Berlin - Running the World Marathon Majors. Temporarily.

It's taken me a while to write this.

If I'd written this in October - I'd have been able to talk about Completing the Marathon Majors.

The 5 major marathons around the world.  Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London and New York.

When I finished - I definitely thought I was one of the select few to have run the set.  And I was.

Until last month, when they decided to add a 6th World Marathon Major.  Grrr !!

So tentatively - I'll be heading to run Tokyo in February 2014.


The Build Up

My running summer had not gone particularly well.

There were no injury issues, but for the first time since 'restarting' running late in 2008, I wasn't getting faster.  In fact I was getting slower.

It was a hot summer.  We had 73 days over 90 degrees in Denver, with 7 over 100 degrees.

And I was traveling internationally with work.  24 hours at a time in an airplane, with the accompanying jet leg definitely wasn't helping.  My training paces were slow.  If I ran faster, my heart rate went through the roof.

I ran 2 half marathons over the summer.  Both were 5 minutes slower than the previous year.

Not exactly inspring confidence.

I wondered if I might have an iron deficiency.  How could I be sucking so badly ?

Then as Berlin started approaching, a new work trip to Australia materialized.

There was a chance I'd have to chose which I wanted to do, but fortunately timing worked so I could do them both as one big trip.  The plan was to go from Denver to Berlin, run the race, then immediately fly to Singapore and then onto Perth.  Work 11 days, then fly to San Francisco, via Sydney for another week, before returning to Denver.  26,500 mile round the world trip.  DOMS the day after the marathon, in cattle class on a 18 hour flight to Australia.  Sounds like fun....

Berlin was the last of the 5 majors for me to complete (or so I believed at the time).

It was also the least enticing to me.

I'd lived in Chicago for years, so that had special memories.

Boston was the 'everyday runner's Olympics. You have to qualify and achieve that special 'BQ'.

New York I'd heard so much about.  It was the biggest, with supposedly the best crowds.

London is London.  The one that I'd promised myself I'd run as a 12 year old watching the first running.

But Berlin ?  The only reason I was doing it was to complete the set.  Perhaps because of the stories of the war from my grandparents growing up, but Germany was never a place I'd felt the urge to visit.  I envisioned a very industrialized landscape, with very serious people.  Not very interesting.

So in short.

• I wasn't particularly 'excited' about the event.  
• My form sucked.  
• I had a 3.5 week work trip to think about and pack for.  

Not exactly ideal preparation.


Berlin

I flew into Berlin less than 48 hours before the race was due to start.  I caught the metro to my hotel in the Mitte area of the city - just to the east of where the Wall had been.  Walking along partly cobbled streets, with cafes, restaurants and boutique stores, I immediately started to change my opinion of the city.  There were very few cars, lots of people walking and cycling.  Very laid back.

I hit the expo that afternoon - in a hangar of an old airfield in the city, and spent most of the Saturday hanging out in the Mitte in coffee shops, interspersed with shoveling carbs down my throat.

I had a very good, very spicy Indian dish the evening before the race, then went back to the hotel and watched college football via my slingbox connection to home.

The 8 hour time difference meant that, for the first time ever in a marathon and perhaps the first time ever before a race, I slept until the alarm.  No matter my body clock thought it was still 10pm at night - I felt reasonably refreshed.

Like Chicago - Berlin is a big loop of the city, starting and finishing at the same park, running through what was both East and West Berlin.

The start was just over a mile away from my hotel in a large park - the Tiergarten - so I walked.  

The bag check area was well marked, but then the directions from there to the start line itself was confusing.  I'm sure it was compounded by my lack of German language skills, but with less than 20 minutes to go I noticed many runners, like me, frantically trying to figure out where to go.

I finally found the right path for my corral and walked through a wooded area of the Tiergarten.

Unlike Chicago, New York and Boston where you find people desperately trying to find somewhere to use the bathroom at the last minute - here there was an obvious choice.  Lots of trees.

In Berlin you are seeded by your estimated time.  Signing up in 2011, I'd over optimistically put myself into the 2:50 - 2:59 grouping, which was still only the 'C' corral.

Speedy Europeans.  As with all big races, we were packed in pretty tightly a few minutes before the off.

And then the dancing started.

Literally.

On came some aerobic dance music, and 90% of the runners started jumping and dancing together as part of a warmup routine.  It felt like stumbling into a macarena convention.

Crazy Europeans.

My 10th marathon, and the 10th time I'd used the trash bag porto potty trick. Unfortunately this time - I hadn't been able to find a gatorade type bottle with a wider lid.  Perhaps because of the more stringent re-cyling movement, but the bottles in the shops all seemed to be the regular smaller sized water bottle openings.

There was a lot more 'aiming' and a lot more 'missing' than normal inside the trash sack that morning.


The Race

9am on the dot.  As you'd expect in Germany.  We were off.

The first 2 miles were straight along a wide road, with a large roundabout with a statue after half a mile, with runners streaming round on both sides.

Except it wasn't half a mile in.  It was 0.8 kilometers.

In the other 4 major races, markers had been placed at both the mile and km marks.  I'd naively expected the same.  Nein !  There wasn't a single mile marker on the course.

The 26 pace split markings on my forearm to check each mile were useless.

I was totally dependent on my garmin.  Which turned out to be an issue.

While I didn't believe I was in sub 3 shape - I didn't want to run an easy race.  I decided to start off a little slower, pick things up, hit the half in just under 1:30, and then see how long I could hang on.

The first half mile was crowded.  Clearly a lot of others had over-estimated their goal time even more than me.  I had to duck and dive.  While I wanted to start slower than goal pace (6:51 / mile) - I didn't want to be in too big a hole immediately.

Things slowly opened up and I hit the imaginary 1.608 kilometer mark...  the paces I'm posting are all taken from my garmin.

7:09

The course was heading west - away from the Brandenburg gate.  The crowds were noisy.  It was fairly cool early on (high 40s I'd guess), but blue sky and the sun rising.

6:50 

Nice.  On pace.  We turned north and crossed the river.  Then started heading east.  Maybe a little faster.

