My first marathon!

This weekend I ran my first marathon, here is my humble attempt to write a race report...

During friday it was very windy and cold, I left work looking at the sky thinking about tomorrows run and how I would cope with strong headwind... didn't like the thought...

I checked the weather forcast and according to it the wind should be about 7 m/s, and the temperature around 0°C. Not bad, not great

Went over my checklist (amazing how many things one has to consider) made everything ready and spent the night at friends house playing Risk (strategy game)... didn´t win a single game so I decided that in the spirit of karma that all my good karma was building up for tomorrow.

It was 1am when I got home and I decided to add some songs to the running playilist on my ipod... but then something horrible happened.... all the music had dissapeared from my ipod... no idea how that happened, but meant I had to start from scratch putting in music... not my favorite thing at 1:30... it might sound easy, but my problem is that I have such an extensive collection of music that it is hard to find the right music... Ended up creating 5 playlists, all very different in nature... I always like to choose on the spot what to listen to, according to my mood.

Went to sleep at half past 2, which gave me 5 hours of sleep... I had slept well for the two previous nights so that was fine. Uncharacteristicly (wow... is that a word) I woke up at the first beep of my alarm clock and started getting ready. Had my Herbalife protein shake for breakfast and started putting things in my backpack, making the sjake to dring at the half way mark etc...

When I finally looked outside the sight was breathtaking... clear sky, sun shining and almost no wind... That lifted my spirit immensly and I drove off to the race start. The race number were to be distributed there half an hour before the start.

Got my race number (955) and started snapping pictures of runners collecting their numbers, organizers setting up heaters, the tent, the finishline, the clocks, markings etc... incredible guys the organizers... so many things to do, so few of them, and all volunteering... My biggest thanks to them!! Had a great conversation with couple of runners and orgaizers, everybody being so supportive and encouraging. I turned out to be the onlyone running my first marathon there and those I spoke to were all very happy about having a young person coming in to the sport from the outside (not from the tracks or any sports club).

After a great pre race speach, we gathered at the starting line. I decided to put on Gavin DeGraw, lets make it clear that I am not a fan of his... just fitted the mood very well. Easy enough so that I would not go out too hard.

We counted down and off we were... at second 3 my first problem arised... my watch showed my pulse to be 0... fantastic.... as I was quite sure I wasn't dead yet, I decided this had to be a failure... so the first 300 meters I kept trying to re-adjust the strap, getting the sensors moist... the other runners looked at the new guy like he had gone mad...

The group split in two right from the start and I decided to position my self in the slower group as per my strategy to go out slow... but in that group I kept having to break not to run into the guys around me and I wasted alot of energy trying to go slower so I decided to go to the side find my own slow tempo and see where it would take me... well... it took me to the other group that now had stretched out quite nicely so I placed my self there... only one guy in front of me and he kept increasing the gap, so I didn't have to worry about him, then a group of 5-6 runners quite closely behind me.

At the 3km mark my hip started to hurt... great I thought... is this going to be the case today (sometimes I get these bad, bad, hip pains) at the 4km mark my left ankle started hurting (another regular) and I thought that at this rate I would be in pieces by the first turnaround... ahh... yes... better explain... the course was out and back two times... so each stretch was 10.5km and we ran it twice out, twice back...

Then at the 6km mark something very nice happened, all my pains just dissapeared... I looked at my pulse, steady 158... easier than my training runs... everything was going great... so I just kept running. The course took us to the sea, and it looked incredible in the morning sun, with a clear blue sky... I wish I had ran with the camera to share those amazing sights... well, I just felt so amazing running there and the music changed to a little faster 3 doors down but I checked regularly my pulse to make sure I wasn't going far beyond 165 and I wasn't, most of the time I was running a slow and steady 155-158. What did worry me a bit was that my splits were to quick... I was running at a 5:10 per km tempo and that was rather fast... but I was feeling great, relaxed, not in pain, lungs and heart felt fresh so I just kept at it.

My 10km split was 52 minutes... not bad, my turnaround split just under 55 minutes... pretty happy happy about that. At the 11km mark I changed my music into Bueno Vista Social Club- Rythmos del mundo where they play with some great bands like Coldplay, Arctic Monkeys etc... take there hits and make it into these latino swing songs... amazing stuff and I flew... the km marks just flew along, and I was running the same tempo and feeling good the whole way. On the way back there was a lot of running groups on the course and people taking a weekend walk... people walking their dogs etc. And while running past, especially the run groups they would step aside and cheer me on, that felt so great and I had a huge grin on my face the whole time, thanking every single person. Then I was told I was in third place after 16km. That really shocked me and started to try to slow down... these guys I was running with were the best marathoners in Iceland, many ultra marathoners and a group that was going to the Boston marathon... If I was going faster than them, I was doing something wrong.

