Alright blog, I’ve had time to step back and absorb an unforgettable weekend in Frankfurt so it’s time to empty out my experience of the day. I start writing this from the comfort of the Brehon hotel in Killarney where I sit with a pint of grog having just spent the last 2 hours lounging in the jacuzzi with a slightly creepy smile on my face. No wonder those ladies reported me.

Background / Preparation
This was to be my 5th marathon with a previous best of 2:46:59 in Dublin last year. We all know what happened back in April of this year, the marathon that never happened so I was out to make amends for that disappointment. The goal back in April was a 2:40-45 and while that race actually never happened thanks to a certain pilonidal abscess, I still benefited from a good training block and the whole experience in general stood to me. I wasn’t long signing up for another marathon so the goal when I entered Frankfurt was always a sub 2:40.

Ever since I ran my first marathon in Dublin 2012, the thoughts of a 2:3x had been firmly planted in my mind as I looked on in awe at some of the Donore lads who had on that day ran 2:36. At the time it was a distant if not unattainable dream to someday similarly be a 2:3x marathoner, I couldn’t fathom the idea of running sub 6 minute miles for a marathon but I knew it would take time, patience and a lot of hard work. My training over this summer and autumn went really well, in fact better than expected. I stayed on top of any minor injuries backing off when necessary, always listening to the body and both the milage and sessions were consistent.

I believe I trained smart and it’s mainly down to my coach and more-so trusting what he says. I also fed off the incredible energy of the group in Leevale over the last few months, the buzz is almost tangible after hard sessions and long runs and it’s such a pleasure training with these guys who have played a major role in my progress and just inspired me to think big. Given all those factors, I went into this race with a ‘best possible outcome’ being a 2:33/34 – something I genuinely wouldn’t have considered realistic back in April but now possible if everything went absolutely perfect on the day. A secondary outcome was a 2:35-40 which was what my training was pointing at and one I would be more than pleased with. Failing all that, running under 2:46:59 would still be a PB and that’s never a bad result so that left me with a lot of good potential outcomes. I really didn’t even consider not running a new PB (barring events outside of my control) and I hope that’s not being arrogant but I was just so confident in the training I had done. I really went into this one with a very positive attitude and it made a big difference.

10 weeks out I ran the Clonmel half in 78 minutes at planned marathon pace which felt really good so at that time 2:36 was in my head as a real possibility. I ran a 73:29 PB in the Charleville half 5 weeks out and got some great sessions with my marathon club mates in the following weeks. The goal started dangerously creeping towards 2:32-34 after watching my training partners run around that time in Berlin and the coach suggested myself and John (club mate also running) should be in that ballpark. I think that was a massive boost for myself and John. It was a huge lift to hear he felt we were capable of hitting those heights. 3 weeks out I was forced to miss a week due to achilles flaring up but managed that well, never panicked and recovered to get a good 2 week taper keeping the intensity up but lowering the overall volume. Overall I felt better prepared than I ever have for a marathon. Since July I had been typically getting in a midweek long run (15 miles), a 30-35 min tempo, a Saturday grass session and a 20+ mile run averaging 80-90 miles a week and maxing out at 100 miles.

The week leading up to the race I was pretty relaxed, I slept really well and the legs were itching to get going. I got two rubs, one on the Monday and again on Thursday and I pretty much kept my diet business as usual. In my opinion there’s really no need to change much during last few days before the race. I travelled from Kerry airport to Frankfurt on the Friday with John and his wife and we checked into our hotel right beside the start/finish line, ideal location. Saturday was very relaxed, got our number at the expo and chilled out with a few coffees, watched some TV and the day seemed to just fly by. We also had a kitchenette in our rooms so we were able to do a grocery shop and cook our own food which made a big difference especially on race morning making porridge.

Race Day
It’s race morning and to my surprise I ended up having a great nights sleep. The race was scheduled for 10am so I got up at 7am, whipped up a bowl porridge and horsed it down with a glass of water mixed with dioralyte before heading back to bed and trying to sleep more (the hour going back made sure we even got an extra hour in bed). Somehow that worked and I fell asleep waking again at 8:30am. Back of the net. Myself and John headed off for a light 10 minute warmup at 9am and then got back to the hotel, time was flying. I put on all my gear, threw a gel and some jellies into my pocket, downed an espresso and off we walked to the line. We headed into the first coral (sub 3:15) at about 9:45am thinking we were in plenty of time but we were a little concerned when we saw a 2:59 pacer balloon ahead of us, we were too far back. There was no room to move, jam packed so we agreed we wouldn’t stress ourselves trying to squeeze our way up further and just accepted it and a slow start is not the end of the world. I ate a banana and pondered.