6:41

Suddenly I could feel something on my shoe.  I looked down and my laces on one shoe were undone.  Rookie !!  That's never happened before.  The timing chip they provide is one that needs to be threaded through the laces.  Clearly I hadn't double knotted the thing.  I debated running 23 miles with it undone and quickly thought better of it.  I pulled to the side and stopped and tied it up.

15 seconds lost.

6:52

I was starting to recognize the area we were running through.  It was where I'd run the morning before as a shake out run.  To the right was the Reichstag, and then we were heading into the Mitte.

I'd read Hitler's biography 10 years before and remembered some of the history of the area with Reichstag being burned.

And before you start making assumptions of me on the far right fringes with a shaven head - I read Churchill's and Stalin's too that summer....

6:35

A bit over eager there trying to make up for the shoelace stop.  The crowds were impressive.  Pretty much the whole way.  Berlin was definitely up there for support.  I'd probably rate it equal with New York and London for whole course support, with Boston and Chicago a little behind.

6:52

A big contrast between Berlin and London is the water stops.  In London - they're every mile, where you can take a bottle of water or sports drink.

In Berlin they were a lot less frequent, and the cups were made of a very brittle plastic.  You couldn't crush them into a V shape to drink without the thing cracking or you spilling it all down your front.  As a result, I once again was probably taking in less fluid than my body wanted.

6:40

This was feeling pretty good though.  My garmin was telling me I was now slightly ahead of pace.

Take it easy.   It was warming up.  The temperatures were only in the 50s, but it was bright sun without a lot of shade.  Not as cool as I'd hoped.

6:45, 6:43, 6:41, 

I was trying a new approach to my gels.  Previously I've had a hard time keeping more than a few down.  3 is the most I've managed in a race.  One of the theories from the testing I had done at the Boulder Center of Sports Medecine was that carbs could be an issue.  I'd changed to a Powerbar gel with a dual carb mix (maltodextrin and fructose) to aid faster absorption.  This time I was going to try and swallow 6 of the things.

At the 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, and 23 mile points.

Or whatever the hell that was in kilometers.

6:41

My 3rd gel.  I wasn't getting that queasy feeling in my stomach that I've had in the past, so maybe this was going to be okay.

6:50, 6:48

The garmin had me averaging around 6:46.  I'm not naive enough to trust it completely.  Rarely is it completely accurate with it's infamous 'garmin drift'.  But add 5 seconds / mile - and I seemed to be on target.

As we approached the half - I had my first, and really only chance to get an accurate measure of my pace.

We crossed the 21.097 KM point.  I checked my watch and saw 1:29:48 for the half.

Ok - that's about perfect.

My coach had given me an analogy of riding the bus.  For the first 3/4 of the race - you try to take things as easy as possible.  Sit on the bus, don't do anything you don't need to do, conserve your energy.  Then the last 1/4 - you need to get off the bus and work.

Unfortunately for me.  I was at the half way point and was already off the bloody bus pushing.

This wasn't feeling as easy as it should at the half.

But I wasn't going to slow down.

6:42

I'd read a quote in an article by Greg McMillan on the plane that resonated.

"You ain't gonna get out of the race pain-free so you gotta pick the pain — the pain of the race or the pain of regret." 

I'd had that pain of regret before.  I felt I'd been too quick to give myself permission to slow down when things inevitably started to hurt.

This time I was prepared for that.  I was determined not to give in.

One mile at a time.  Grind.  Grind.  Embrace the pain.

6:50

Gel.  Spill water down my front.

6:49

6:51

Still definitely grinding.

While my garmin showed me still on track overall, I was a little skeptical.  By this point in the race - people are normally starting to slow down.  I should be overtaking more people if I'm maintaining pace.  Instead - I notice a few people overtaking me.

7:05

Uhoh.  That was partly due to a crowded water stop, but I could tell I was slowing.

6:51

A slight second wind.  I think that's the first time that's happened to me.

Gel.  Spill water down my front.

6:55

7:00

7:03

22 miles in.  My garmin was showing 6:50 overall pace.  I wasn't thinking too clearly.  I thought I might still be on pace for sub 3, but in my heart I felt by the fact that more people seemed to be passing that I was now behind.

But I wasn't giving up.  I figured I could get to 5K to go, and push to make up the 30 or so seconds.

7:06

Grind

7:03

Grind

Crike !  I'm 24 miles in, the wheels haven't fallen off.  It really does seem to be partly mind over matter.

I think the sub 3 has probably slipped by, but I'm not falling apart.  I'm going to run a 3:01.  That's a 3 minute PR.

Boom.  Suddenly my right leg locked up with agonizing cramps in my hamstring.  No warning - just boom.  I stopped dead in my tracks and almost hit the road, yelping.  I tried to stretch, and after 20 or so seconds the pain subsided.  I gingerly started up again.  After a few seconds it seemed okay and I tried to get back on pace, but it was in the back of my mind - would it go again ?

7:36

At this point I was liking the idea of kilometers more.  I knew the marathon was a little over 42K.  I'd been counting them down ever since I hit 30K.  They were counting past a lot quicker than the miles were.

Maybe there's something to be said for this metric system after all.

Under 2K to go.  Think - you're going to be running through the Brandenburg Gate pretty soon - one of the highlights of the race, just before the finish line.

After several turns on side streets - I could see it in the distance.

I noticed people pointing at me and wondered why.  Later I realized I had a bleeding nipple.  Another first !  The bleeding nipple didn't hurt as badly as my legs though.

200 yards before the gate.  Boom.  It happened again.  This time the left hamstring locked up with cramps.  Are you frigging serious ?  I've never had cramps in a race before, and here I was getting 2 in the last few miles on different legs ?

This one was tougher.  It really took some time to get going.  Each step for a while felt like it was going to lock up again.

8:00

Hmmm.  That's 26 miles on the garmin.  That means I've got 0.2 to go in theory.  But the finish line still looks a bloody long way away.  I still need to get through the Brandenburg Gate, and then there seems to be another long straight until the line.

Through the Gate.  So much for finishing there - it's another 500 yards or so (as this photo shows).

