My sixth marathon and definitely the best ever. Thats how I can sum up the whole experience in a single line. We all know in case of marathon to get to the "best ever" situation; it can't be all described in one line. Not in a paragraph either. There is lot of hard work and the operative word is LOT. Litres of sweat, several tens of hours , tens of chocolate bars , hundreds of kilometres and two pairs of shoes.
Things that I did to make a difference this time.
Step 1: Hang up the Wheels
Every year my training was mixed with cycling and running . I was not 100% on each activity . This year I changed it a bit. By June I stopped all of my cycling. Literally the bike did not move from July to October. I had to get ahead of the "Red balloon" (4 hour mark) that was the only target.
Step 2: The Tech
Bought myself a Garmin Fenix 3 fitness watch. the top of the line sort watch. The amount of data points it started providing was amazing. Not only run cadence., but metrics such as Left right balance, Vertical oscillations , VO2MAX etc was definitely a major help. On the first run I realised my got was landing bad, My attempt for a longer stride was costing my cadence, I bounced a little higher than required and my VO2MAx was just in mid 40's which is good. But Good won't do it. I started changing my technique based on these inputs. SO much so that I had the best 10K run ver. At 43:28. Which literally blew my mind. My the endow my training
At peak my VO2MAX is at 57 which is superior. That is top 10% of all Garmin users are in that category .
Step 3: The Training
This is where it made 75% of the difference . I do have issues with following a strict calendar to do the traning. Because it does not know my work situation or my family situation. Work situation was bad. Though Garmin offers plenty that one can load up into a watch and do the drill, I could not accommodate it But that I did do this time was use the weekly training plan tweeted by the amazing @dublinmarathon . That roughly said what distance must be run every day of the week. thats it. Not the time or what the pace. I used that as a guide and managed to get an hours worth of running weekday at lunch. I was doing 10K every day Monday to Friday by the time It was early October. where as in June I would have struggled badly to do a 10 K on consecutive days.
The total distance I put into running this year alone is 60% higher that previous. A huge leap. This is what matters.
Step 4: The nutrition
Me being a vegetarian does not help much in getting lots of proteins in. SO early during the training
I did invest in some good protein powder. I must admit that without that the five day back to back 10K would have been impossible. Recovery times greatly improved from 48 hours to just 19 hours after each 10K. Second I started to move away from using Gel bars . wanted to push the limits as to how much the body can supply energy with. By the end of training , I was able to do a 20K in 1:45 with not a single gel or any food at all. This could be because of the protein powder I am taking. For longer distances I carried around small mars or snickers bars . Throughout the year ! I had so heavily relied on gels the last five years.
Step 5: The Gear
I started my initial couple of months of training with an ASICS light weight trainers but after putting in few hundred kilometres on it, few weeks before the big day got myself a slights heavier ASICS with a much firmer sole . It did definitely absorb much better. It was worn in perfectly before the big Day. My body is so acclamtised with the fine Irish weather, I see that not once did I have to use a thermal wear even when the temp dipped to just 7 degrees. I was more comfortable running at 7 degrees than at 17 degrees. I am definitely Irish now.
Step 6: The final preparations.
Training was going strong . the race predictor on my watch said I would do the marathon in 2:50 which is next to impossible for my mind. just 2 weeks previous to the Oct 29th I tried to do a short run but a sprint . 400 X 4 at sprint pace. Was able to easily get a PB of 4:00 Minutes for 1k. But that did cost me. I had a cramp on my left few hours later and came to a pint that I had to scarp a training run because I could not take a single step. I thought, this was the end of it. Felt really awful that I could not get the training done till the end. There is no point in powering though this pain because it may damage severely and ruin my race. I massaged and nursed slowly in getting back to doing decent distances. The pain persisted every run after that. My left right balance was out the window and this was costing my pace. But I had to sacrifice pace to keep the leg working till finish line.
The weekend previous to marathon day, I was with my family friends in Co Claire. My last couple of runs was to the Cliffs of Moher from where we stayed, Liscanor. a good 11Km run in those beautiful landscape was just the right training needed for the mind. To make me feel that this pain in the leg and the hours of training is all worth it.
