My fifth ever marathon run coincided this time with the one hundred year celebration in Ireland. Last year was a disappointment and my blog back then reflected that. the Illusory red balloons. This year was nothing different. End of story. Well, though I was not completely satisfied, I should not complain either. I did slightly better than last year. Just improved by another four minute. The same kind of gain as before. There is something different to the experience as compared to the last one.
To begin with, this year my outdoor activity has been split. I have done as much as cycling as I have been running . Clocking a total distance of 490 km running, while I put in 1960 km in cycling. in the past one year alone. It's quite shocking to see these stats by the end of the year. Kind of blows my mind away , that in total I spent over seventy thousand calories in just running and cycling.
The training for my running this year was split into two, The first quarter I was focussed on getting a 10K run in 45 minutes. I managed to get that done in 45 minutes. Which were 5 minutes better than the previous year. The rest of the year was mostly cycling and majority of the running, well over one hundred kilometers in the last month of October alone.
This was my Achilles heel in training which I only realized later . The week previous to the big run managed to get 27 km run done in two hours eighteen minutes with a respectable Avg heart rate of 171 bpm. That gave me the confidence that I could pull this off easily. (proved wrong later) .
the bank holiday Sunday was finally upon me. Collected my race pack from RDS next door. I got a sense that this was huge this time. well over 19,500 participants this time. My chip number 10800.
Sunday the 30th was the best anyone could expect weather wise. It was a nice thirteen degree with gentle breeze under 6 kph. To my own surprise, I was not wearing a thermal wear. I had not worn it throughout 2016! The turnout was massive. seeing close to twenty thousand people on the street is amazing and quite a rare sight. I was inspired by few of the participants I noticed at the green wave. A soldier from the Irish army in full gear. A firefighter in full gear . There was the now common, superman, and batman. The green wave has the flag off at ten past nine. I started off with a slow run, 6minutes for the first kilometer. it was kind of congested to pick up any pace. But I was determined not to up the pace and keep it slow and steady. The focus was to get my energy level up till the finish line. was aiming for a pace of just under five minutes thirty which would keep my heart rate at a comfortable 170 bpm.
The kilometers kept ticking ant I was holding a steady pace till the 32nd kilometer. I was already in celebratory mode. I had just another ten kilometers to go. The three hour fifty pace keepers were right beside me. All I had to do is dig deep and keep the pace steady. Few tips that kept me ticking was nibbling away at the free jelly beans handed by the good Dublin folks. I had a banana handed out by a kid, which I am very grateful for. Also kept sipping water to keep hydrated. All is going good, right; WRONG!
After that I cannot explain what happened, I could not keep the pace, I was fighting with myself to keep running the whole distance. I decided to walk 100 meters for every 900 meters of running. That's the only way I could see myself getting to the finish line . This one stat of my pace alone is self-explanatory .
It has to be mental because I did not have any cramps , nor did my muscles tighten up. Mysteriously I had lost all the energy and my body was not able to deliver them. I had three gels and that was not doing it for me. The red balloon went past me again this time, to my total dismay when I was just three kilometers from the finish line.
My daughter and wife were by Merrion road, outside my home to cheer me up. That gave me some joy. I had to keep chugging along at least for them. I had seen many collapses along the route, but what broke my heart is when a chap fainted just 100 meters from the finish line. The medics rushing to him was the last thing I remember. I had to take ten steps walking at that point thankful that I am still able to walk. The final 50 meters mustered all that I could in me and crossed the finish line. I thanked the lords. I spent well over 40 minutes just sitting by the curbside on Merrion square park. tried to get some food in me. gently limped back to my bike, made my way to home to sleep for two hours straight.
What a day!! Dublin Marathon Vs me is still 1-0. But I am not giving up just yet; am I .
To begin with, this year my outdoor activity has been split. I have done as much as cycling as I have been running . Clocking a total distance of 490 km running, while I put in 1960 km in cycling. in the past one year alone. It's quite shocking to see these stats by the end of the year. Kind of blows my mind away , that in total I spent over seventy thousand calories in just running and cycling.
The training for my running this year was split into two, The first quarter I was focussed on getting a 10K run in 45 minutes. I managed to get that done in 45 minutes. Which were 5 minutes better than the previous year. The rest of the year was mostly cycling and majority of the running, well over one hundred kilometers in the last month of October alone.
the bank holiday Sunday was finally upon me. Collected my race pack from RDS next door. I got a sense that this was huge this time. well over 19,500 participants this time. My chip number 10800.
The kilometers kept ticking ant I was holding a steady pace till the 32nd kilometer. I was already in celebratory mode. I had just another ten kilometers to go. The three hour fifty pace keepers were right beside me. All I had to do is dig deep and keep the pace steady. Few tips that kept me ticking was nibbling away at the free jelly beans handed by the good Dublin folks. I had a banana handed out by a kid, which I am very grateful for. Also kept sipping water to keep hydrated. All is going good, right; WRONG!
After that I cannot explain what happened, I could not keep the pace, I was fighting with myself to keep running the whole distance. I decided to walk 100 meters for every 900 meters of running. That's the only way I could see myself getting to the finish line . This one stat of my pace alone is self-explanatory .
My daughter and wife were by Merrion road, outside my home to cheer me up. That gave me some joy. I had to keep chugging along at least for them. I had seen many collapses along the route, but what broke my heart is when a chap fainted just 100 meters from the finish line. The medics rushing to him was the last thing I remember. I had to take ten steps walking at that point thankful that I am still able to walk. The final 50 meters mustered all that I could in me and crossed the finish line. I thanked the lords. I spent well over 40 minutes just sitting by the curbside on Merrion square park. tried to get some food in me. gently limped back to my bike, made my way to home to sleep for two hours straight.
What a day!! Dublin Marathon Vs me is still 1-0. But I am not giving up just yet; am I .