See the clock counting down in the distance.  With the cramps, the thoughts of a 3:01 or 3:02 had become - beat your 3:04 PR.

Bloody garmin.  Bloody cramps.  I try to pick up the pace.  I've got a visible limp with my left leg, but the finish line is coming up fast.

Last 0.6 miles.  0.6 miles ?!!  7:18

And I'm over the line.  I missed my PR by19 seconds.  3:04:27.

I stumble back to the gear check and then stagger back to the hotel.  Later that afternoon I met up with running friends in a bar to celebrate their achievements, and drink copious amounts of Long Island Ice Tea celebrating the completion of the marathon majors.  Partei wie ein Rockstar !

Reflecting later.

Even if I'd had perfect garmin accuracy, I don't think I was on track for the sub 3.  Without the cramps and shoe lace stop, I'd have run around 3:02.

That's still significant for me.  That would have been a 2 minute PR on the back of a sub-par training cycle with limited enthusiasm.

To me that tells me the mental side is just as important as the physical.  Intuitively I knew that, but had never been able to put it into practice.  This time I felt I was much stronger mentally.  I didn't allow myself to slow down to make it easier.  I kept pushing, even when it hurt.  And I realized that I could push through.  It wasn't pleasant, but it was over at the line.

Although I did get another mental lesson.  Don't make any assumptions - even if you're just 2 miles out and things appear to be going well.    That's when I started to think about the PR I was running.  Unexpected things can happen out of the blue.  You need to be aware and stay focused all the way to the line.

The gel strategy seemed to help too.  I didn't take the 6th for some reason.  I wasn't feeling queasy.  Still, that was 2 more than I've ever kept down before.  Next time I'm taking all 6.  Something to be said for the dual carb mix perhaps.

The cramps.  That one is harder to figure.  I was taking salt caps with the gels.  The weather wasn't hot, but with the sun it was probably a little warmer than ideal.  This one might have been a lack of water with the less frequent water stops, and the hard-to-drink-from plastic cups.

I flew to Australia the next day, took a week off running, and then slowly started up again.  The race didn't seem to have taken too much of a toll, so I signed up for the California International Marathon in December.  Try and make use of my new found form and mental resolve and take another crack at that sub-3 goal without having to go through another full training cycle.

And next time I'll wear nipple protectors too.

Hudson Experiment and Physiological Testing

After 4 marathon cycles using Pete Pfitzinger's plans from his booked 'Advanced Marathoning', I decided to try something different and switched to use the plan from Brad Hudson's book - 'Run Faster' - for the London marathon.  Partly to try something different, and partly because the way I interpreted it - it was a little more intensity with the workouts, but less mileage each week.  I'd run over 3,000 miles in 2011, but didn't have the time to be able to do that with the demands of a new job that I'd started.

As you can read in my London race report - I performed okay.  Not as well as I might have hoped starting out in training, but based on my mental state going in - probably about as well as I could have expected.  My time was very similar to that of a year earlier running Boston.  Which told me that the lesser mileage and different training plan, wasn't hurting my performance.

Colorado is a hot bed of talent.  Many of the best runners and athletes in the world live or train here.  I found that Brad Hudson was actually located just up the road in Boulder.  Several of my (faster) running friends trained with the group, so one Sunday in May, I decided to tag along and run with the open Sunday run.

I recognized several of the elite runners there which was a little intimidating, but despite that - the run was fun.  There was enough variation in runners that I wasn't left on my own, and ended up running a reasonably fast - but controlled - 12 mile run. 

I talked briefly with Brad afterwards, and then started to read more about the training the group offered.  A few weeks later I went back and chatted with Benita Willis.  She's an elite Australian athlete trained by Brad, but also someone who trains other runners herself.  She was training another friend of mine - someone who's performed very well this year, winning multiple races.  The more we chatted, the more interested I became.  The group - Hudson Systems (link) is based on the European club system.  They have a club house, with a tv for live and replayed running events.  Despite having a number of elite athletes - no one was 'on a pedestal'.  Everyone was treated the same way.

The group is affiliated with the Boulder center for sports medicine.  Through them you could arrange a battery of tests to help improve training and get a better understanding of the way your body burns energy at different paces and thus fuel better in a race.

I went in to meet with Benita and James Carney, another athlete coached by Brad - and decided to sign up.  Coincidentally - Benita was the subject of the interview on the great Marathon Talk podcast that week (Marathon Talk Podcast )

Into the Boulder labs I went.

The test was in 2 sections.  

Both involved running on the treadmill with a metal frame on the top of my head supporting a face mask that measured oxygen intake and carbon dioxide exhaled.  A nose clip forcing all breathing to be done through the mouth.  It wasn't the most comfortable thing and made me concentrate on my breathing - something I rarely did.

The first test involved running for 4 minute intervals with a short break in between, each set at a faster pace.  The computer measured the inhaled and exhaled gases which could help evaluate the % of energy coming from fat burning, and the % from carbohydrate burning.  The faster you run - the more you end up using the carbohydrates as the primary energy source.  Your body only has a finite amount of carbohydrates stored in the muscles and liver, and when you run out - that's when you hit 'the wall'.  I'd visited Bonk City several times and hoped not to go back.

Knowing this ratio helps you plan a carb intake strategy to hopefully avoid that wall.

The other part of the first test was drawing blood after each 4 minutes to test the lactate levels - this to figure out how much the body was producing at different paces and also to figure out the lactate threshold.  That's the point over which your body is producing more lactate than it can break down - so a pace that isn't sustainable for long.  Combining the results of the tests - the doctor  is able to come up with the optimal paces and heart rates that you should be doing the different types of training runs at (recovery, base building, tempo, threshold etc).

My legs had been feeling heavy all week and my heart rate immediately seemed elevated to me, but I was able to suffer through and complete the test, although my finger looked like a pin cushion after blood had been drawn 8 times.

Then after a short break - the second test - running as long as I could at a set quick pace on the treadmill, as the incline was increased every minute.  You essentially run until you fall or jump off the treadmill.  Then blood is drawn again immediately after, and then a few minutes later.  This test finds the VO2 max - which measures the body's ability to transport oxygen during exercise.  That test was pretty miserable - I jumped off about 4.5 minutes in with the incline at 10% or so.  I was a bit disappointed feeling I'd quit too soon, but found out later I'd hit my VO2 max a minute before - so gutting it out longer wouldn't have gained me anything more than extra pain.  And it was pretty bloody painful enough already thank-you very much.

So what did the results tell us ?

Firstly my VO2 max reading is 61.6.  On the chart I was shown for 40-49 year old men, a 'good' reading is 44-47, a 'high' reading is 48-53, an 'athletic' reading is 54-60, and 60+ is 'olympic'.  LOL !

Although this was actually something I suspected.  Not that I have olympic level VO2 - but that oxygen deficit is not an issue for me.  When I go to sea level - I don't seem to get a lift.  I ran faster in a hilly 10K in Boulder, than I did on a flat sea level course.  When I go up higher in altitude - say to run in Breckenridge - I can maintain much the same pace as I can in Denver without a problem.  So this really wasn't good news for me - I don't get the lift that others do who live or train at altitude and then go to sea level.  I should probably try and run some of the higher altitude races - Pike's Peak, or Mount Evans Ascent...

I felt my HR was elevated for the tests.  Running at similar paces in the lab to those on a treadmill at home - my HR seemed to be at least 10-15 beats / minute higher than I saw there.

I hadn't slept well for several days previously, and it was a hot day which the doctor said could have been a factor.  Perhaps the 'lab' conditions and face mask had an impact too.

Based on the tests, it suggested my 'sub-threshold' level - a pace that I could maintain for about an hour - was 6.59 min/miles to 7.30 min/miles.  Given I've run multiple half marathons in the 6.24 - 6.35 range - that didn't sound right to me.  I can run for an hour and a half at that pace.  Hell - I've run for 3 hours and 4 minutes at 7:00 pace.  So I think the elevated heart rate perhaps played a part here.  The doctor suggested that I go and do a test on a track wearing a heart rate monitor - run for several minutes at the different ranges and get the average HR and see.  I'll be doing that later this summer.

However - the HR ranges themselves are still very relevant.  Knowing my minimum and maximum rates, as well as my lactate threshold - the sports doctor was able to identify that the HR ranges that would lead to optimal training for me.  Allowing me to recover, and get the most from each workout.

Even if my HR was elevated in the tests - these ranges will still hold true.  The theory is that I'll just be able to run faster paces within these HR ranges.

The other test of interest to me was the fuel test.  This is shown by the bar chart below.  The yellow bar shows the amount of carbs / hour I'm burning from fat stores running at that pace, the green showing the number of calories from carbohydrates.  The positive for me is that the yellow fat chart is fairly consistent across all paces, so my body continues to burn fat at a similar rate - even as I speed up.  I was told that in some people - it shelves off completely so that at high pace, all energy is coming from carbohydrate sources.  

What it shows me though is that I probably need to do a better job consuming carbs during a race.  It's hard to calculate exactly how many carbohydrate calories your body can store - the only accurate way would be to do a muscle and liver biopsy.  Not something I plan on doing....

The doctor believed it's normally between between 2,000 and 3,000 calories for someone of my weight.  If I want to run a marathon at 6:50 pace - then based on the results - I'd need to have at least 2600 calories of carbohydrates available (don't forget - you burn carbohydrates the morning of the race - getting to the start etc).  I struggle to eat gels - and often take none.  So if my body can only store 2500 calories as carbs - I'm going to come up short unless I can consume more during the race.

The next 2 days in training I ran by heart rate.  I was surprised to see at what I was considering a fairly 'easy' run pace (7.45 - 8:00 range) that my heart rate was in the 'tempo run' range.  I had been doing nearly all of my recent training at this level, except for the 'quality' runs when I'd run faster.  Based on what I now knew - I'd been training too fast.  It was no wonder that my legs were feeling heavy - I wasn't giving my body time to recover. 

The 2 key things I'm taking from this test are:

- until I can re-calibrate my paces - I'm going to use heart rate to dictate my training runs and races.  Unless it's a tempo or threshold run - I need to make sure I don't go above a HR of 145.  For recovery runs - I need to keep it below 125.  This will ensure that I recover and can then get the most out of my quality workouts.

- I need to experiment more with gels.  I have to learn to take at least 2 / hour in a marathon and keep them down.  That would give me 200 more calories from carbs / hour and should safely get me to the finish.  I learned from the nutritionalist that the gel I was using (stinger) only had 1 type of carbohydrate.  She said tests had shown that gels with a mixture - could be absorbed better.  When I take gels they seem to sit in my stomach and make me feel nauseous, so improved absorption sounded interesting.  Research had been done with some of the powerbar gels for instance that had a mixture of glucose and fructose and lead to increased absorption (Powerbar study ) - so I'll try some of these and by the time I run Berlin - I've hopefully found a gel that my stomach can handle and that can give me an energy boost.

All in all - an interesting afternoon, and hopefully one that will lead me to train smarter and improve my performances.  

If ever you get a chance to do a similar test - I'd highly recommend it.  And if you happen to live in Colorado - or even are visiting.  Go along to the Hudson Sunday open run.  You won't regret it.

After 31 Years - THE London Marathon

The first London Marathon was run on 29th March, 1981.

I was 12.

Inge Simonsen and Dick Beardsley battled to the finish, and crossed the line in a dead heat.  An exciting race.

Living in a village about 25 miles south west of London, I watched the race with my brother.

From that day on I knew I was going to run the marathon.  Over the years I watched nearly ever running of the event.  My knowledge of the Cutty Sark, and the Isle of Dogs was purely from race coverage.

The closest I ever got to actually participating was after university, living in Wimbledon, aged 23, I signed up for it with a charity.  I had no idea about training, and ran a few times after work.  Hurt my knees running fast down hill and decided not to run.

Fast forward 17 years.  Turning 40 - it was the promise to myself that I'd one day run a marathon that got me off my fat arse and back running.