The D day :
The Marathon this year was special. It was the largest participation ever in the 38 year history of the event. Registration was closed out at 20,000 people months ago. 16,000 people actually participated.
Goody bag collected. The Day was clear, Wind speed was very low and temperature was about 9 degrees which is ideal. I was in the blue wave. 4:00 to 4:20 . I realised soon that this was a mistake .
thousands were on the streets all set. For the first 12 K my pace was just at 5:00 min/km which is far lower than my average of 4:35 min/km . This was because of the wave I was stuck in. I was constantly blocked . Some were enjoying the chat with their fellow mates while running and I don't blame them and they have no space to give me to go ahead. I don't blame them. I twas me who undermined myself that I registered myself the blue wave. The lan in my left leg arrived on for the first 13K. At the top of phenix park is where I got some room to get to my pace. the next 15K after that went smoothly avg. at 4:45 min/km. I started taking in the chocolate bars I had strapped on to myself. Constantly hydrated myself . The crowds were extremely supportive. I did go well past the Red balloons at the first 10K mark.
Half marathon distance came up at a good 1:49 km. The legs had stopped complaining for the strange reason. L to R balance was BAU now. So keep soldering on.I did hit the wall not as hard as all the preiouvs attempts. The last 10K is where I had to go for some high speed walking because the lactic acid build up in my thighs. It was hurting quite bad. Just 2km to the finish line is where my home is so my little one and wife were there to cheer me on .
So I kept it and there was the finish line beckoning at me . I had to give it all at I got. So I did. Just past the line had to lie down on the tarmac at a side for a few minutes. Was really uneasy. The medic did offer me help. I was fine, or so I thought. Then I did something that I have never done before. Throw up! It was just at the stomach juices what was built up. That has never happened to me before. But left a lot better once that was out. limped back to my bike eager to see my kiddo. The second medal her daddy got for her. Now she looks at the medal like a toy but I am sure some day she'll look at the ones I have and be proud of me. Thats all that I want. One Day I will run this marathon with her and beat her ( evil laugh.....)
And for all the ones who says age will slow you down.... Just defined it.every year I have made nothing but improvements. I have a mother set of balloons to chase in 2018!
Things that I did to make a difference this time.
Step 1: Hang up the Wheels
Every year my training was mixed with cycling and running . I was not 100% on each activity . This year I changed it a bit. By June I stopped all of my cycling. Literally the bike did not move from July to October. I had to get ahead of the "Red balloon" (4 hour mark) that was the only target.
Bought myself a Garmin Fenix 3 fitness watch. the top of the line sort watch. The amount of data points it started providing was amazing. Not only run cadence., but metrics such as Left right balance, Vertical oscillations , VO2MAX etc was definitely a major help. On the first run I realised my got was landing bad, My attempt for a longer stride was costing my cadence, I bounced a little higher than required and my VO2MAx was just in mid 40's which is good. But Good won't do it. I started changing my technique based on these inputs. SO much so that I had the best 10K run ver. At 43:28. Which literally blew my mind. My the endow my training
At peak my VO2MAX is at 57 which is superior. That is top 10% of all Garmin users are in that category .
Step 3: The Training
This is where it made 75% of the difference . I do have issues with following a strict calendar to do the traning. Because it does not know my work situation or my family situation. Work situation was bad. Though Garmin offers plenty that one can load up into a watch and do the drill, I could not accommodate it But that I did do this time was use the weekly training plan tweeted by the amazing @dublinmarathon . That roughly said what distance must be run every day of the week. thats it. Not the time or what the pace. I used that as a guide and managed to get an hours worth of running weekday at lunch. I was doing 10K every day Monday to Friday by the time It was early October. where as in June I would have struggled badly to do a 10 K on consecutive days.
The total distance I put into running this year alone is 60% higher that previous. A huge leap. This is what matters.
Step 4: The nutrition
Me being a vegetarian does not help much in getting lots of proteins in. SO early during the training
I did invest in some good protein powder. I must admit that without that the five day back to back 10K would have been impossible. Recovery times greatly improved from 48 hours to just 19 hours after each 10K. Second I started to move away from using Gel bars . wanted to push the limits as to how much the body can supply energy with. By the end of training , I was able to do a 20K in 1:45 with not a single gel or any food at all. This could be because of the protein powder I am taking. For longer distances I carried around small mars or snickers bars . Throughout the year ! I had so heavily relied on gels the last five years.
Step 5: The Gear
I started my initial couple of months of training with an ASICS light weight trainers but after putting in few hundred kilometres on it, few weeks before the big day got myself a slights heavier ASICS with a much firmer sole . It did definitely absorb much better. It was worn in perfectly before the big Day. My body is so acclamtised with the fine Irish weather, I see that not once did I have to use a thermal wear even when the temp dipped to just 7 degrees. I was more comfortable running at 7 degrees than at 17 degrees. I am definitely Irish now.
Step 6: The final preparations.
Training was going strong . the race predictor on my watch said I would do the marathon in 2:50 which is next to impossible for my mind. just 2 weeks previous to the Oct 29th I tried to do a short run but a sprint . 400 X 4 at sprint pace. Was able to easily get a PB of 4:00 Minutes for 1k. But that did cost me. I had a cramp on my left few hours later and came to a pint that I had to scarp a training run because I could not take a single step. I thought, this was the end of it. Felt really awful that I could not get the training done till the end. There is no point in powering though this pain because it may damage severely and ruin my race. I massaged and nursed slowly in getting back to doing decent distances. The pain persisted every run after that. My left right balance was out the window and this was costing my pace. But I had to sacrifice pace to keep the leg working till finish line.
The weekend previous to marathon day, I was with my family friends in Co Claire. My last couple of runs was to the Cliffs of Moher from where we stayed, Liscanor. a good 11Km run in those beautiful landscape was just the right training needed for the mind. To make me feel that this pain in the leg and the hours of training is all worth it.
The D day :
The Marathon this year was special. It was the largest participation ever in the 38 year history of the event. Registration was closed out at 20,000 people months ago. 16,000 people actually participated.
Goody bag collected. The Day was clear, Wind speed was very low and temperature was about 9 degrees which is ideal. I was in the blue wave. 4:00 to 4:20 . I realised soon that this was a mistake .
thousands were on the streets all set. For the first 12 K my pace was just at 5:00 min/km which is far lower than my average of 4:35 min/km . This was because of the wave I was stuck in. I was constantly blocked . Some were enjoying the chat with their fellow mates while running and I don't blame them and they have no space to give me to go ahead. I don't blame them. I twas me who undermined myself that I registered myself the blue wave. The lan in my left leg arrived on for the first 13K. At the top of phenix park is where I got some room to get to my pace. the next 15K after that went smoothly avg. at 4:45 min/km. I started taking in the chocolate bars I had strapped on to myself. Constantly hydrated myself . The crowds were extremely supportive. I did go well past the Red balloons at the first 10K mark.
Half marathon distance came up at a good 1:49 km. The legs had stopped complaining for the strange reason. L to R balance was BAU now. So keep soldering on.I did hit the wall not as hard as all the preiouvs attempts. The last 10K is where I had to go for some high speed walking because the lactic acid build up in my thighs. It was hurting quite bad. Just 2km to the finish line is where my home is so my little one and wife were there to cheer me on .
So I kept it and there was the finish line beckoning at me . I had to give it all at I got. So I did. Just past the line had to lie down on the tarmac at a side for a few minutes. Was really uneasy. The medic did offer me help. I was fine, or so I thought. Then I did something that I have never done before. Throw up! It was just at the stomach juices what was built up. That has never happened to me before. But left a lot better once that was out. limped back to my bike eager to see my kiddo. The second medal her daddy got for her. Now she looks at the medal like a toy but I am sure some day she'll look at the ones I have and be proud of me. Thats all that I want. One Day I will run this marathon with her and beat her ( evil laugh.....)
And for all the ones who says age will slow you down.... Just defined it.every year I have made nothing but improvements. I have a mother set of balloons to chase in 2018!
