Tralee marathon report, part 2 of 2.

Tralee marathon report and the next day……. (it's a long one)

You have probably read a few of these reports at this stage, in particular that of a certain Austrian superman living in Kerry , so I hope to keep this reasonably interesting.

When I decided on Christmas to start training for the ultra I was thinking the Tralee marathon would be the ideal training run- measured course, hilly terrain, water stations and a good tester as to how the legs would feel after 26.2 miles. It was also 4 weeks out from the ultra so recovery wouldn’t be such a issue either. If nothing else it would offer a alternative to slogging it out by myself or with clubmates on the Cork roads.

I headed down to the HQ at the Brandon hotel at around 7.30 am, a good 90 minutes before the start. I had to collect my number and the whole thing was very relaxed and lowkey. So unfortunately  was the fact there was no t shirt to collect either, a shame considering I forked out 60 euro to enter. If it was 40 quid or something I wouldn’t have minded so much but it did irk me somewhat. I had a cup of tea in the breakfast lounge of the hotel chatting to clubmate Sharon Woods and her husband. She was running in the half marathon and ended up being first lady home. Well done Sharon.

I made my way up to the startline around ten minutes before the start. There was only 319 or so runners taking part in the full which suited me fine but for those looking for a big feel atmosphere it must have been a bit underwhelming. I was determined to enjoy myself and trotted off at a handy pace. I had thoughts of sticking with the sub 4 hour pacers but after the first few miles the pace was a bit too pedestrian for me so I headed on. I offered some words of encouragement to Jerry Forde (marathon 303) and Dave Brady (running his 469 marathon) and on I pondered. By mile 3 we were out of the town heading towards Ardfert and the scenery took a turn for the better. At mile 5 I fell in talking with Andrew, a northern man living in Tralee running his first marathon and also with Sinead Kane. Sinead is a visually impaired runner who was running with her guide runner. Sinead ran the Donadea 50 K a number of weeks ago and was a inspiring person to talk too. Sinead’s bright and bubbly personality and her ability to overcome the crippling obstacle that is blindness  was seriously humbling.

At mile 7 (61minutes on the clock) we turned off for Banna and into the dunes and wetlands. At this stage the wind started to whip up and a lot of runners were beginning to suffer. I know the feeling and sympathised inwardly. I  felt very chilled out and had to remind myself to hold it back. After all it was a training run and I had a 15 mile run to complete the next day so no need to be getting panicked about time.

By mile ten we were in the heart of the countryside and to be fair the absence of crowds was more than compensated by house dwellers coming and clapping us as we went past. IThe traffic at times was a bit disconcerting but the stewards while bare in some parts were going a good job. That said at times I and other runners had to ask in what direction were we going. I think at mile 12 there was no stewarding at all and one guy in front of me nearly went the wrong way. On a positive note the water stations were numerous though the absence of bins made for terribly unsightly littering. I trust the organisers took note, littering in the Irish countryside is a real problem in the last few years, in fact it’s quite disgusting. I usually held on to my empty bottle until I could pass it to a steward or throw it into a house recycling bin.

The faster half marathon runners joined us around mile 12 or 13 and I hit the half way point in around 1.53.20 (no timing mat or actual halfway marking sign). The next 2 miles were rapid downhill descents and I was around 10 minutes off 3.30 pace. At this point I made my mind up to get in around 3hrs45minutes without at the same time completely exhausting myself. Mile 16 onwards become more difficult heading into a lot of hills and drags. At mile 18 I saw the 3.45 pacers up ahead and I felt well enough to tip up to them. Mile 19 involved a out and back section along the pier. There was one comic moment when a runner on the other side of the road asked me if the pacers in front of me were the 3.30 pacers. When I told him otherwise his face dropped and his running companions dissolved in laughter.

At mile 20 I was on top of the pacers and was chatting briefly to Mallow ‘s multiple marathon veteran and all round good guy, Peader Curtis. Peader was giving it socks but the headwind on the coastline was pretty devastating. Dipak, the pacer, was finding it tough going himself and was probably a minute off schedule when we hit another hill at mile 21 and again at mile 22. I stopped and consumed a gel catching up with the main group again. At this stage there was only 3 people left with Dipak before he started to shot off down the hill at a almighty pace obviously trying to make up on time lost at mile 20 and mile 21.

 I gave pursuit and felt wonderfully comfortable hitting mile 23 in 7.52 pace. The next couple of miles took us off the main roads but they were on the whole reasonably ok hitting mile 24 and 25 in 8.05 and 8.06. I was well past the pacer at this stage, the last mile into town was a gem, a rapid downhill section (7.33) , taking me right into Denny st and through the finish chute. There was some confusion again from the stewards as to where we were going but the reception at the finish line was warm and welcoming. My official finishing time was 3hrs42minutes31seconds. It was a solid effort but the most pleasing aspect was the absence of any muscle soreness or cardiovascular discomfort. I reasoned if I had to run another 13.1 miles I should have been ok to keep going. That doesn’t mean anything of course until I actually have to do it and put my money where my mouth is.

I headed back to the car spent a bit of time stretching and refuelling (3 bananas, 4 sandwiches, 2 chocolate bars, plenty of water and a magnum ice cream). I was ok driving home though I was probably on the slow ponderous side of the speed limit motoring back to Charleville. Aoiffe remarked how fresh I looked and I enjoyed tucking into the steak sandwich and wedges that evening.

It was great having completed another marathon albeit as a training run. If I had tapered and raced it I suspect I might have come close to improving on my Amsterdam time but the job was only half done in Tralee. Next morning I was up at around 6.45 am ready  to run the second half of my back to back run- 15 miles. I was very fresh with no trace of stiffness or soreness and ran the route from Charleville/Ballyhea/Charleville in around 2hrs08minutes.

While I was tired in the evening I wasn’t as bad as I feared I would be but was glad of the lie in bed on Patricks Day.

Nearly there…nearly there….One week of training left.