I ran my first - Chicago in 2009.  Qualified for Boston.  Ran Boston a couple of times, Chicago again, CIM, St George, Tucson, and New York.  

All great races.  Some very prestigious.   

On this side of the pond, Boston is often viewed as THE marathon.  Others will argue that it's the whole New York experience with the amazing crowd support.

Not for me.

London has always been THE marathon.

The marathon distance of 26 miles and 385 yards was set for the London Olympics in 1908 so that it could finish in front of the Royal Box.

In 2012 the Olympics were going to be back in London.  That did it.  I needed to run the London Marathon in the Olympic Year.

A group of friends - using marathon tours - signed up to run the race.  31 years later - I was finally going go make good on that promise I'd made as a 12 year old.

I started a new job in October 2011.  It was hard to run the 70 - 85 mile weeks that I had managed through the previous cycles using Pete Pfitzinger's plan, so I switched to Brad Hudson.  Less mileage, but more intensity.  Through the winter I was averaging between 50 - 60 miles per week.

Because the plan was different - I didn't have any comparisons.  I had no idea what kind of shape I was in.  Until I ran the Moab Half Marathon again in March.  Once again the wind blew.  And this time I really sucked !  I'd gone into it thinking more of a marathon paced run, but even with that I fell apart.  1:34.  1:34 ??  The second slowest half of my life - and 9 minutes slower than the 1:23:45 I'd run just last summer...  

Not exactly confidence building.

I had a few better runs the last few weeks of training, but I was going in with very little confidence.  

I flew into London the Wednesday before the race.  Hit the expo the next day, and then generally got to hang out with friends and relive visiting places that I'd gone to while living and working in London.

I wasn't thinking about the race much at all, and probably as a result had the best nights of sleep leading up to a marathon that I'd ever had.  I wasn't putting pressure on myself for sub 3.  I wasn't sandbagging when I said I wasn't in shape - although I knew I was going to give myself a chance - just in case...

Race Day.

We met in the hotel lobby and caught the bus at 7:15am.  Not a Boston school bus for us - this was a fancy comfy coach.

We hung out in the village and waited for the 9:30am start.

I was struck by several things.  

Instead of just the porto potties - they also had areas for men and women's urinals.

thanks Robyn

The queues for the porto potties were well organized.  Hell - this is England.  We know how to organize a queue.  And the porto potties themselves had flushes.

Everything was a lot more relaxed than the big marathons I'd run in the states.  New York we'd been put in our corral 45 minutes before the start.  Boston and Chicago - a similar story.  Here in London - we just got gentle reminders over the loud speakers.

"Folks - just a reminder - the race starts in 10 minutes so you should be making your way to your designated pen".


"Remember - if you just need to pee - you can use the urinals".

Something else I couldn't imagine hearing over a loud speaker system back home.

I was in pen 1 at the Blue start.  Just back from where the Elite Men were.  There was a group of sub-elites in between - but just 40 yards up the road - I could see the backs of the running heads of state.  The closest I'd be to them all day.

I'm on the right hand side as you look - about 100 people back.  See me ?  

Anyone who's run a big marathon probably knows the feeling.  The gun goes up ahead, you start the slow shuffle forwards towards the line - everyone with their hand on their stop watch or garmin.  Nervous talk.  A good luck shout to runners around you.  The shuffle becomes a slow jog, and then a jog.  You hit the start line, you start your watch, and you're running.

I hit the start line and I was still slow jogging.  What ?  I'm in the front pen.  Pre-race I was worried I'd be holding people up around me.  No danger of that.  I'd wanted to back off the pace slightly the first mile but this was ridiculous.  Half a mile in - I was running 8:30 pace.  Hmmm.  I didn't think I was in sub-3 shape, but I had hoped to start with a 7 minute mile.  8:30 pace ??  I started trying to do something about it.  Zig zagging around slower runners.  Jumping up on the pavement and running down there.  Slowly, but surely, I was able to clear the bottle neck.  I felt bad for my friends who were starting further back.  I bet it was worse (I learned later it was).  That's probably the one thing London could improve on.  Find a way to eliminate the bottle neck at the start and to prevent runners who had no business being at the sharp end of a big race, from getting up there and then running slowly and holding back the pack.

By the time I hit the first mile, I was getting back on track.  7:18

We were now running through fairly narrow residential streets.  People with flags warned us of 'speed humps'.  Clearly I've been out of England too long.  That meant something else to me now.

The green start joined us, but fortunately they were going the same speed so crowding wasn't an issue.

Second mile:  6:51

Perfect.  Feeling pretty good too.  

So the crowding at the start wasn't impressive - but that was easily outweighed by the hydration approach that London takes.  None of those silly little paper or plastic cups that you spill all over yourself.  Every mile - they handed out plastic bottles of water, or the sports drink lucozade with flip top lids.  Why don't other races do this ?  Runners were pretty good about throwing the empties to the side of the road where they were quickly swept up, and I'm sure recycled.  Brilliant !

Third mile.  6:39

Doing the calculations in my head.  Maybe 10 seconds down on sub 3 pace.  Exactly where I'd want to be at this point in the race.

The red start joined us and we ran along side each other - with a road divider to keep us apart.  Some good natured banter erupted.  'Red Start Sucks !'

Another aid station.  Grabbed a water to run with for the next few miles.  Tap on the shoulder - can  you pass me your bottle ?  Umm - no.  Sorry mate.  I'm nursing this one for a few miles.  No idea who he was - but he was angry.  Said something that would require **** to repeat and then stormed off (which is impressive in a marathon).  A few hundred yards later I saw a half full bottle on the side of the road and grabbed it and ran over to him.  For some reason I felt guilty.  He told me all was forgiven - although I wasn't really sure I had anything to be forgiven for.  If you can't get your own water when they're handing them out each mile that's really your own problem.  Clearly the English have an issue with personal accountability too !

Still, a bit of drama to keep my mind off the running.

Mile four, 6:43

Clicking off.  Nice and easy.

A little hill another mile.  6:53

Mile 6:  6:59

And then I saw it.  The Cutty Sark.  Synonymous for me with the marathon.

