Frankfurt marathon 2015 3hrs27mins59seconds

Week ending 25^th October 2015

The evening of the Frankfurt marathon. 

I didn’t PB coming in at 3.27.59 , a mere 45 seconds from a PB but this feels like a victory for me. I started training for the Frankfurt marathon on June 1^st but issues in the background made running very difficult and stressful. