Dublin By Numbers

79

My average weight in kg over the last 2 months, down about 3 kg from my average racing weight over the previous 3 years (although I was 86kg at the start of this year). I reckoned my previous 82kg would get me a marathon between 3:08:58 (my 2009 PB) and 3:14, depending ontraining/form etc and that a weight of 76 kg would get me anywhere between 2:55 and 3:00, all other things being equal (i.e. training, motivation, etc.). Not in the least scientific but what is? Anyway it gave me something to focus on. For a runner I am still on the heavy side of the spectrum with a BMI of about 23.5. - could I reduce it to 20.5 and run a 2:40/45 marathon at 70kg??? Would I want to put myself through the sacrifice? Anyway I jumped into a marathon 3 kg off my 76kg target (more an aspiration than a target as I was not seriously chasing it) and scraped under the bar, probably because my form was better than ever before. My empirical formula would have given me a 3:02 to 3:07 marathon for 79kg.

5 The number of years since I ran my first marathon (2006 in Dublin) in 3:47:08. I came back in 2007 for a 3:22.08 and a very shaky finish (deja-vu last Monday). I returned again in 2009 for a 3:08:58 PB)

9:43

Improvement on my 2009 PB. €47:50

The total cost of everything I wore on Monday. Shoes €30 (March 2010), Socks €0.50 (August 2011 - part of a multi pack), Shorts €7 (June 2007 - the only ones with pockets to carry gels), Singlet €10 (Club Singlet July 2011). Getting under 3 hours Priceless. 161 Average HR 6:50 Average pace. The best guess miles splits cobbled together from the Garmin (missed loads of laps), timing mats and where I was relative to the "even split" pacers are:- Mile 1 - 7:14 easing in

Mile 2 - 7:00 Mile 3 - 7:01 Mile 4 - 6:51 Mile 5 - 6:48 - 34:54 for 5 miles (6 seconds ahead of target) Mile 6 - 6:52 - Effort feels tougher than expected and I'm not on target pace Mile 7 - 6:41 - Cranking it up on a gradual descent Mile 8 - 6:32 - Downhill out of the Phoenix Park and in the wake of the 3 hour pacers Mile 9 - 6:47 - Latched onto Pacers, all aboard Mile 10 to 13 - 6:44 - Riding the pacing train - could zone out for a while Mile 14 - 6:52 - Stuck in pacing group, felt I didn't have the juice to go it alone Mile 15 - 6:50 - Need to be running in the 6:40's as pacers could crank up the pace later Mile 16 - 6:50 - If I don't go now i'll be spat out the back of this group later, gotta go or else!!! Mile 17 to 20 - 6:42 average. Results put me 20 seconds ahead of the lead pacer at mile 20 Mile 21 - 6:42 Only 8 seconds ahead of lead pacer at 20.5 but pulled away on the descent to 21 Mile 22 to 25 - 6:55 average. probably slowed from 6:42 to over 7:00 by the time I was caught Mile 26.22 - 7:21 pace - more like 6:48 pace to 25.8 and a death march to the finish. 276th Place overall

27th

M45

2:58:37- 2:58:51 (253rd to 259th) Clock time and position of lead and last 3 hour Pacers.

I finished 38 seconds behind the last pacer - no wonder I thought I wouldn't make it over the last 100m. If the lead pacer had been 30 seconds further behind me at mile 25 (heading for a 2:59:07 clock finish) would I have run most of the last 1.22 miles at a more even and manageable 7:10+ pace, taking me to the finish line in more or less the same time without blowing up or was the 1 minute cushion the pacers had a blessing in disguise, getting me to push as hard as I could.

I had switched to overall time on the Garmin at about 2:38 - mentally saying that I had 20 minutes of pain left - and counting it down in 5 minute quarters. Once the pacers passed before mile 25 (2:50:xx) I stopped looking at the watch and just concentrated on sticking to them. I only looked at the watch again when I got dropped, but at that stage my mind was in no position to make any sort of analysis - so seeing 2:57 on the watch, when I had no reference to a finish line or the pace I was running at, was meaningless other than to instill a general sense of urgency/panic - just about when I had that one-way communication with my legs.

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