Carpe Diem

10 Days Ago

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Hi xxxx (Organiser of Dublin City Marathon Pacers) A long shot here I know. Any chance of me racing Dublin instead of pacing............I have a good chance of getting under three hours based on recent form......................................

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9 Days Ago

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Hi Grellan, it should be ok for you to race, since we have 3 others at 3:30...........................Game On.

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I kept the whole thing low key, not telling anyone so as to keep the pressure off.

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The Short Version

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There were a few surprised clubmates at the start line this morning. Apologies for the deception, especially Killian, who had told me last weekend that he was aiming for 3:30 so he'd be sticking with me. Hope you had a good day without me Killian.

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My plan was a 4 mile cut-in from 7:20 pace to 6:40 - catch the 3 hour pacers before hitting Dolphins Barn (mile 11) and tuck in behind them for the expected headwind out the Crumlin Road to the halfway point and strike on from there - I make it sound so simple. The first 5 miles felt tough (35:06 - clock time) as I felt warm and clammy and my HR was 10 BPM above where it should have been. Seeing the pacer balloons off in the distance and getting no nearer, despite the 6:45 Garmin pace, was mildly irritating.

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I bided my time and managed to increase the pace gradually on the descent out of the Phoenix Park and was more or less on their tail by mile 8. I stuck with them to the halfway point (1:29:42 - my official clock time) but did not forge ahead as I felt i'd do better to keep with them a while longer. At mile 16 I decided to forge ahead as I knew that if I stayed with the pacers my chance of getting under 3 hours would be slim - i'd never keep the 6:50 pace on the drag out Clonskeagh to Fosters Avenue (18.5 to 20.5) and trying to maintain it would kill the last 10k.

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I don't know how far ahead of the pacers I got but could hear the cheers for them not too far behind - it certainly was a risk running in this no-mans-land, where most of those in front of me were slowly been sucked up by the relentless 3 hour pacing hoover. I passed mile 20 in 2:16 (1 minute off target) leaving 44 minutes for the final 10k (7:05 pace). On getting to the top of the last "hill" at mile 20.5 I though I had it in the bag as the pacers had not caught up and it was downhill or flat to the finish - how wrong I was. My Garmin Pace from mile 20 was showing 6:45, passing miles 21, 22 & 23 - still no pacers but by now the encouragement from the spectators was something like "Great running lads, keep ahead of the pacers" - I still didn't look back but kept the head down as advised and now had to work hard to keep the leg turnover.

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A few runners went past at mile 24, but thankfully none with balloons - more like an advance hunting party - I certainly felt like the prey. The 3 hour hoover was bearing down on me - the cheering crowds were deafening - my legs were turning to jelly - the pace that had once come naturally had to be fought for desperately, I hadn't come all this way for a 3:00:20, I can't let it happen.

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The pacers were upon me before mile 25 as we crossed the Grand Canal. I surged to keep with them - down Westland Row, left onto Pearse Street, desperately hanging on - knowing that the longer I stuck with them the better chance I would have of coming in within the 30 second cushion they would leave in their wake between 2:59:29 and 2:59:59. Past Trinity College clinging on for dear life, down Nassau Street, half a mile to go and bang! pacers gone - the effort of the last mile had all but depleted my reserves, - my subconscious mind was floating somewhere above my head in some sort of out of body experience as it had all but failed to convince me to stop and was abandoning ship before the shit hit the fan - and boy did it hit - legs wobbly, staying upright was a struggle and one last desperate message from the conscious mind to the legs to sprint the last 400m was met with a resounding "would you ever go and fuck yourself" before the communication line between head and body went permanently dead. If you ever saw that you-tube video of the battle for 4th female at the 1997 Ironman World Championships you'd get an idea of where my body was over the last 400m (although not quite as bad obviously).

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I still managed to move forward at about 10 minute mile pace in a sea of fog managing to see 2:59:2x on the clock, but not knowing where exactly the finishing line was. It was all captured on National TV as the marathon was being televised this year and the commentator took a particular interest in those managing to scrape under 3 hours, especially the shaky looking ones saying "Congratulations to Greelan McGrath on his sub 3 hour marathon" - lest there be any doubt. (He didn't mispronounce my name - that was the name on my entry -i've been called worse)

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My condition at the finish line got me a free wheelchair ride to the medical tent for a few tests and a bit of rest before going on my merry way - and what a merry way it was.

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The official results give me a finish time of 2:59:19 (chip) and 2:59:29 (Clock) with a Clock half of 1:29:42 - so pretty much even splits (1:29:32/1:29:47) with a slow start, fast middle and a short but dramatically slow finish.

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