Last year I ran a massive PB and went well under 35 minutes and I felt I was in potentially similar shape this time but it didn’t quite happen despite doing more speed-work in the buildup.
I’ve signed up for Paris Marathon so as usual it’s good to get the
One of the biggest failures of my last marathon attempt at London was a lack of focused speedwork in the buildup so I’ve been rectifying that with a weekly treadmill session (it’s hilly here and it’s winter!). For the last 6 weeks , I’ve been working various speed sessions including a 5k time trial at 16:40 so I felt I definitely had a shot at another sub 35 and potentially a PB.
The weather was absolutely perfect as it was last year – cold but no wind and dry and a record entry this year of nearly 2000 runners (1700
The first mile is just about settling into a rhythm and not getting trampled out of the start and my plan was much the same as last year really – get to the halfway turnaround in around 17:15 – 17:30 and kick hard on the way back as it’s ever so slightly downhill on the way back so slightly faster and I figured 17:00 flat or just under would be achievable. That would bring me in around 34:30 and in with a shout of beating last year’s unexpected 34:27.
I felt comfortable hitting halfway in roughly 17:30 but unlike last year where I hit the afterburners and essentially ran a 16:35 negative split, this time I just couldn’t kick the pace up for some reason.
Rather than panic I figured it might just take a few hundred meters of the return leg before I really got going but I never did and ultimately I ran pretty much an absolutely even split on the way back.
| Mile | Pace | GAP | Elev |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5:32 /mi | 5:28 /mi | 28 ft |
| 2 | 5:38 /mi | 5:34 /mi | 36 ft |
| 3 | 5:50 /mi | 5:40 /mi | 63 ft |
| 4 | 5:35 /mi | 5:40 /mi | -52 ft |
| 5 | 5:37 /mi | 5:41 /mi | -41 ft |
| 6 | 5:39 /mi | 5:41 /mi | -27 ft |
| 0.23 | 5:21 /mi | 5:24 /mi | -7 ft |
Sadly coming round the final corner and seeing the clock in the high 34:xx’s I knew I was just going to be over 35 minutes which was a shame given the extra speed-work I’ve been doing but I guess that’s racing on the day.
Interestingly last year, I had done no speedwork at all in the lead up to Dewsbury but I did have several weeks of consistent running over 70mpw compared to this year’s more “considered” approach to the marathon where I’m running more like 50-55mpw but doing a speed session each week. I’m not sure how much that difference played into my time but it’s the only real difference in the last two races.
On the plus side, I got a speedy looking race photo for a change. Normally ever race photographer catches me when I look like a squashed troll.
Final Result: 35:03 Chip/35:07 Gun | 53rd of 1714 and 8th MV40