London Marathon - Race Report - Sunday 21st April 2013

Friday 26th April 2013

London Marathon Sunday 21st April 2013

It’s probably fair to say that it has been a long road to the London Marathon this year.

I remember pushing the button on the entry from away back in 2011.  Yes way back then.  We were in Donegal and I went up to the in-laws’ house so I could use the internet and get my entry in early.

It worked and I was lucky enough to get a ballot entry for the 2012 race.

I knew that I would never e doing the event in 2012 as it would interfere with my Ironman training, so 2013 was to be the date for me.

I have to admit to having high expectations in the months after Ironman about coming to London.  If I could run a 4:44 marathon in an Ironman then I thought I was well on a for a sub 4Hr marathon, hell, I could even do 3.45.

So, when the forms came in for London and I was asked to put down an estimated finishing time, I boldly plumped for 3:45.

Anyway as the months rolled on and I tried to introduce more speed training to my build up, the injuries began to occur and once again it was my Achilles and feet that created all the problems.  These are well documented already. Ad nauseum!

Anyway poor training build up and losing probably 3-4 weeks worth of quality training meant that as I stood on the start line in London (in a start pen for 3.45 times) my expectations were firmly pegged back to some sort of rational level.

Given that 6 weeks before the Marathon I was still doubtful if I could even do it, I set my sights on enjoying the run and hopefully coming in under 4:30.

The trip out to the start was great.  Our Hotel was only 5 minutes walk away from London Bridge Station where I would get the train out to Blackheath for the start.  As I walked towards the station I started to see more and more people carrying their Red London Marathon Kit bags and this trickle became a massive gathering by the time I got to the station.  Lots of nerves and energy from the combined masses.

Once out to Blackheath station I thought I would be clever and avoid the huge queues for toilets at the Start area by using the facilities in the station.

This was such a good idea that about 20 other people had thought of it also.  So I joined the queue and waited and waited.  It’s fair to say (without being too graphic or unpleasant) that by the time my turn came, the aroma from the loo was so overpowering that I was in danger of losing my porridge and muffin!  At least this was a shorter queue than I would have had to endure at the Start Area.

I managed to kill an hour at the start area by wandering around and then eventually dropping my kit bag off, then off to the start Pen.

While I was standing in the start pen the first of many Ironman conversations that day came up.  A guy noticed my M Dot tattoo and started asking me all about it.  Fortunately for him (as many of you will know) I am more than happy to talk about it.

This was the first of probably eight conversations that I had along the route with people all asking about Ironman,  the tattoo really is a bigger badge of honour than I realised.

Just before the race start, the terrible events of the Boston Marathon last week were recognised with a moments’ silence and this was impeccably observed by all.  We were also all wearing black ribbons to commemorate those injured or killed.

The gun went off and we were on our way.  A massive wave of humanity in every imaginable colour started walking towards the start line, which was about 600 metres away.

The walk turned to a shuffle and with about 50 metres before the start line turned in to a jog and then a run as we crossed the start line.

I had forgotten how amazing it is to run in a crowd this size.  I was literally swept along.

Not far up the road I saw a man in his mid 50s wearing a British Heart Foundation vest with some writing on the back of it.  It said “ Running for Timothy – my Heart Donor.”

I was completely blown away by this and as I ran alongside him I asked was he a heart transplant recipient and he was.  I told him how inspirational he was and wished him all the best.

It takes moments like that to make to make you realise the power of running and an event like the London Marathon to bring out the best in people.

Just after the 1 mile marker I had my first celebrity encounter.  None other than Cheryl Baker from Eurovision winning Bucks Fizz.  She was getting great support form the crowd and runners alike and was graciously acknowledging it.

I was so tempted to tell her First to “speed it up and then I though maybe she should slow it down, cos if u believe that a love can hit the top u gotta play around,
and soon u will find that there comes a time for making ur mind up.”

Then I thought she has probably heard it about a thousand times before.

My approach to this run was to keep within my Heart Rate zones and take it easy and pace it evenly the whole way.

It was very comforting to see that I was well on track doing this with each mile and 5K split literally within seconds of each other.

I knew that to of my friends from work were due to be waiting around the 12 mile mark at Bermondsey and sure enough there were Fiona and Fionnuala cheering me on.  I have to apologise to them for giving them a sweaty hug but it was nice to see someone I knew.

Very soon after this I was approaching one of the most iconic moments in world running.  Tower Bridge.

I never tire of seeing this iconic structure and the feeling of running over it with tes of thousands of people cheering you on is simply breathtaking.

I knew that Keara and the kids would be along the bridge somewhere and I kept an eye out for them and sure enough towards the end they were waiting beside the barrier.

A quick hug and photo and I was off again heading towards half way.

Half way passed in 2:12:05 and I was pretty pleased with that as my splits were very even and my Heart Rate zones were looking good and most importantly I was feeling great.  Not fast but strong.

Mentally I thought that the next 8 miles would be tough as I headed in to the Docklands, however it went a lot better than I thought and in fact I started to feel very strong and was starting to push the pace on a little bit but still being cautious in case I blew up and struggled later on.

Coming round by Canary Wharf was a spine tingling moment as the crowds here were as noisy as anywhere on the course and they were screaming for everyone.  It felt absolutely amazing and I got such an energy boost from it.

Coming out of the Canary Wharf area at about mile 20 and heading back towards Tower Bridge I felt really strong and I noticed that for the last few miles I was passing lots of people and not really being passed.

On reflection I was able to maintain my pace and not slow down over the last half of the run but I just couldn’t speed up.  I think this was the true impact of the lost training.  Although with Marathon running you can never really truly tell.  If I had been fitter I might have gone off faster and struggled over the second half.  Who knows?

Having been over in London with work quite a bit I have made a point of running along the embankment which makes up the last 3 miles or so of the route.  This is great as I am familiar with it, however on race day that embankment felt twice as long.

It was around mile 24 that my legs really started to feel it.  My quads were slowly turning to stone and I was working hard to keep a steady rhythm.

I took a walk break for one minute to get a gel in and a quick drink and then vowed not to stop again until I had finished.

Just before reaching Parliament at about 25.5 miles I passed former Olympian and one of my favourite sports presenters Iwan Thomas.  He was really struggling at this stage and I tried to be encouraging to him, but in those circumstances being encouraging nearly always comes across as condescending – “I’m passing you and not struggling as much as you!” – that’s what it sounds like to the recipient of the well intended encouragement, even if it is said in a genuine way.

The last three quarters of a mile up birdcage walk and round the from of Buckingham Palace to the finish line must be the  most iconic marathon finish in the world.

I raised my hands aloft as I crossed the line hoping that finally I would get a decent finishers photo.  Sadly looking at these now post event, they are as crap as ever.  Some day. . . .

On through the finish area to meet up with Keara, Erin and Ben. This time I found them relatively easily and it was nice to get a Mars Bar and get out of my soaked t shirt.

The legs were tired but the finishing time of 04:27:51 was better than I had hoped for and I was very pleased with the way I executed the race plan.

A little bit of stats for those that are interested;

 

It is so encouraging to see that my KM splits ranged between 06.07 to 06.29.  Only a 22 second differential across the whole 26.2 miles.  Also of significance was the split between 25-40K where the average for each split was exactly the same.  That is where I felt the strength come in and it shows.

I am delighted with the way it all went and to be honest getting to the start line was great in itself but finishing was a bonus that I was doubtful of achieving only 6 weeks ago.

I think I might enter next year again and if I am lucky enough to get in will defer until 2015 as 2014 hopefully will be another Ironman year.