It felt like a long 15 minutes but suddenly there were just 2 minutes to go. I took off my finishers top from my first marathon in 2012 (some sort of metaphor?) and flung it over the fence. Side by side with my buddy John we were ready to do battle with 26.2 miles. The klaxon went but we had a long way to walk/run/shuffle until we hit the start line and then with a beep on the garmin, the race has officially started.

Miles 1-5
Well to say there was congestion is an understatement. We expected it but not to the degree we experienced and it just seemed to be endless over the first 10-15 minutes. I don’t want to complain too much about it because this was a positive day but I still don’t know what some runners were doing up there. Ok fair enough the sub 3 runners but a lot of them were running nothing close to sub 3 pace and it really put a dent in our start though we have absolutely to take responsibility for not being in the coral earlier.

We managed it fairly well I think, sometimes John would take the lead and start pouncing through gaps and I’d follow, or I’d just point a finger if I saw a gap and we’d leg it. It was important not to sit too much but to keep moving up through the field and we did well to pull off a 6:09 first mile, it really didn’t feel like it. That sort of start can be slightly draining as you expel a lot of energy finding gaps and throwing in surges here and there but it was by no means a disaster. We started gradually getting into a rhythm eventually and the field settled out and we were both running comfortably. We hit the first 5k in 18:56 but would have been shooting for typically 18:20-18:30 5k splits. We were both wearing pace bands marked in km’s, John’s was for 2:33 and me 2:34 (our more optimistic targets) and while they were useful enough for a while we just stopped paying attention to them eventually. Next time I’d use a less than optimistic pace band because once we ended up being a few minutes outside of the targets we stopped checking it.

Overall the first 5 miles were satisfactory. Effort wise I felt good and while I was sweating a bit too much I think it was just due to the constant weaving and by mile 4 or 5 I was really settling down. We got a great shout around 7km and John’s wife was holding up a sign “The Enniscorthy Engine” which made me chuckle. Small things like that really help. I took my first sip of water at the 5k station and kept that trend going until the end, not much each time mind you just a mouthful if anything.

1 6:09
2 5:54
3 5:51
4 5:57
5 6:10

Miles 5-10
These miles were fairly uneventful as we settled into the pace. I expected a group to start forming around now but we were moving through the field passing people, it was a little strange passing people so early on and some were already bizarrely struggling. We hit the 10km in 37:37 and while that was a quicker 5km (18:41) we were still off target but I wasn’t too worried, we were moving comfortably and that was the most important thing. I also took a couple of jelly beans here and almost choked myself by not chewing them properly, a piece came out of my nose eventually.

We had instructions from our coach to work together and not to go quicker than 5:50 pace and we ended up adhering to that quite well. Because both of us were aware of that we tended to call each other out if we noticed things were picking up too much as sometimes you tend to lose focus and find yourself getting carried away. Steady was the word of the day and steady we kept it. We caught up with a Kerry chap from An Riocht and he started working in with us which was great, the more the merrier.

We were well settled into the race now and the next 5k split was 18:32. I tried to take my usual dioralyte sachet at 15k but having torn it open in anticipation, by the time I got to the water station and went to swallow it, it was empty. I had spilled the contents – doh! That’s not the first time that’s happened, I’ve essentially ingested my dioralyte successfully in 2 of 4 marathons, must look into salt tabs. This wasn’t going to be a huge problem as heat and humidity weren’t a major factory so I didn’t worry about it. At around 8 miles I finally thought we had a group as a few runners seemed to latch on but just after 10 miles it was just myself and John again.

So on we trucked. We hit 10 miles just on the hour mark and that was just fine. Slight doubts crept in here, I’m not sure if it was the fact I had 16 miles left ahead of me including another 10 miler in 60 mins and then 6 miles on top of that or maybe it was that I didn’t really know how I was feeling, was I tired or was I feeling great?…I really couldn’t tell, it was strange…but only for a while. I snapped out of it eventually and regained focus.

6 5:57
7 5:59
8 5:54
9 6:04
10 6:00

Miles 10-15
From 10-13 it was just a case of ticking off the miles until halfway. Breaking the race down into minor goals is a helpful strategy to keep my mind focussed. I was comfortable enough here, John was leading the way and another guy had worked in with us and probably the longest we’d spent with somebody as he stuck around for about 5 or 6 miles I reckon until falling off. So halfway came and I really didn’t know what we were heading for, the loose plan was a 77:xx at halfway but we hit in 78:51. Sure it was a little slower than planned but we knew we had negotiated a congested start and had ran that first half quite sensibly.

We didn’t even say anything just kept moving and I think we were both quietly confident that we had a strong second half in us. We were continuously picking off runners ahead and had yet to be passed. We got working with another group around now including an African elite lady with some pacers and I also distinctly remember a green Perth runners singlet. These guys stuck with us for a good few miles and it was good to have the company and we were moving fluidly. We hit the 15 mile mark just before crossing over a bridge and I was really feeling good now and no better timing than the nowhere zone of the marathon. That 7 miles between 13-20 is always a strange patch where you must keep focussed, questions get asked here and you can suddenly find yourself struggling. 18:35 and 18:30 for the next two 5k splits, this was very steady going looking back.

