27-04-2015, 11:24 AM
2:44:03 in the London Marathon yesterday. (2:41:52 through 42.2k on the watch... it seems navigating the water stations + dodging other runners adds up to a quite lot of distance during a City marathon... nearly 500m in this case!)
Those last few miles... wow thats painful! In hindsight I think going out at <2:40 pace was ambitious... and I suffered for it at 18-20 miles. At the halfway mark (1:20:07) I was still feeling good and pushed on, but quads starting stiffening at 18 miles. 18-20 miles was a very dark period where I tried to maintain pace through a lot of resistance.
At 20 miles I realised <2:40 wasn't achievable so settled into a <2:45 rhythm and started to feel a lot better. By 24 miles my quads were completely trashed but everything else felt great so I was able to push through the pain and finish strong which was a great feeling.
I wonder if I over-cooked the nutrition. I took gel at 45mins, 1:20, 2hrs and then regular sweets from 2:15 and remember getting a big boost for a few mins each time and then sugar crashing... progressively worse each time. I never eat on training runs so wonder if I might be better off running on empty or steering clear of sugar in future.
Anyway, sub 2:45 is pleasing and ensures I can get on the championship start line in future London Marathons which will be brilliant. It's an inspiring event to be a part of, thats for sure.
Onwards to the 70.3! Quads obviously in a lot of pain today (stairs challenging) but had a nice spin on the bike and a gentle swim. Will just focus on zero-impact recovery, possibly a short run tomorrow/weds if legs allow.
Cheers,
Jamie
Those last few miles... wow thats painful! In hindsight I think going out at <2:40 pace was ambitious... and I suffered for it at 18-20 miles. At the halfway mark (1:20:07) I was still feeling good and pushed on, but quads starting stiffening at 18 miles. 18-20 miles was a very dark period where I tried to maintain pace through a lot of resistance.
At 20 miles I realised <2:40 wasn't achievable so settled into a <2:45 rhythm and started to feel a lot better. By 24 miles my quads were completely trashed but everything else felt great so I was able to push through the pain and finish strong which was a great feeling.
I wonder if I over-cooked the nutrition. I took gel at 45mins, 1:20, 2hrs and then regular sweets from 2:15 and remember getting a big boost for a few mins each time and then sugar crashing... progressively worse each time. I never eat on training runs so wonder if I might be better off running on empty or steering clear of sugar in future.
Anyway, sub 2:45 is pleasing and ensures I can get on the championship start line in future London Marathons which will be brilliant. It's an inspiring event to be a part of, thats for sure.
Onwards to the 70.3! Quads obviously in a lot of pain today (stairs challenging) but had a nice spin on the bike and a gentle swim. Will just focus on zero-impact recovery, possibly a short run tomorrow/weds if legs allow.
Cheers,
Jamie