Now for the race report – Probably not the most rested I have ever been before a marathon, with the new baby and all, plus
not sure how good my nutritional strategy was, but I honestly think that even has the preparation been perfect, nothing could have prepared any of the runners for those winds from Ein Gev
1–5K: I ran with a friend and the Kenyan women. Ironically, I was trying to persuade him not to go out too fast! Might not have been the smartest of moves looking back on it, but did not feel too much energy being used. 5–10K: Still felt strong, but was definitely taking it easier. 10K-21K: Best part of the race. Got to the half in 1.26, pretty much as expected and was feeling great. 21K-30K: To be honest I didn’t feel like I was losing too much speed here, in relation to the RIDICULOUS wind and even thought I was conserving energy. 30K-37K: It was only when I turned the corner that I realized how much energy I had used up on the last stretch. I felt like I was totally broken and could not go on – luckily I had Eti there, who pretty much saved the day. The power of her words and company were truly comforting from 30 – 32K mark. Even though I might have seemed unresponsive and possibly unappreciative at the time (I sincerely hope not), Eti has no idea how much she helped! Aside from Eti’s company for a couple of K, it was by far the loneliest stretch of the race mentally. I still have no idea how I managed to hold it together. Baruch and Tzion overtook me at this point and I just had not willpower to try and run with them. The wheels were definitely wobbling… 37K – 42.2K …or so I thought. Something just clicked inside my head (certainly not my legs) at this point and I decided just like that, to finish this thing with some dignity. The Finish: I was actually quite surprised to see 2:56 on the clock, even though by this stage I knew I couldn't be far off, because in the dark section of the race I thought I’d be lucky to keep it under 3hrs. So, I ended up with an almost 4min +ve split, but under those conditions I think that was just about expected.
Lessons learned: As much as possible have a visual plan of the marathon as a whole, so you can be better prepared at key stages. Rest i.e. sleep, as much as possible and make sure to have a solid nutritional plan, the week beforehand Do a larger percentage of long runs at a slower pace
After ‘PBing’ last year, this marathon certainly brought me back down to earth! The marathon truly is an enigma. Saying that I know that I am definitely capable of bettering my time in the future :lol
Cheers,
Viggy
5K splits: 1-5: 19:44 5-10: 20:31 10-15: 20:41 15-20: 20:26 20-25: 20:39 25-30: 21:47 30-35: 21:23 35-40: 21:30
40-42.2: 9:39 (4min/k average)
