, coincidentally the same block that I first ran when I was in Limerick a few years ago studying and decided, on the quiet, that I wanted to try running. It was easier this time.
After that the carb loading was done in the excellent company of Killian & family, Runchick & some of family, Career_Move, Runwithme + Gavlor & buddy. Food was lovely too - kudos to whoever on the GLR thread recommended Bella Italia.
Final few preparations to do now - pin the number on the shirt, set the alarms, pack away what I can and have a final foam roll (yep I brought it with me + marathon stick!). Hopefully the next post from me will be good news. Thanks again for the encouragement both here and on the graduate thread. I hope the expectations are not misplaced. At least they aren't as high as my daughter's (see attached). Bless her.0 -
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Tea & biscuits advised before sitting down to read this:
The night before
After dinner with the Boards gang I took a quick spin around Limerick to get my bearings for the morning. Thank God for sat nav on my phone, 'cos I was only very vaguely aware of where I was some of the time. Got back to the B&B, got the gear ready for the morning and hit the hay. Woke a few times briefly but got a reasonable sleep considering.
The morning
Up just after 6. B&B lady, bless her, had breakfast ready for me by 6:30 - big bowl of porridge, toast, tea & fresh fruit salad. Finished eating by 7 - back into the room to get ready. Tidied up, last-minute foam roll of the legs, packed the car, paid the nice lady and hit the road by about 7:50. Much quicker trip into town than the night before (25 mins for 3 mile journey - would have run it as quickly:o). Found parking fairly easily on William St and jogged gently up to the start.
Knew at this stage that I wasn't feeling "on", for want of a better description, but wanted to keep that to myself rather than getting doubts into anyone else's head. Met CM and had a quick chat. Then discovered that the bag drop was somewhere else. Jogged gently to the bag drop, applied suncream, dropped bag and jogged back. Passed a few words with Killian. Had another wee jog, some cariocas to loosen up the hips and a bit of stretching. Queued for jacks - fortunately the queues weren't too bad. Passed a few words with Gavlor who was looking fresh and ready.
Found the 3:30 pacers and lined up behind them. Just a moment before the off, I realised that my car key was in the top of the pocket of my arm band and if I tried to take anything out of it I'd probably lose the key. Was in the middle of fixing it when the gun went.
The Race
Looked up and the 3:30 group was about 50m ahead of me already. No strain. Was a bit crowded for the first few hundred metres but caught up on the pace group quite quickly and the pace was comfortable. It wouldn't be the first time today that I realised that, despite having lived in Limerick (when in college) for 3 years, I actually knew very little of the city outside of the main thoroughfares - and some of it is actually quite pretty. The first trip through the city centre was nice - early and all as it was there was a decent crowd out (I think it was at this stage I saw Meno out for a look).
Just out at Locke Quay we diverted off onto a river-side path which, again, I knew nothing about. This was grand, though the bollards & fences along the way required close attention and observation. Pace was fine and was staying with the pacers comfortably. There was a wheelchair competitor with us around this section and there was a good bit of banter with our pacers - him shouting "beep-beep" when we were going downhill and them shouting "beep-beep" when we were going uphill (it seems the same guy is doing the Belfast Marathon today!:eek:).
At the bottom of the hill at Castletroy Park Hotel we diverted onto a path again and avoided one hill I'd been dreading a little. At this stage I edged about 50m ahead of the pacers but kept the same pace - the group was getting a bit congested and I was terrified of tripping either myself or someone else. Stayed ahead of them through UL, particularly because I didn't especially want to be on the living bridge with a big group. I've walked across it before with a crowd and it moved a bit much for my liking. Just after that bridge I took my 2nd gel (first one wasn't much earlier - I plain forgot to take it before then:o). Tried to back off a little, but not too much, to let the pace group catch me up, which they did just past the Milford Hospice. Stayed with them then up through the industrial estate and around the turn. Passed Gavlor on the way to the turn (he was at about 9.5m) and he still looked fresh & comfortable at that stage.
