4 miles

So, the day has been and gone which is hard to believe as it seemed like forever that I was preparing for the race. My second marathon experience was similar to my first in many ways, I came away from it far from satisfied with the result but with a massive amount of hunger to continue pressing towards my target of running in the Olympics.

Two weeks before the race I went to get some physiological testing done on the treadmill at the University of Brighton. I was just about to start my period of easing down for the race and so was fairly tired but hoping the testing would provide me with useful feedback. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be as I didn’t get anywhere near the expected results and this indicating that something was wrong. The physiologist said that, based on my results, he’d predict that I could run a marathon in 2h40mins. When you’re trying to run 2.15 that’s not a good thing to hear. I knew that something was wrong because I’d been training and racing well all season so there was no way I was in bad shape. The only option was to rest intensively and hope I could overcome whatever it was that showed itself in the lab test.

As the race neared I was nervous but mostly due to the the fact that my body wasn’t feeling great. My wife has the patience of a saint as let’s just say I wasn’t great company those few days!

As soon as I got to the start line the nerves disappeared and it was time to run. I had two pacemakers who had generously been provided by the race organisers. I slotted in behind them and we went through mile 1 in 5.09, perfectly on pace. I felt untroubled which was a relief so I just tried to follow their pace.

25 miles done

My first issue arose after the first drinks station at about 3 miles. I’d taken my drink, but it started to cause me stomach cramps and I had to try and work through those for a good few miles. Because of this and the hilly section of the course, when I arrived at mile 10 I really wasn’t enjoying the race. The pace was down on what I’d hoped and I was battling my stomach. We passed halfway in around 68.30 and the pacemakers carried on until mile 15. When they pulled out I was on my own with 11 miles of solo effort ahead so I tried to put my head down and get into a good rhythm. Thankfully the cramps had subsided and I enjoyed a good few miles of strong running, I thought I could run 2.17 still and perhaps clinch the Commonwealth qualifying time. However, when I made the final turn at mile 21 I was stunned by the strength of the wind off the sea. I had to carry on battling but time was gradually being lost with each mile but thankfully along the seafront there were some great Brighton crowds who helped me get through the tough sections. I passed one if the African runners at who had hit the wall at mile 22 and so figured I was probably in the top 10. Despite pushing as hard as I could I reached the finish straight and saw that the clock was ticking over the 2.20 mark which I was initially really disappointed with. I hadn’t imagined running 2.20 when I’d been training and even though the race hadn’t gone completely smoothly I thought I’d end up with at least 2.18. One positive was that I’d run a personal best in my 2nd marathon so at least some progress is better than none at all!

I finished 8th overall and enjoyed a bit of attention for being the first British finisher, which was nice especially being in such a familiar setting as Brighton. Missing my target on the day, I could happily list explanations as to why it didn’t quite work out but I’ve decided the best way forward is to learn from the experience and adapt my training so that I can run a better, faster race in the Autumn. I hope to run the Frankfurt marathon which is one of the fastest courses around.

Watch this space!

Thanks very much for reading and please follow me on Twitter if you’re at all interested – @jonpeps

Chichester 10K

Into March the marathon work really started and I was doing fairly hard long runs of over twenty miles every Saturday in the month. I guess something must be wrong with me, as despite these being gruelling I seem to relish them in a strange kind of way.
On March 17th I raced the Cambridge Half Marathon, where I was hoping to run a fast time which would send me on my way to the marathon nicely. When I looked out the window that morning, the sleet and wind was not a welcome sight but the show went on and thankfully I was able to take positives out of the day. I ran 66 minutes 15 seconds, which is forty-five seconds slower than my personal best and ended up leading the whole way and taking the win so it was a good race considering the circumstances.

Cambridge Half Marathon

As we lead up to this weekend, I’m trying to protect the work I’ve already done while trying to tweak a few aspects of my fitness. It’s getting close and I’m excited about the prospect of what I imagine when I think of my perfect marathon race day: fine weather, lots of crowds, and heading past Brighton Pier knowing that I’ve run a great race and left nothing to chance.

Thanks very much for reading and please follow me on Twitter if you’re at all interested – @jonpeps