Birmingham Marathon 2017
October 15th 2017
26.2 mile run
My final event of the season - and how great for it to be such a local run. I realised when I entered that this route would not be particularly inspiring (two laps of Pershore Road?!) but did not want to miss out on this Great Run, as many of my friends were participating.
Lining up at the start I was pretty nervous. Training had not gone well. Having finished LEJOG on 7th September I found my running legs a lot more tired than I thought, and it was at least another two weeks before I was able to run. Typically, after a season of numerous sporting endevours my body finally decided to say "no", and I had another week of being ill (as well as restless and grumpy!). This ended in the very painful form of the Draycote 20 miler....
So, three weeks out from the marathon, I was finally ready to start training, hurrah! I managed a couple of midweek runs, and then a 17 miler on the Sunday (encompassing the new Peacehaven Parkrun) before being kindly told by my coach it was time to taper! Oh well!
With all this in the back of my mind, I chose to start well back from my target time (sub 4hrs), in the "4h 30" block. This was possibly a mistake as I got fairly held up at the start. Unlike shorter races where I find people start at a faster pace than the average for their target times, people did not seem to be doing that here. It took until the A34 for me to get free and really settle down a little.
I found the A34 went fairly quickly, although did not feel as "easy" as I thought the first few miles should. About half an hour in, coming through the tunnel towards Aston, I had my first energy gel, trying not to make too much of a mess but at the same time regretting doing it whilst going uphill as I was rather breathless. Passing the finish line at Aston University, I found it depressing to hear from the commentators that the first finishers would be in in around 45 mins, I had barely started (7 miles in)!.
Next came Digbeth, where I became disorientated by a large number of right-angled turns. At this point, HR and pace were on target, but it still wasn't feeling easy. In fact I was relieved to reach the main "loops" and get started on what I perceived to be the most mentally challenging bit of the race. I knew the way out was slightly uphill, but was watching my HR creep up out of zone fairly rapidly. However, I had developed some sort of rhythm, so decided for once, to let it go. The sun coming out in bursts was warming my up, which always has an impact too.
The loop turn point came at about 12 miles, and was very welcome indeed. By now my pace was reading 8:58 (aim for sub 9) and I didn't have much in the bank. However, the largely downhill return stretch offered significant recovery, and by the turn point at 15 miles I felt better than I had in any part of the race, and had clawed my pace back to 8:54. Coming through the park for the second time, I was averaging 8:40 pace, and pleasingly distracted by meeting and chatting to a couple of friends. The uphill stretch to the turn was again increasingly arduous, but this time I knew I could get some time back on the return if needed.
I made it up the hill (meeting another friend) and turned on 8:59 pace, nothing to spare at all. Now 19 miles in, I pushed on to gather time on the downhill and return stretch, making it back to 8:56 by 22 miles and the end of the dreaded loop. Coming back into town was largely flat, but my push had taken it's toll and my pace remained even at around 9 minute miles. With 1.5 miles to go, the climbing began. I had about 15 minutes to finish on target. My HR had been at about 190 for a couple of hours now.
Ouch! Is pretty much all I can say about the last mile. The hill got steeper, I tried not to slow, and the wave of half marathon starters coming the opposite way seemed to produce a negative draft effect! Eurgh. Photo evidence shows me painfully shuffling around the last two turns by Moor Street, and I really gave everything on the "sprint" to the line.
3:58! Against all odds (and with pretty well no training) I had done it. What a rewarding end to a fantastic season.
Times
Total time: 03:58:17
Standings
Age category (W20-34): 67/511 13%
Gender category: 160/1542 10%
Overall category: 1309/5204 25%
26.2 mile run
My final event of the season - and how great for it to be such a local run. I realised when I entered that this route would not be particularly inspiring (two laps of Pershore Road?!) but did not want to miss out on this Great Run, as many of my friends were participating.
Lining up at the start I was pretty nervous. Training had not gone well. Having finished LEJOG on 7th September I found my running legs a lot more tired than I thought, and it was at least another two weeks before I was able to run. Typically, after a season of numerous sporting endevours my body finally decided to say "no", and I had another week of being ill (as well as restless and grumpy!). This ended in the very painful form of the Draycote 20 miler....
So, three weeks out from the marathon, I was finally ready to start training, hurrah! I managed a couple of midweek runs, and then a 17 miler on the Sunday (encompassing the new Peacehaven Parkrun) before being kindly told by my coach it was time to taper! Oh well!
With all this in the back of my mind, I chose to start well back from my target time (sub 4hrs), in the "4h 30" block. This was possibly a mistake as I got fairly held up at the start. Unlike shorter races where I find people start at a faster pace than the average for their target times, people did not seem to be doing that here. It took until the A34 for me to get free and really settle down a little.
I found the A34 went fairly quickly, although did not feel as "easy" as I thought the first few miles should. About half an hour in, coming through the tunnel towards Aston, I had my first energy gel, trying not to make too much of a mess but at the same time regretting doing it whilst going uphill as I was rather breathless. Passing the finish line at Aston University, I found it depressing to hear from the commentators that the first finishers would be in in around 45 mins, I had barely started (7 miles in)!.
Next came Digbeth, where I became disorientated by a large number of right-angled turns. At this point, HR and pace were on target, but it still wasn't feeling easy. In fact I was relieved to reach the main "loops" and get started on what I perceived to be the most mentally challenging bit of the race. I knew the way out was slightly uphill, but was watching my HR creep up out of zone fairly rapidly. However, I had developed some sort of rhythm, so decided for once, to let it go. The sun coming out in bursts was warming my up, which always has an impact too.
The loop turn point came at about 12 miles, and was very welcome indeed. By now my pace was reading 8:58 (aim for sub 9) and I didn't have much in the bank. However, the largely downhill return stretch offered significant recovery, and by the turn point at 15 miles I felt better than I had in any part of the race, and had clawed my pace back to 8:54. Coming through the park for the second time, I was averaging 8:40 pace, and pleasingly distracted by meeting and chatting to a couple of friends. The uphill stretch to the turn was again increasingly arduous, but this time I knew I could get some time back on the return if needed.
I made it up the hill (meeting another friend) and turned on 8:59 pace, nothing to spare at all. Now 19 miles in, I pushed on to gather time on the downhill and return stretch, making it back to 8:56 by 22 miles and the end of the dreaded loop. Coming back into town was largely flat, but my push had taken it's toll and my pace remained even at around 9 minute miles. With 1.5 miles to go, the climbing began. I had about 15 minutes to finish on target. My HR had been at about 190 for a couple of hours now.
Ouch! Is pretty much all I can say about the last mile. The hill got steeper, I tried not to slow, and the wave of half marathon starters coming the opposite way seemed to produce a negative draft effect! Eurgh. Photo evidence shows me painfully shuffling around the last two turns by Moor Street, and I really gave everything on the "sprint" to the line.
3:58! Against all odds (and with pretty well no training) I had done it. What a rewarding end to a fantastic season.
 |
| Myself and Jenny - who persuaded me to do my first marathon with her in 2014 (Edinburgh) yet due to injury has been unable to complete one herself until today - smashing her target! |
Times
Total time: 03:58:17
Standings
Age category (W20-34): 67/511 13%
Gender category: 160/1542 10%
Overall category: 1309/5204 25%
Comments
Post a Comment