Back down past the back of UL and down to the Groody Road roundabout and still going well with the pace group just a few strides behind me. Diverted again before the Parkway (I was surprised just how much we avoided the main roads - explained the lack of signage on the roads I guess). Was probably 100m ahead of the pace group when we got into town and passed the halfway mark at 1:44ish. Bang on target.
Knew I was starting to feel under pressure at this stage but I kept going. Took my 3rd & final gel (had plenty to spare) early in the second half. At this stage I was running with another guy who said he wanted to make sure not to burst off and I wanted the same. I was trying to back off but was falling in with his rhythm so it was hard. Nevertheless the pace group was up with me soon enough and I was with them through Dooradoyle. Stayed with them back into town and was on the limit of my comfort zone at this stage. Legs were fine but feet were on fire and I was feeling a bit woozy. Thought I was going to puke at one stage and all I could think was "don't puke on CM". I obviously wasn't fully paying attention to my Garmin as my HR was clearing rising beyond my target zone at this point. The crowds coming back through town were great again - saw Mr. Runchick & Master Runchick at this stage - though I did get the impression that they were out for their own specific competitors rather than out to generally cheer.
Over the bridge and I was convincing myself that I only had a 10k left to do and that I could easily do that. Again I was a couple of metres ahead of the pace group. There were a couple of nasty enough little hills at this stage and I could hear the pacers' encouragement and advice from behind. Got some relief from the other sides of the hills. Although I hadn't been taking sports drinks in training, I was feeling quite crumpled at this stage and, having been sipping plain water throughout the run, I felt I need something sweet at this point so I took a bottle of Lucozade bye drank almost all of it. Tried also eating some of the jelly babies I had in my belt but not all of them were successfully swallowed - I just couldn't stomach the later ones.
I think it was somewhere around 23/24m where there was one hill that just wiped what was left of me. I was feeling pretty crap at this stage. I was aware that my head was tilting back and, thinking of the previous night's conversation between Mr. Runchick and Runwithme around the topic of core strength being important when fatigued, I was trying my best to keep it engaged so my head would be upright and steady but it just wasn't that easy any more. At one stage I thought I'd had my hat pulled down too far and that I was just tilting my head back to see the road but, having fixed it, I realised that my bloody head was just too heavy for my then-weak body to hold steady.
The pacers were now edging away from me and CM was close behind (kudos to CM for her discipline - if she ever changes her username it could appropriately become "Pacer_Velcro" because she pretty much stuck to them the whole way, even at the start when their balloons were flapping around!).
Coming along the back of some very large building I knew I was starting to weave across the road. Stumbled a couple of times and was feeling pretty dizzy. No matter how often I looked at the Garmin the distance just wasn't counting down as quickly as I needed it to. Just approaching a water station and my vision was starting to blur. Very soon it felt like I was looking through a porthole smeared with vaseline. I knew that if I didn't stop voluntarily I'd stop automatically. Pulled over and stopped - sat down, then lay down - thankfully managing to control my head and stop the back of it from smashing off the ground. Girl from water stop came over to see if I was ok and I asked her to get help for me.
Within probably half a minute the Civil Defense were with me, 3 or 4 of them, plus a Garda. At this stage I genuinely thought I was headed for a night in Limerick Hospital. Fortunately I remained alert & awake throughout and was fully aware of where & who I was. Was trying to figure out who I'd get to move my car before it got ticketed / clamped the next morning (forgetting that today's a bank holiday). The Civil Defense guys & gals arranged for their jeep to come and, having let me rest for about 10 mins (I'm guessing) they very carefully assisted me to my feet and supported me to & into the jeep. Felt like I was going to barf so they got me a bag (didn't need it in the end, thankfully - I hoped I'd left puking in cars behind when I was 12).