I came to the finish line and turning point in 1:47 which is actually an improvement of my half marathon time by 5 minutes. Jumped into the tent to get my self a Herblife shake drank as much as I could and jumped out again, having lost one runner in front of me, joking with the volunteers... which were simply amazing... One of them, an experienced runner, told me to keep up the fast pace as long as I could, just go for it on the third stretch, because the fourth one would always be hard and there the real work would begin...

So I did, I managed to run around 5:10 pace to the 26km mark and there I saw something fantastic, my family was there, waiting, cheering runners on... it was so great to see them, my little brother came running to me telling me to keep going... it was so great, especially since at that time I felt my legs stiffening up... seeing them kept my pace up for a while but by the 27km mark I was slowing down considerably running a 6:00 pace. At the turning point (31.5km) I had lost a group of four runners past me and no matter what I tried I just couldn't keep up with them. At the turning point I saw my family again... that lifted my spirit again and I changed my music into a much more energetic and happy music in an attempt to get up some rythm for the last 10.5km... but my legs had had it, I increased the turnover but my legs were so stiff and heavy that my steps brought me only a tiny bit forward each step... not good... My family dropped by the course two more times and I told them this was going to be long, long last kilometers... they cheered me on and I kept moving forward, kept loosing runner after runner past me. Each time I tried to keep up, but in vain.

One thing I must say is that all the runners were so supportive as they ran past they would talk to me, tell me to keep going, that I was doing good etc. Really great, something you don't find in other sports (that I know of). When I got to the last drink station at 36km or there about. I asked for water (was going to have my last energy gel), but seeing the state I was in one of the volunteer (again, an experienced marathoner), shook a bottle of coke and gave it to me, probably 300ml of coke, but my god, those were the best 300ml of my life. I didn't get faster but I felt much better and my head got back into the game.

I knew I was well of pace from my first 3 rounds but I had been hoping for a sub-4 hour finish and I started calculating... with 5km to go I had 37 minutes to go. So I kept at it checking my watch at every km mark and clapping my hands like an idiot every time I saw I was on target. with two km to go I had 16 minutes, or 8:00 minutes for each km... sounds so easy and simple, but at that time my left knee was burning and the blister I had developed on my pinky toe of my right foot had bursted so I was limping on both legs.

When I could see the finish line, around 500m off, I just became overwhelmed with joy, grinning like an idiot getting tears in my eyes. I saw my family and suddenly felt like sprinting, and sprinting I did... I ran the last 100m all out and finished in 3:57:58 sub-4 hour marathon, my first marathon... and what an amazing marathon it was.

I could barely stand in my feets as I wobbled inside the tent getting my slef cheese cake and waffles. Chatting with two girls from my swim club, sitting down, trying to walk again, sitting down, trying to walk, sitting down etc. Then there was the award ceremony and some lottery awards. There were 40% chances of winning the lottery awards (there were so many of them), but I knew before hand that I wouldn't win because for me I had already won something much, much, much more important... something that goes well beyond any finisher medal, any trophy or prize. I had finished my first marathon, I knew I could do anything...

Now it is monday, I have already gone to two night shifts (had to work that same night) where I had to walk the stairs of a 8 floors high building, 3 times... That was really, really painfull but I believe it helped recovery greatly as I am now feeling ok, stairs are not my friends at the moment, but I am ok, planning to go for a bike training, swim training and soccer training tonight, although I will not be doing the standing sprints in bike training, not doing the leg drills in swim training and I'll probably just stand in goal in soccer... but I'll be there, two days after a marathon... that's a victory, and I can't wait for my next marathon where I will try to go closer to the 3:30 time...

Quotes to have in mind!

1. Life is not a matter of being dealt good cards, but of being able to play a poor hand well. —Unknown
   
   
2. Everything you do is your legacy. —Aaron Douglas Trimble
   
   
3. Blessings are placed within our reach, but they are not placed within our hands. —Unknown
   
   
4. No wonder experience is the best teacher. It has to teach us things we don’t want to learn. —Unknown
   
   
5. Every man dies, but not every man truly lives. —William Wallace
   
   
6. The crime is not to avoid failure, the crime is to not give triumph a chance. —H. Weldon
   
   
7. A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. —George Bernard Shaw
   
   
8. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. —William Shakespeare
   
   
9. It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop. —Confucius
   
   
10. If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours. —Henry David Thoreau

Mother nature

Last friday I had that wonderful run in the amazing weather. With the stunning nature of Iceland all around me I felt good that the spring had finally arrived and I was certain that the marathon (now in 4 days!) would be an enjoyable experience. Then what happens...

Mother nature decides to step in... I don't know what it was... maybe to many people were enjoying the good weather... maybe this is some sort of a sick joke from mother nature, kindling hope and optimism and then crush it! Today it is snowing!!! it is freezing cold, temperatures below 0 (celcius), wind chill and snow... I can't even imagine what it will be like running in a weather like this. When getting to work this morning I couldn't stop shaking, out of cold!!

