29-09-2015, 03:37 PM
Hi TheEd,
Sorry I have been off the radar for some time, time for a quick update. In short, I went out with my aggressive and high risk race plan with pace 4:15/km, following the pacer-keepers targeting 3 hrs, or rather just below I guess. Pace felt comfortable for the whole first lap (2 laps of the same half-marathon route) and also legs etc felt good. As we passed after 21.1K, I noticed that we were just behind schedule with time 1:30:17, obviously something also the pacekeepers noticed. They increased speed, for me it felt like a substantial increase and from that point I had to put much more effort into following them. A couple of the next kms where compleeted in just below 4 mins/km and I really started struggling. After 26K I realized I was not going to manage at that pace and had to adjust, settingg a new target at 4:45/km for the remaining kms.
However, the damage was already done, probably I had been in the red zone for a while there and as the race progressed my speed consistently wentt down. The prblem was my legs, which were heavy, stiff and I just could not make them go faster, even if my breathing was good and overall feeling was not to bad either.
In the end I was struggling and I guess ended up in the classic newbie pitfall of loosing a lot of time in the last 10k. Came in at 3:15:48 and basically dropped 16 mins on the last 16k, which seen independeently was kind of a disapointment. However, I knew I was playing a risky strategy and this being my first ever marathon and all things considered I am relatively happy with my performance and ability to just get to the finish line with a time which after all is quite respectable. I am proud to pull off my first marathon and even if the last 10k was a battle I actually enjoyed the experience and do absolutely not rule out the possibility of future marathons.
Iôd be happy to write a more extensive race report as requested, including also the atmosphere, weather, facilities etc. Let me know how to proceed.
Thanks,
Chris
Sorry I have been off the radar for some time, time for a quick update. In short, I went out with my aggressive and high risk race plan with pace 4:15/km, following the pacer-keepers targeting 3 hrs, or rather just below I guess. Pace felt comfortable for the whole first lap (2 laps of the same half-marathon route) and also legs etc felt good. As we passed after 21.1K, I noticed that we were just behind schedule with time 1:30:17, obviously something also the pacekeepers noticed. They increased speed, for me it felt like a substantial increase and from that point I had to put much more effort into following them. A couple of the next kms where compleeted in just below 4 mins/km and I really started struggling. After 26K I realized I was not going to manage at that pace and had to adjust, settingg a new target at 4:45/km for the remaining kms.
However, the damage was already done, probably I had been in the red zone for a while there and as the race progressed my speed consistently wentt down. The prblem was my legs, which were heavy, stiff and I just could not make them go faster, even if my breathing was good and overall feeling was not to bad either.
In the end I was struggling and I guess ended up in the classic newbie pitfall of loosing a lot of time in the last 10k. Came in at 3:15:48 and basically dropped 16 mins on the last 16k, which seen independeently was kind of a disapointment. However, I knew I was playing a risky strategy and this being my first ever marathon and all things considered I am relatively happy with my performance and ability to just get to the finish line with a time which after all is quite respectable. I am proud to pull off my first marathon and even if the last 10k was a battle I actually enjoyed the experience and do absolutely not rule out the possibility of future marathons.
Iôd be happy to write a more extensive race report as requested, including also the atmosphere, weather, facilities etc. Let me know how to proceed.
Thanks,
Chris