All the logistics of staying in London and getting to the start line went smoothly. I had carbo loaded and tapered my training. Whatever happened in the race the preparation and training would not be to blame.
I was put in pen 4 which I was a bit disappointed about but when they opened up the pens a minute before the start people just jogged past runners in pens in front of them and I got quite close to the start line.
At 10 am sharp the gun went and one minute later I crossed the start line.
The first mile was very busy. Rather than expend a load of energy weaving around people I went with the flow, resulting in an 8:13 mile. The second mile was slightly faster (7:49) and by mile 3 I was on pace (7:21).
I was hoping that 7:25 pace would feel ridiculously easy but it just felt OK. I am used to doing my long runs at 8:15 pace so it obviously felt a bit faster than I was used to.
The first half went pretty smoothly. I had two gels and sipped Lucozade much of the time to help avoid the dreaded wall later.
I went through halfway in 1:39:20; about two minutes behind 3:15 schedule but I figured if I was feeling good on the last 10K I would be able to make that up.
The highlight of the race was the 14th mile where I got to see the elite men coming the other way. Kipsang and Biwott were leading at this point and seeing Kipsang floating along was amazing. A few minutes later I saw Mo Farah loping along with his enormous strides. A few minutes after that Chris Thompson still looked strong but no sign of Scott Overall! After seeing Reid Coolsaet (whose blog I have been reading for quite a while) the roads diverged and my TV time was over!
While watching the elite I had maintained a 7:30 pace quite comfortably and the 15th mile was also a 7:30. However on the 16th mile my quads started to feel heavy and I reached a turning point. I could either try to maintain 7:30 pace and hope that by some miracle my legs improved or I could slow down a bit and give myself the chance to finish reasonably strongly.
I allowed myself to slow down and the next 4 miles were about 8:00 pace. Entering the last 10K I slowed down a bit more and averaged about 8:15 for the last 6 miles.
When I slowed down at mile 16 I had hoped that a 3:20 would still be possible. However it soon became clear that this was out of reach and I just wanted to get 3:25 for a 5 minute PB.
This was going to require some effort and I did my best to keep the pace around the 8:00 mark. At 23.1 miles, with 5K left, I had 26 minutes to get under 3:25. I eat 5Ks for breakfast and 26 minutes is warm up pace so this had to be possible!
This is where the benefit of those 20 mile training runs kicked in. I was able to keep going and pick up the pace slightly. In the last 7.2K I gained 300 places just by keeping going rather than fading.
Through the Lucozade tunnel, past the Embankment and Big Ben and then up Birdcage walk towards the Palace. The "800m to go" sign came and I had over 4 minutes to get under 3:25. I sped up but felt my calves about to cramp so had to cap my speed. Down The Mall I went and finished in 3:24:41 - a 5 minute PB.
Based on my half marathon PB of 1:28:23 I should be able to do a 3:15 marathon but for some reason I couldn't! I suspect 18 months of running hasn't built the required leg strength to keep running fast for 26 miles.
The positives are that I didn't hit the wall and didn't fade in the same way I did at Chester 6 months ago. I was actually able to enjoy some of the atmosphere in the last 10K rather than being stuck in my own bubble.
So what is next? I will do a month of faster training in May ready for the Freckleton Half towards the end of June. On June 1st I will start the P&D 18 week cycle again targeting a 3:20 at Chester.
It seems I am addicted to marathons, or at least training for them!