I am a very visual person, and I visualize a lot. So I couldn't help it but seeing my self dropping out of the race... not because of lack of stamina, not because of my knees or cramps in calfs... no no... because of over cooling (what's the word again?)... All the training, all the preperation... gone...

But then kicked in my conscious mind... I started recalling all those times I ran out in blizzards this winter... when I ran out, even though there were storm warnings and even on one occasion got blown off the track... And the time when the headwind was so strong with hail that my 8km took 1 hour 30 minutes... Especially I remember a time when me and my best friend went running and this insane wind started and I put out my chest and yelled in the wind, bring it on!! do you think you can take me down!!

My friend described that moment as insanity, a small person challenging mother nature... But that is the spirit and the nature of me, and I believe most marathon and ultra distance runners... in a sense we are challenging our bodies our spirits our existance every day. So no matter the weather, no matter the conditions, ee will all be there at the starting line in 4 days. Laughing in the face of mother nature.

Tapering..... sucks

So now the famous tapering period has begun (began earlier, but my first blog since then).
Tapering sounds so easy... take it easy, rest your body for the race... couple of short runs to keep you smooth and on the edge... As I read all the books on triathlon and running I could I always chuckled when I got to the tapering part and it stressed how important it was and how most athletes screwed this part up.

I thought to my self that I would have no trouble with resting... I mean... resting is nice, right?
And as it is so important, why on earth would some one not do it?
Then came Good Friday.... the sun was shining brightly, the sky was completely clear and uncharacteristically there was no wind.

I was working a bit in the morning but at 2pm I was home... looking outside of the window, arguing with my self if I should run or not... I soon came to the conclusion that arguing to my self in the window was a clear sign of madness and the only cure was to go out and run. So, that problem solved.

I decided to go and run around a lake that is just outside my neighborhood, there is a 11-12km trail around it, couple of small hills, smooth horse trail but most importantly breathtaking views. I hadn't ran there since last fall as you really can't run there in the winter with the trail buried in snow and ice. I ran out with a pretty up beat play list on my ipod. But as I got to the trail I was welcomed with wet mud! Yes, the snow and ice was mostly gone, but obviously it had melted and large pools of water blocked the trail everywhere and the rest of the trail was one big mud track.

At first this really broke my serene other worldly mood and I tried my best not running in the mud, not getting wet, which meant running off the trail, which was really rough and after almost twisting my ankle several times I finally gave up and started running in the mud. And Behold, nothing happened, and I actually found out that I really enjoyed it. Yes, my white shoes were not so white anymore, yes, my gay looking running pants got all dirty (interpret as you will) and yes my feet got wet... but ohh... what a blizz...

The other thing that annoyed me at first was that I wasn't the only one that had the idea of enjoying the good weather outside (imagine that!). The trail was packed with horses (imagine that, on a horse trail!). At first it really bothered me to have to break my automatic rhythm and go off the trail. But like the mud I soon decided to enjoy it instead and started exchanging smiles and greetings with the horse people (and couple of the horses as well). Anyway I am going to pass them, better make it fun, also, this people is doing what I love, being outside in nature, so I really should appreciate that and like them.

I finished in less than an hour and was pleasantly surprised, as that was my best time last fall, and then I was beat afterwards. Now I really felt good, my legs felt fresh, I had no pain or aches. And I knew i could do this over at the spot. Wonderful! The hard work is paying off... So although this broke my tapering plan, my legs felt fresher after the run than before it (does that make sense?) and with a week to go I am sure I will have recovered... now the plan is 2-3 short 4km runs on race pace (which is slow as this will be my first marathon) selecting my play list... creating a 4 hour play list is quite a task... any suggestions?

So tapering is proving to be more difficult than I thought, I really want to go out and blast the trails or the city.... but I must wait... I must be patient and I must finish this saturday...
all the best.

Race Report

Last Thursday I had my second Powerade 10km race this winter. Also the last race in the Powerade winter series.
In the January race everything went perfectly (see older post) and I improved my PB by 9 minutes. That in bad condition, dark, icy, snowy and the track has two big hills.

I wasn't really sure what to expect as the conditions were much better this time, no snow, minimal ice, and we started running in the dusk so we had light for the first 5km or so.
But as Lance Armstrong says, it's not about the bike... so I knew I had to nail it again if I were to improve my time. Especially since that time was a whopping 9 minutes improvement.

I finished work rather late, only half an hour before the race start, so I drove home quickly, jumped it, changed clothes, got my gear (Ipod, gloves, keys, race fee etc.) and had a sip of my High5 drink before I jumped out and ran to the race start (I live 1km away).

