Post marathon surge? .... not yet!

Clive Cookson 10k - 39:45

Its been kind of tough to get going again after all the marathon hype. I always thought regardless of how the marathon went I'd benefit from all the increased training in the early part of the year and storm on to new heights. So far, its more of a tale of lethargy than exhilaration. Most runs tend to be laboured affairs. The only exception is training sessions with the club where I'm feeling in pretty good shape. There has been signs of a resurgence in the past few days although not enough to push me on to a 10k PB in last night's Clive Cookson 10k. First signs of recovery came in Sunday’s 6.5 mile run where I started Ok but found a renewed spring in my step towards the latter stages. I followed this with a fast-ish session to St. Mary's Lighthouse averaging around 6:40 per mile for the 5 mile run. Not exceptionally fast but an increase in tempo compared to most of my efforts recently.

It all boded well for my return to racing on Wednesday. Unfortunately, I woke up with a headache and signs of a cold. My legs were also aching. Not sure whether this was down to Monday's session or part of the bug I seemed to have picked up. I felt pretty lethargic throughout the day and hopes of breaking my 38:25 PB seemed rather optimistic. It was a great May evening, although just a little too warm for running. I decided the best race plan was to listen to my body and not push too hard. Wary of my tendency to go off too fast I stayed behind my club colleague Jayne for the first kilometre (3:45) and then eased into my running. It was a 2-lap course of my old high-school cross country route. I held it together quite well on the first lap and hit the halfway point in 19:35.

The PB was obviously not going to happen but a decent time was still very much on the cards. I told myself the next 3k were going to make or break the race for me. This section included the most difficult parts of a pretty flat course, into the wind and a blazing sun. All of a sudden the runners around me seemed to have disappeared and I was going to have to do the hard work by myself. For a time I felt a little queasy but managed to hold it together. I managed to close the gap on the girl in front of me and gradually wound her in. The plan was to reel her in until I reached the easy section of the run (the last 2k being downhill, wind assisted). It served as a useful tactic to keep me going through the tough part of the race but as we entered the final 2k she surged away from me. Fortunately this wasn't due to me slowing down. In fact I ran these last 2 kilometres in 3:46 and 3:42. Although there was nobody in reach to chase down I was determined nobody would pass me either and tried to push on. As it turns out I was a full 16 seconds clear of the next runner, although I was unaware of this at the time. Just as I was thinking of easing in the finishing straight I saw my running coach and managed to inject another surge of pace. I wasn't going to give him the opportunity to criticise me for taking it easy, although he later berated me for not having a club vest! Came home 47th out of 288.

Next event is the Blaydon Race on 9th June. I have quite a challenging PB of 35:27 (6:11 min mile pace) but hopefully if the next couple of weeks training go well I'll be in a position to break it. It was quite hot last year and I ran 36:08 with far less training under my belt. Here's praying for a bit of rain. I'm getting tired of running in the blazing sunshine.

Km Splits from last night:
3.44
4.08
4.02
3.45
3.52
4.04
4.23
4.13
3.46
3.42

Marathon hopes melt in London heat

After 16 weeks and 552 miles of preparation hopes of a sub 3:15 marathon were destroyed by some unseasonably warm weather. Having trained in rain, wind and snow the sun came out blazing on race day and it was all too much of a shock to the system.

My preparation had gone well and I was in confident mood as I stood on the start line. The mass of runners ensured a slow, steady start but after 2 miles I was well into my stride. The atmosphere was fantastic in the early part of the race with some excellent vocal support from the local communities of Greenwich. My mile splits between miles 3-11 fluctuated from 6:59 to 7:23 but nevertheless averaging right on my goal of 7:15 per mile. The next 3 miles hovered right around 7:30 and it became apparent the weather was beginning to take its toll on my body. I tried to drink extra fluid throughout the race but I was showing obvious signs of wilting.

By mile 16 I was seriously concerned and had slowed to just under 8 minute miles. At the 18 mile water station I grabbed a bottle of water and walked while I consumed the whole container before starting to run again. I continued with this tactic at the next 3 water stations. 3:15 was out of the window but I felt a new PB (sub 3:27:55) was still a possibility. It seemed to be paying off. I started to feel better and had hopes of a strong finish. This was however a false dawn and just after the 23 mile marker a cramp bolted up my lower right hamstring. I stopped immediately and tried to stretch the pain away. As long and as hard as I stretched it just wouldn't go away. People in the crowd urged me to continue but I could barely walk. Determined to finish I eventually limped along for 50 yards and finally the cramp subsided enough that I could start running again.

I continued through the city of London oblivious to its most famous landmarks and fearing another cramp. My calf gave a twinge but held firm, then my groin did the same, before finally my hamstring went again approaching 25 miles. This time it was my upper hamstring and fortunately a St John's Ambulance volunteer was on hand to massage the area and had me running again in a minute or two. My running style was now severely protracted but as I approached Buckingham Palace I summoned a last grain of energy to pick up the pace. My finishing burst came perhaps a little too soon and the last 50 yards were somewhat stunted but I crossed the line in 3:37:55. A personal worst and almost 23 minutes over my goal but oh so glad it was all over.

The finishing area was deathly silent as runners sat exhausted by the side of the road. In previous marathons finishers were tired but jubilant, happily exchanging pleasantries and personal experiences. It seems the heat had got to almost everyone and all that could be heard was medals being handed out and baggage bus staff returning belongings to drained runners.

I slunk through the city to meet Scott in Trafalgar Square determined never to even contemplate another marathon. I felt sick and dizzy, forcing myself to eat and drink but not really feeling like it. The thought of a celebratory pint was almost enough to make me vomit. However, the powers of recovery are quite amazing. Within 3 hours I was sitting in the John Snow public house with a pint and planning my next assault on the 26.2 miles. Possibly another marathon in the autumn, or maybe I'll wait until next Spring. Whenever it may be I just pray for a nice, cold day. I'll never complain about the bleeding English weather again.

TIMES
10 km 0:46:18
20 km 1:31:57
half 1:36:57
30 km 2:22:40
40 km 3:25:17
finish 3:37:54
TOTAL
Position (overall) 4814
Position (gender) 4202
Position (age group) 791
Finish time 3:37:54