MY SUB 3 HOURS MARATHON ATTEMPT
Richard Joyce, 27
EMF EDINBURGH MARATHON 2012
My time = 3:04:56 = 189th position of 8,077 = ‘Good For Age’ VLM Qualification
After completing my first marathon (London Marathon) in 3:26:27 just a month earlier, without any trouble on a flat but slow course (due to over crowding of the charity runners like myself) - just finding my feet with the distance, I felt confident enough I could shave off 26 minutes and beat the 3 hours mark on this reasonably downhill / flat course.
I was very unlucky however, that I pulled my left calf muscle pretty bad whilst playing football just a week after the London Marathon, I strapped it up and rested it till the Leeds Half Marathon, which I was planning to use as a warm up for Edinburgh. Maybe I made a big mistake in running the Leeds Half Marathon as 13.6 miles certainly caused it more damage. I managed to get round in 1:27:43, a Leeds Half Marathon record for myself after 6 years in a row of running my local race, so considering I was injured I was happy with my time. Despite injury I was all set for Edinburgh Marathon, I rested up for two weeks and used all sorts of pain relieving gels to prepare me in time. I probably didn’t quite feel as fit as I would have liked physically, I certainly didn’t feel as sharp as I had barely played football in nearly 2 months, but then again, who needs to be sharp in a marathon? It’s all about endurance.
My pre day and night preparation went well and I felt ready. I arrived at the start line a good hour and a half before the start of the race after timing my travelling all wrong in London and turning up for race late. I was relaxed and feeling good, my calf was strapped and the sun was shining. It was an extremely hot weekend and the temperature was expected to reach 22 degrees in the peak of the marathon, so I thought the quicker I finish, the better haha!
I was starting in the fast section of the race and I started off at a blistering pace, attempting to keep up with a small ‘fast pack’ of runners who were obviously looking at a sub 3 hours. It was going great and I felt very fit and strong cardio wise, although I could definitely feel the strain on my calf. The first 10k I ran in 38 minutes, which equalled my PB for that distance, I was feeling really good. I then began to stride away from this pack and was pretty much running on my own until before the half marathon mark. I ran the half marathon in 1 hour 25, which was 1 minute off my half marathon record so I felt right on course for a sub 3 hour and the heat wasn’t getting to me too bad at this point.
I stopped off for the toilet just after the half marathon mark, which I was a bit worried about losing momentum but I got straight back into my pace, although the pack I had left had just overtaken me. I was feeling strong still until about the 17 miles mark where all of a sudden I began to dramatically slow down, the heat really hit me, my calf pulled, which I think was due to dehydration because of the heat and I began to hit the famous ‘wall’ people talk about, I was been overtaken a lot which did dishearten me a bit, I’d never been overtaken this many times ever since I’ve been running. It wasn’t until the carbohydrate gels kicked in and I managed to get more hydrated that I turned it around, probably around the 22 miles mark, I was beginning to struggle with my calf and it was causing cramp in my other leg because I was literally dragging my left leg to the finish line because I couldn’t extend my calf muscle due to the shooting pain. Although the crowds weren’t as big as in London, it was a great atmosphere and people were spurring me on, clearly noticing that I had an injury.
The last part of the race was a real test of inner strength and character for me, I was in pain, I was desperate to beat 3 hours, and I knew, looking at my stopwatch that I still had a great chance of beating it, despite knowing my pace had dramatically dropped from the first half. Knowing I had ran the first half in 1 hour 25 I knew I still had 10 minutes to play with, but it wasn’t to be and I finished the marathon in 3:04:56, and even managed a ‘patched up’ sprint finish. Although I knew I wasn’t going to finish under 3 hours I put in all I had left on the day to do it under 3 hours 5 minutes and I felt very proud I had run the marathon so close to 3 hours.
Overall I was very proud and happy to complete a marathon so close to 3 hours, on a course which definitely isn't as down hill as the race organisers claim, the first couple of miles is, the rest is flat. My next challenge in marathon running is to run under 3 hours. I have applied for a ‘Good For Age’ place at the London Marathon 2013 after qualifying under 3 hours 10. Fingers crossed I am successful, I may have to give Edinburgh another go at some point as I feel this is the course I am most likely to beat 3 hours, although the heat is a massive hindrance. I also feel, without the calf injury I probably would have just beaten 3 hours, but it wasn't to be on this occasion.
The lesson’s I have learned from this race are don’t run injured, as the after effects can hold you back and make injuries worse, as I have found out. Another is the way I ran the race, I felt that my best chance of beating 3 hours was to start off and do a very fast first half then it allows me time to inevitably slow down in the second part but it didn't work out, in future I will look at more of a 1:27 first half and a 1:30 second half, am sure a pace like that could be sustainable. I think this time I went off a little bit too fast and found it hard to keep it up, maybe that was a combination of my calf and the heat? I guess I will find out next time I run a marathon if my calf fully recovers, I have booked an injury consultation to assess the damage.