11 5:56
12 5:54
13 5:57
14 5:53
15 6:01

Miles 16-20
I was in a relatively good place over these miles thankfully and was just focussed on getting to 20, then I’d assess the plan for the last 10k. We worked well here, kept the place steady and I was breathing well. I know from experience how unforgiving this distance can be so I was by no means going to get complacent. The course route was in general unmemorable which is good in a way as it shows I was keeping focussed and the mile splits agin here reflect that. The odd exchange of words with John every now and just assured ourselves that we were comfortable and relaxed. We were still picking off a lot of runners and some were really struggling with heavy breathing, the couple of runners we worked in with earlier were still with us. I was keeping an eye on my HR throughout the day and while my primary feedback was my own internal one, this acted as a secondary and never really deviated from 160 bpm over the first 20 miles, this was spot on in my eyes as I knew I could maintain that HR from previous marathons.

It occurred to me at around 16 miles that I hadn’t taken on much sustenance today bar a few jellies (but took water at every stop). While I’m used to and have specifically trained on empty, I still thought it better I pre-empt and get something into me for the last 6 miles as I was moving into unchartered territory. I was noticing signs of a slight stitch coming so I took just half a caffeine gel with some water and it sat well with me as expected (had tried it out on one long run).

I think it was the 17th miles as we moved through a small town, I was feeling really good and I saw a young boy of about 12 on the side of the road with his hand stretched out and eyes beaming. I moved over to the side and gave him the biggest hi-5 I could muster and most likely broke his hand. That brought a huge smile to my face, not breaking his hand but just getting involved with the crowd and taking a moment to enjoy the atmosphere, I look back on that moment really fondly. I hope he’s ok though.

The 30k (around 18 miles) split was 18:29, our fastest yet and we were gradually pulling away from the group and on our own again. John indicated he was struggling slightly around 19 miles so I took up the pacing and just kept it nice and steady hovering around 6 min/mile, I knew it was just a minor bad patch for John and I was right thankfully. Suddenly we’re almost at 20 and we got a great shout again from John’s wife (with some new signage) at and that was another boost, they all add up on the day. So that was it, we turned to each other as if to say ok that’s 20 miles but let’s just not make a big deal of it. Things were looking really good though, I looked at the watch as we hit 20 and it had just ticked onto 1:59. I said to myself if I just keep steady 6 minute pace over the next 6 miles, I could be walking away with a 2:36 marathon to my name, it felt so close now so there was no way I was letting this slip away.

16 5:52
17 5:57
18 5:53
19 5:59
20 6:00

Miles 21-23
There was no denying I was feeling tired by now and I was fully expecting it but I was feeling as good as I could be in that situation. I broke the next section into 3 x 2 milers and suddenly 22 had past and each mile I ticked off I felt I could almost touch the finishing line. John was looking really strong as he moved in front and I stuck to his back as best I could. We were back into the city now and the crowds were lining the streets, this support was a huge help in bringing us home. 4 miles left and I was perfectly happy to bring it home at this pace, I really didn’t feel I could have picked up the pace and sustained it.

Onto the 23rd mile and I looked across the road to see the faster runners on their last mile heading for the finish. I was starting to tire more and more now (and my HR was drifting but no surprise there) and all I was thinking was those lucky bastards are almost finished but you know what, that’s gonna be me in a couple of miles so just drive on and keep going. So I did. Splits were good here and I was keeping an eye on them. It felt like I was really slowing as fatigue was gradually engulfing my legs but seeing the mile splits really kept me positive and assured me I was capable of maintaining this pace until the finish.

21 5:59
22 5:53
23 5:50

Miles 24-Finish
I was still behind John now but he was opening up a gap on me that I wasn’t willing or able to chase. My primary focus over the last 3 miles was not about making up places, but rather getting home at this pace and getting me a 2:36, also I just knew there wasn’t a big kick in me at the time. The HR was still drifting and close to 170 now but I didn’t need that to tell me I was hurting. My training was being asked serious questions at this stage. Breathing was starting to get laboured but I was still keeping steady though form was getting sloppy. I was finding it hard to remained focus but the miles just seemed to tick themselves off. It was just a case of sheer stubbornness and persistence over these last few miles. I was answering those questions pretty well.

I really don’t remember much of these miles in terms of geography but what I do remember is keeping the black and yellow Leevale top in my eye line and putting one leg in front of the other. I was still passing people and I really don’t recall anyone passing me for the entire race (ok except for John) and some of you might know that feeling of constantly picking people off in a race, it’s a huge motivator and an assurance that you’ve paced this particular race sensibly (well either that or you’ve sandbagged the arse out of it but I vehemently deny that charge).