A boat built in the mid 1800s, that at one point held the speed record for the crossing between England and Australia.  Now in dry dock and just about to re-open to the public after being badly damaged in a fire a few years before.  We ran round the boat.  I spent the whole time just staring at it.  That's the bloody Cutty Sark !

Mile 7.  6:49

Mile 8.  6:40

Mile 9.  6:45

Mile 10. 6:47

Nothing remarkable about this stretch.  You're following the looping of the Thames on the south east side of London.  Still - the crowd support was impressive.

The splits all from the GPS watch as usual were all a few seconds off (fast).  I was monitoring my actual time too as I passed under each of the very noticeable mile markers with a tunnel of balloons and a clock.  I was about 20 seconds off sub 3 pace.  Again - very much where I'd planned to be.  I figured in previous attempts I'd gone off too quickly.  Hitting the half in 1:28:xx, and then fading.  This time I hoped to negative split as I had in my 'training run' at New York - something between 1:30 and 1:31, and then if I had it - a 1:29 on the back half.  And if I didn't - I hopefully wouldn't blow to pieces on the road.  

Avoid one of the most miserable feelings there is.  Running the last 10 miles of a marathon when you've got nothing left and feel like an old lady in a walking frame could overtake at any minute.

I was amazed at the number of runners in costume - and the number of those that were running relatively quickly.  I was running along side a guy wearing a full gas mask, and next to another guy in a leopard skin costume holding a staff.  And further back in the pack - costumes were everywhere.

Mile 11.  6:51

Mile 12.  6:51

I'd studied the course the night before.  I knew that at around mile 12.5 - we'd be crossing Tower Bridge - one of the highlights of the race.  We turned the corner - and there it was.  And so were the crowds.  Amazing.  They talk about turning onto 1st Avenue in New York - and I'd done it just 5 months earlier - but I felt these crowds had those beat.  Amazing.  Loud loud loud.  I clapped them as I ran across the bridge and got loud cheers in return.

Probably a once in a lifetime opportunity.  Very cool.

Mile 13:  6.51.  Clockwork !

Hit the half in 1:30:48.

Over 3 minutes faster than a half I'd run in Moab the previous month.

I really was feeling good too, but I've done enough of these things now to know that it all comes down to the last hour.  Get yourself to that point - then try to hang in there.

The crowds were still strong, and we got to see some of the elite women running back, at about mile 22 of their race, having started 45 minutes before us.  I saw Liz Yelling, the wife of Marathon Talk podcaster Martin.  I yelled encouragement, although realized she was well off pace.  I heard an interview with her later - she'd lost the leaders and realized the dream of her 3rd Olympics was gone so she'd backed off - running something around a 2:40.  "Passing the baton to the younger generation"

Mile 14.  6:57

We were now coming towards the docklands.  I didn't know this area well at all.  Other than a concert out here one time, and the expo on Thursday - I don't think I'd ever been out this way.  I knew from the map we'd be doing a lot of turns and would have some tunnels to go through.

It was also where the Isle of Dogs was going to be.  I only knew this from marathon coverage too and remembered it looked pretty bleak and lonely with sparse support.  

Clearly things have changed over the years because there was never really an area without people to yell encouragement.

Mile 15. 6:47

Mile 16. 6:49

Still ticking along.

I noticed that I was running very much by feel.  I wasn't checking my watch at all.  With my Motoactv watch - it would just speak the mile splits to me once the mile was done, and from that I could gauge how I was doing.  I knew I needed to pick things up to get that negative split and sub 3, but my legs were starting to feel a little heavier and mentally I wasn't sure I was capable anyway.  

In hindsight I probably should have made more of an effort to stay on pace.  Not wait until the mile was done, but actively check and speed up.  With the poor race performance in March and lack of confidence - I didn't want to risk pushing too hard and blowing up.

Mile 17. 7:03

Mile 18. 7:05

That didn't even register.  12 seconds off pace.

These were the miles around the tall buildings of the docklands.

Mile 19.  7:03

Mile 20.  8:03 - not really.  With the tunnels and buildings - the GPS got jacked up.  Suddenly from having it call mile splits a hundred yards before I got to the mile markers - it was now doing them after.  Definitely a long mile that one.

Still - I knew sub 3 was gone - but things were still ticking over.  It was hurting - but it wasn't HURTING.  I also knew the best part of the course - and probably the best support - was still all to come.  Mile 23 you get to the Tower of London, then run along the Embankment passed the City, right next to an office I used to work, then up to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, before turning towards Buckingham Palace and the finish.  

Not long for that.  5 miles to go.  Picture going out on my easy 5 mile loop around City Park in Denver.  I've got this.

I was trying a mantra for the first time that I'd put together having read the "10-minute toughness" book.

Lean, bounce, relax.

3 trigger words for me.  The first two to keep me running on my mid-foot, and the last to not tense up.

Mile 21.  7:18.

Lean, bounce, relax.

Also designed to keep your mind occupied and prevent the negative thoughts flooding in.

Mile 22.  7:15.  We were now running on the side of the road where I'd seen the elite women.  A mass of humanity was going the other way - them at the 14 mile mark.  I was very glad I was running where I was.  Open roads.  I again marveled at the people in costumes.  Later I saw that 2 people on stilts had 'run' the marathon.

Mile 23.  7:15

Past Tower Bridge.  I glanced over at a bar - the Minories - that I used to go to in my days working in London.  A spit and sawdust place.  Boys night out on a Friday evening.  Another lifetime.

Then past The Tower of London with all of it's history and the crown jewels.  It didn't appear I was losing my head today.

The crowds were large.

Then along the embankment.  Under the LIFFE floor building - where I'd worked for a few years before being transferred to Chicago.  Reliving some of the memories kept my mind off the heavy legs.  But I also wasn't concentrating on the watch.

Mile 24.  7:34

Ok - come on !!   Way too slow - only 2 miles to go.  I figured I still had a shot at my PR - just over 3:04.  This very much a concentration lapse - I could run faster - I just wasn't looking at my watch.  45 seconds lost in that one mile alone.