The stress proved to be a good warm up, my pulse was moderately high, sweat starting to form (in the -4°C frost) and I was ready to go. Conditions couldn't had been better, beautiful sunset, snow on the sides but a clear path. Almost no wind so you really didn't feel the cold. Beautiful.

I rather lost my self in the beginning running with the front group. I just felt so incredibly good that I didn't realize I was running way to fast for my pace. I am also very competitive so every time someone runs past me I make it my goal getting past them again. Normally a good trait as it keeps me running faster and faster through the race, turning in negative splits well beyond my normal ability. This time it was not so good, as the runners passing me were runners finishing the race in 35 minutes or so.

I did run in that front group for the first 4km, through the first big hill, then down again but on the flat after 4km they really went flying, no more warm up for them. Then it hit me like a wall. I got stitches in both the sides and breathing became very labored (which is normally not the case for me, my limiter is my legs, not my lungs or heart).

The next 3km were hell, 5 more runners ran past me and I didn't feel good at all, not even running down the valley looking at the beautiful waterfall that normally lifts my spirit at that stage of this route. Also the music somehow didn't fire me up and that got me annoyed.

Still I knew I was under the time that I ran when I set my PB in January so I tried to keep going and started gaining on the next runner. The last 3km I really gave it all I had, which at this stage was more or less running at the pace I normally do, but it was really hard in the physical and mental state I was right there.

As I approached the finish line it was like all those physical and mental nags just vanished and a feeling of great joy came over me, so through the finish line I ran with a huge grin, which wasn't really representing the whole run, but it was good to feel this way and also to be able to show it to others, especially the race organizers that did a fantastic job as usual.

The time really surprised me 44:02, breaking the 45 minutes barrier, which in December I wrote down to break by the end of this season... one goal down!!

The good things: I set a new PB, I achieved one of my seasons goal long ahead of schedule, I gave all the volunteers and the organizers a big smile and thanks. My legs felt good the next day.

The learning things: I went out way to fast (learning: go slower in the start), I had a bad play list (learning: prepare better, finish work earlier on race days), I felt horribly during the middle part (links to going to fast in the beginning, but also shows I must focus on mental training, getting my self out of these states).

So, I had a lot of positives and also a lot I learned... good race, good PB (hope it won't stick for long).

Next race is my first marathon in 13 days... That's the baptism... that's what it is all about...

16 days.....

16 days until my first marathon... getting excited... I am certain that I have the stamina for it... my concern is mainly about whether my legs can handle it. Running for three hours this monday my hips became very stiff and weird... I had some ankle soreness and my old knee injury flared up for a while...

On the plus side my muscles managed very well, no cramps or strings and the day after was fine although my legs felt a bit heavy.
Probably no reasons for concern, just don´t want to DNF, I am way to stubborn and competitive for that...

Tonight I have a 10k race. Will be interesting to see of I can beat my 2 months old PB of 46:18 That race really went fantastic and I want to see if my greatly improved time was due to a great day (a fluke) or due to a greatly improved fitness and running form... tonight we will see... at least I want to finish under 50 minutes.

Updates

Well, been awhile... one reason, life!
Life has had the incredible baldness of interfering with my training and blogging... amazing... I got elected MCP (Member committee President) of AIESEC in Iceland. So I was facilitating at a national conference for them, then had/got to attend the International Presidents Meeting of AIESEC which was held in Macedonia... I had two bad weeks of training before Macedonia but in Macedonia I managed to run every day except two, so I am very proud of that.

I have moved my first marathon, one might think that since my training has been going slow I would move it back, but no, the Icelandic way is to push it forward. So I have my first marathon in 18 days...
Yesterday I had my 3 hour run to test my body. I had decided to use it as a judging run for the marathon. If I would be alive after 3 hours of running I would survive the marathon, or so said a person I respect a lot.

But once again, life was interfering, I didn't manage to run on Saturday and on Sunday I had hangovers that didn't make me feel like running (surprisingly). So on Monday I was supposed to have a spinning class, weight lifting/exercise class, swim training and soccer so I didn't see where I would fit a long run. But I had to work until 8pm so I missed all the trainings except soccer which starts at ten, so I saw a chance.

Run to football, which I knew would take around an hour. Play football for an hour and then run back for an hour...
Not the ideal three hour run, but hey, you have to be flexible and work with what life throws at you.
Yes you run shorter distances during soccer, but you sprint a lot more, so after the first running leg my hips and calves where tired, but after soccer my legs where ok (although powerles) but I had sprinted so much that my lungs where really tired.

But all in all the run went great, minor aches and pains but that's what makes it fun. I tried using gels and drinking water. Found out that I like apple gel much more. And what an energy boost you get... incredible...

Now I feel like I will finish, might not be pretty, might not be a good time. But I will finish and then I have 2 months for my originally planned first marathon, so there I can know what to expect and improve my time.