It was around the 25th mile I felt a slight but definite dart in my left hamstring…whoah…cramps? really? no…please…not now. I sort of shortened my stride briefly almost anticipating a full seizure if I opened up the legs. Thankfully it didn’t materialise into full blown cramp and I gradually relaxed again but a stark warning that I’ve still over a mile left and anything can happen. All I wanted was to get this crocked body home in one piece but not just that, I wanted to be able to call myself a 2:3x marathoner, it was so close now. I distinctly remember looking at some of the crowd cheering and I was able to muster a thumbs up and smile but I also remember breathing like I was on the finish straight of a 5k race, wide eyed like a rabbit in the headlights.

We were on the home stretch now, the crowd are in full voice and I’ve just clocked a 5:51 for the 26th mile though it feels nowhere near that pace. This is actually happening, I’m almost home. I saw John ahead of me turn to the left and I knew he was almost home and dry, now it’s my turn. My inbuilt regulator eased off the reigns and let me pick it up for the big finish as rounded the corner into the Festhalle. The place can only have been described as electric with its 40 meter high dome, music pumping, strobe lights flashing and the crowd so pumped up. As I crossed the 200m to go mark, I think my watch read around 2:36:15 so I said to myself 2:36 might just be happening today. I gave it my best shot anyway as I stretched out the legs. I moved down that finish straight as if I had been gifted new set of legs, I almost felt possessed. I cannot describe that feeling. Even now I had to pause and smile as I type it as I really can’t find the words. I looked up and I saw the clock read 2:37:xx (remember we didn’t hit the actual start line for a good minute or so) but even so all I saw was a guaranteed a 2:3x marathon, the minute didn’t matter.

Some might say ok big deal it’s just an arbitrary time but to me it was the realisation of a vision 3 years ago to become something that felt so much bigger than me at the time. A small celebration and I crossed the line to embrace my friend and trainer partner John who played a big part in this journey and it was such a pleasure to run with him that day, we shared an amazing and unforgettable experience. What a marathon debut for him clocking a 2:36:35. A brief manly embrace ensued before bending to our knees to try allow that oxygen debt repay some of its hefty loan. It took me a few seconds to check my time, my watch read 2:36:59 but I wasn’t sure if I was under or not, I didn’t really care too much, I was elated. Later I’d find out the official time was 2:36:57 and a PB by 10 minutes and 2 seconds. Second half in 1:18:07 and a negative split by 44 seconds. Result.

24 5:57
25 6:07
26 5:51
0.3 (2:06 / 5:44 m/m)

Summary: 26.2 miles in 2:36:57 (5:57 m/m)

The Aftermath

We moved on out of the Festhalle and bumped into the 1st and 2nd Irish runners from Slí Cualann in Wicklow (2:33 and 2:30 respectively). We congratulated each other and moved outside to absorb the race and get some energy back into us. After a while I headed back to the hotel and was still in a bit of a dreamland for a while, I didn’t quite yet believe I had done it. It was only when I logged onto the results site and saw my 2:36:57 there in black and white and I smiled. No matter what happens now, that was a time nobody could can take away from me. I rested for a while, ate a bowl of cereal and cleaned up before heading off for a few well earned brews in the Irish pub with John and his wife. We met the Slí Cualann gang in the pub so we all headed off for a really enjoyable slap-up meal and some more beers and apple strudel. That evening really topped off what is no doubt one of the best days of my life and a memory I’ll cherish forever.

 

Thoughts
That was the most uneventful marathon I’ve ever ran, and that was exactly what I wanted. Though the conditions were perfect for us, I also really think I got a lot of things right on the day. Nutrition was fine no real problems there, the porridge & banana pre race followed by few jellies during the race and half a gel at 17 worked fine for me. Also water every station that’s a formality for me now. Pace-wise I couldn’t be happier, I worked really hard for the last 2 miles yet kept the splits steady, I don’t think there was much more left in the tank at the end so I think it was judged quite well and I was able to work off feel for the majority of the race. My mindset going into the race likely played a huge role. I was confident and had a lot of trust in the training, had gotten good rest all week and nerves really weren’t a huge factor – a positive mind can be a powerful ally on the day (as can a solid and trusted training partner)

Where do we go from here? Most likely Berlin next year but that will all come in good time. I really feel I needed a marathon like this where I was able to keep it steady the whole way through, I had previously only done this once before in my 2nd marathon in Barcelona running a 2:54. This says to me that it wasn’t a once off and I’m capable of executing a well paced marathon so I have a strong belief I’m capable of going quicker yet again. But there’s no need to think about that right now, I need to take time to recover and enjoy this achievement and soon I’ll be back thinking about the next challenge.

And finally, I love this photo where I was striding down the finish straight knowing I had done it, what a feeling.