It felt hot.  The cloudy day with rain showers hadn't materialized.  Blue sky and sun the whole way.  Nothing like Boston 6 days before though.  Still - there were a fair number of runners in trouble.  Walking.  Sitting.  Even lying on the road.

Mile 25.  7:16.

Turn the corner, leave the Thames behind, run past Big Ben.  I was running in clear open roads.

Despite the slightly slower pace - I was the one over taking.  Very few were going past me, which was a pretty novel experience for me this late in a race.  I liked it, although again I wondered later if I should have pushed things more.  The official stats:

Last push.  I'd walked this part of the course on the Friday.  I knew Buckingham Palace was ahead.  A turn in front, and the finish would be there.

Mile 26.   7:27

Make the turn.  Take in the crowds.  Pick up the pace.  

Last little bit.  Look up to see if I could see the Queen waving (she wasn't).  Think about getting an open space around me for the photo of me with Buckingham Palace as a backdrop.

And over the line.  3:04 ?   3:06:15.   Really ?  Where did those 2 minutes go ?!  Oh well.

Not a sub 3.  Not a PR.  Not easy - but really not too bad.  I still had a lot of energy left, walking quickly to get my bag and then another half mile or so to catch the tube.  I didn't get the DOMS (delayed onset muscle  stiffness) either.

It felt more like I did after a hard Sunday training run, than after finishing my goal race.

Marathons are hard to train for.  You train for months ahead of the event to get one shot.  If you don't perform the way you'd hoped - you can't run another the next weekend.  So after each race I analyze what I did well and what I can improve on - and then write myself notes for the next race in the hope I learn.

Hindsight is always 20:20, but sitting here 3 weeks on - I think I could have pushed myself to have run a few minutes faster.  The lack of confidence from the pre-race half marathon weighed heavily, as did previous sub 3 attempts where I'd blown up late.

This run showed me that I can run a sub 3 pace throughout the race - and not disintegrate at the end.  That's a positive.  Now I need to pay more attention to how I'm running in the second half.  Not allow myself to drift off pace passively.  Push myself to maintain.  I'm continually reminded by something a friend (Eric) said in Boston last year.  Once you let yourself get used to running slower, you get into that rutt that's hard to get out of.  Next time I'm going to try to avoid that rutt.

Pre-race fueling finally appears to have worked.  Carb depletion and ultra fuel the day before, and then simple toast with honey with some liquids 3 hours before.  I was able to get 3 of my 4 gels down, which is an improvement.  Next time will be 4.  The salt caps I took during the race seem to have helped as well - I didn't feel nauseous, which I had previously - so I think the caps helped change the composition of the fluids in my stomach and got them absorbed more quickly.  Hydration is still an issue though - even with all the bottles of water - I still ended up dehydrated.  Clearly I need to drink more than I think I need, especially early on.

With all that said - 3:06 is still a 9 minute Boston Qualifier.  With the lack of confidence and perhaps lack of form going in - I'm fairly happy with the time.  If you'd offered it to me after Moab I'd have bitten your hand off.

More importantly to me.  I'd finally run the London Marathon.

Another life goal ticked off the bucket list.

Then the best post race meal ever - roast beef, yorkshire pudding and roast potatoes !!!

And a lot of drinking with friends.

A Spicy Night in New York City

One of my longer term goals was to complete the 5 World Marathon Majors.  Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London and New York.

Each presents a different challenge - often to even just get to the start line.  Boston you obviously need to qualify for, or raise an awful lot of money as a charity runner.  London and New York are both heavily oversubscribed and use a lottery system that means it's very hard for most people to get an entry (Chicago and Berlin are a lot easier).

Fortunately I had a qualifying time and with a big group of running friends going, I decided 2011 was the year for me to check it off the world major list. 

New York is not renowned as a fast course - with several large bridges to run up, as well as a hilly finish leading in to, and around Central Park - so I decided to make it more of a training run, with my goal race being Tucson in December.

That turned out to be one of the best decisions I made.  This would be the first marathon I really enjoyed.

Race day - we were up at the crack of chickens.  Literally.  Despite a 9:40am start time for the first wave, because of the logistics of the start in Staten Island, we were scheduled on a 6am ferry out of lower Manhattan.

6am for the ferry.  Work backwards.  Leave the hotel at 5:30am.  Need to get up, change, 'take care of business' and get some breakfast in too.  So 4am ET.  Fortunately the clocks had gone back an hour that night which led to some concerns for me as I went to bed.  Would my iPad adjust it's clock during the night ?  If so - should I set the alarm an hour later ?  I ended up going for the 'old fashioned' hotel wake up call.  It didn't matter anyway - I was awake long before the phone rang.

A group of us from the Runners World forums took taxis together and hung out on the ferry.

 

 

It was still dark, but you could easily make out the Statue of Liberty as we sailed past.

 

and looking back at the New York skyline as the sun started to come up

 

Once on Staten Island, we waited briefly for buses which gave another opportunity to look back at the city skyline.

At the Athlete Village we basically sat around.  And waited.  A lot.  It was chilly - mid 30s, and we had nothing to do but wait.   For 3 hours.  I was once again thankful to have met a large group of running friends through Runners World.  The time passed a little quicker.

 

In New York they have 3 coloured starts.  I was in the green which started on the bottom deck of the Verrazano Bridge.  The other 2 starts are on the top deck.  90 minutes before the gun - we got into our wave holding areas, and then 45 minutes later they walked us up to the start line.  I was in the first wave of the green, so maybe 10 yards behind the start.  The green start is a short way back from the bridge - so we had a small grassy area along the side of the road.  For the 45 minutes we were penned in - that area was given a lot of nitrogen fertilizing.

And then we were off.  It wasn't bad running on the bottom of the bridge.  To the left hand side was a spectacular view of Manhattan.  I kept pointing it out to people, but most were concentrating on the matter at hand.

Until you run the course - you don't realize how 'hilly' the bridges are.  Here's an elevation profile of the race - notice the first mile with the Verrazano Bridge.