They brought me back to the triage centre in the city centre and there I was again very well looked after. Blood pressure was taken repeatedly (was very low initially, gradually recovered), pulse taken (the Garmin is actually pretty accurate, I discovered) and, after 4 or 5 bloodless attempts, they managed to get enough to check my blood sugar level and found it was fine. Core temperature was a bit low at that stage but they wrapped me in blankets & a foil blanket and gave me drinks. Couldn't stomach Lucozade at that stage and they hadn't tea to offer me (I'd have given a limb for a cup!) so I put an electrolyte tab into a bottle of water and slowly sipped at that. While I was there I was gutted to see Runchick being wheeled in to the opposite side of the tent. (As she's already posted herself, she didn't have any better an ending than I did but she's well & looking forward to the next one - too :eek:).
The St John Ambulance guys supported me to walk outside and, when I realised how far away the physio area was, and knew I wouldn't be able to walk, they put me in a stretcher chair and wheeled me up. Physios were great too - they got me just about straight in and the girl who gave me the massage was lovely. My legs were actually less cramped than I thought they would be but the rub-down got the circulation going in them again. By the time she was finished I was almost feeling human again - though my feet were still bloody sore. She seemed really worried about me being ok and the fact that I had nobody with me. Shuffled my way through the crowds at that stage and back to the car to ring home. 6 missed calls on the phone from Mrs. D - she already knew something was wrong when I'd passed 2pm without contacting her and was naturally gutted for me.
Rather than going to try blag my way into the Clarion pool that all the successful Boardsies were in, I stuck with Plan A & went back to UL to use their pool. Except when I got there I discovered that there was a gala on and there was no admission. Could today get any worse??
The nice girls on Reception allowed me to go use the shower though. Went to the sports bar then for some food before hitting the road. Having not collected my drop bag, I said feck it and went & got it. The only thing I really wanted in it was the big bar of white chocolate my family had chosen for me - and I wasn't going to leave that to a stranger! Had a fairly leisurely drive home and was in the bosom of my family by 8 at the end of a long, disappointing day.
The aftermath
So I downloaded my data this morning. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/308607091 I'm actually very disappointed to see just how close I was to the end - around one bend and I would have been onto Sarsfield Bridge and only an ass' roar from the finish. But I know in my heart that, even if I had slowed to a walk, I'd have dropped. I just had nothing left. I think the only thing keeping me going was that I was still going and still on target. Maybe if I'd read the warning signs earlier - my HR was obviously near the top end of my VO2 max range for quite a while by the time I stopped - I could have made it to the end but I didn't and it's too late for regrets and what-ifs now. I'll chalk it down to inexperience. I know I had the fitness, I know I'm able to do a 3:30 marathon, just not yesterday. I just want to make sure it doesn't happen again.
So, without being too Jimmy Rabbitte about it, where did it all go wrong?
Despite being well-hydrated all the previous week and into Saturday, and sipping at drinks the whole race through, I think this was undoubtedly a factor. While I wouldn't have thought it yesterday, I probably just didn't drink enough - evidenced by the low BP & the fact that I didn't need a pee till nearly 11pm last night, despite drinking mugs of tea throughout the afternoon & evening. (And, even if you didn't want to know, it was far from clear when it arrived :eek:) So there we go - simple as. Probably a contributing factor was the upset tummy I had last week - wasn't sure whether it was a bug or nerves but it was there until Friday.
So where to now?
When I was driving home the lyrics of this song came into my head and they couldn't be more appropriate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIiUqfxFttMThat's life, that's what all the people say.
You're riding high in April,
Shot down in May.
But I know I'm gonna change their tune,
When I'm right back on top in June.
Mrs D & I have been discussing "where next" this morning. We're considering the Killarney Marathon in July, just for fun rather than for a time. I love, love, love Killarney National Park and to get to run through that area would be just fantastic. Haven't looked much into it beyond the flyer at the GLR expo though and the dates may not suit. But I have a good level of fitness and it'd seem a shame to waste it. I'm also considering a shot at the Little Dragon Sportive (just the short one though) for a bit of variety.
And to sum it all up, it was only a race. I'm glad I did it. I'm glad I tried my hardest and didn't come home thinking I could have tried any harder. So, remembering the words of Samuel Beckett:
EDIT: A note from one of my work colleagues on my FB page - she says it well:Success wouldn't feel so epic if we didn't have a few hiccups along the way0 -
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