Fortunately - it is the first mile, and with all the pent up excitement, especially after being 'caged up' for 3 hours, it wasn't noticeable.

Pre-race, I had decided to make this a 26 mile training run.  The plan was to go out at 8 min/mile pace for the first 16 miles to get a bit of heaviness in the legs, and then to bring home the last 10.2 miles at what I hoped would be my marathon pace in Tucson - 6 min 50 second miles.

Starting at the front, with all the excitement - try as I might - I couldn't run slowly enough.  I tried to stick to the very left hand side of the bridge so I didn't slow people down and with the wider road it never seemed to be an issue.  The first miles ticked by and I was struggling to run under 7:30 pace.

Each mile as I saw the split I'd make a conscious effort to slow down, but it wasn't working.

First 5K @ 7:23 pace.

Through mile 4 @ 7.25

Mile 5 @ 7.26

So much for 8 min / mile pace.

I decided to adjust my training run on the fly.  Instead of running slower the first 16 and fast the last 10, I decided I could just keep up the 7:30 min/mile pace for the first 20 - and then hammer home the last 10K.

I was still running well within myself.  I was able to enjoy the scenery, high five kids, thank the cops in the middle of the road, and try and talk with runners on the course.  I was also able to observe the runners too - something I don't typically have time for.

During the race - I noticed 3 phases.  The first phase - where everyone streamed past me.  Not really surprising given me starting at the front but holding back.  This lasted for the first 4 or 5 miles.  Then things started to even out.  I was running level for the next 8 or so miles.  Then probably from mile 13 onwards - even though I was keeping a constant pace, I started to be the one doing the overtaking.  It amazed me how poorly most people pace a marathon.  But then I can hardly speak myself - I haven't got it right yet myself when racing for that sub 3 house elusive goal.

Brooklyn

Enjoying the race for once, I was able to take in the differences as we moved through the 5 Burroughs.  From Staten Island, through Brooklyn, to Queens, briefly into the Bronx, before finishing in Manhattan.  We were running through areas that most New Yorkers wouldn't dare to set foot in - but with 50,000 running friends and great crowd support, it was a party the whole way.  I danced the YMCA, and 'held my hands up in the air' whenever the music called for it.

One song I heard many times had become a sort of official anthem for the race for me.  Jay-Z and Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind.  (click the video for some background music for the rest of the blog)

Youtube video - Empire State of Mind 

Around mile 10 I finally found someone who was taking things relatively easy too.  He lived about 2 hours out of the city and had run the race several times.  He agreed with the 7:30 min/pace approach, although a couple of times we had to remind each other to slow down.  It was tough too - the bridges really played a number on my garmin, so I couldn't trust the overall average pace that was being shown.

I hit the half in 1:39:05.  A 7.34 pace.

Onto the Queensborough Bridge - once again running on the bottom deck as we crossed into Manhattan

  

The bridge is quiet - just the sound of fellow runners, many suffering on the uphill portion. Once you're over the bridge, you turn onto 1st Avenue and hit the wall of noise from the large crowd support.

 

  

I was having fun. 16 miles in - it felt like the Sunday training run that it was, just with 2 million people out to support.  I was biding my time - waiting to hit the 20 mile mark.  As we approached that point I saw later that my average pace had dropped to 7:36 min / miles.  My running partner had started to drag.  He wished me well, and I wondered what I had left in my legs.  It turned out to be quite a lot. 

It felt great to stretch out.  I literally just hit the switch and went from 7:40 pace to 6:40 pace in a few seconds.  I felt as if I was flying past people - a porsche going past tractors.  From mile 20 to the end, no one over took me, and I must have overtaken literally thousands of runners.  I had to weave and take corners on the outside to avoid getting trapped.  This was fun !

Mile 21.  6:34 pace.  Hmmm.  Maybe a little too enthusiastic there Richard.  Still - it felt great.  Just 5 to go, this was a training run after all - and this was the part of the training I was most interested in.  How I could handle faster miles towards the end of the race on fatigued legs.  We made the turn at the top of the course and headed towards the finishing stretch.

Mile 23 is basically a long steady uphill along 5th Avenue as you approach Central Park.  Most runners were dragging.  I know that feeling well - just willing those last few miles to be done, living in your own personal hell.  Not this time - I was screaming.  I tried to encourage the crowd to yell louder.  Wearing my Colorado shirt I heard a lot of 'Go Colorado' shouts.   This was the way to run every marathon !

6.53 mile up the hill.  Then into Central Park.  

The road got narrower and the crowds were drawn in closer.  I was surprised by the constant ups and downs in the park and was once again glad I wasn't racing the marathon.  On tired legs at the end of the race could be miserable, and I saw plenty of people suffering.  I suddenly realized checking the splits that I might be able to make 3:15 - way faster than I'd expected, and my Boston Qualifier time for 2013.  Hmmm.  Purely symbolic because I'd already run a 3:04 the month before, but I figured I'd give it a go.

Out of the park, along W 59th and up another slight incline, around Columbus Circle, back into the park,   I was still overtaking all the way but my legs weren't turning quite so fast now.  6:56 for mile 26.  Up the final incline and we were done.

Official time, 3:15:13.  A 3 minute negative split, all of that (and more) from the last 10K.  Despite missing the 3:15, I was in a great mood.  The last 10K I'd averaged right around 6:50 pace which I hoped was a good sign for future races.  Never had running a marathon felt so much fun.  I was amazed that just backing off a little bit, how much easier everything felt, and how much I had in the tank at the end.

Which was fortunate to some extent, because after you finish New York - you have to walk for what seems to be halfway through Central Park to get to the exits and your checked bags.  I met a group of friends from the RWOL forums again and we hung out for a while, before reconvening at a bar on the upper east side (walking the 2 miles to get there in my case).

Later that night a larger group of us got together to eat the hottest curry in the world.  Good times, good friends.  The perfect way to cap off an incredible day.

Reflecting later on how much more enjoyable this marathon had been, it made me realize this was the way to run marathons.  I've got some unfinished business trying to get that sub 3 hour time, but once I do, I really believe this is the way to go for future races.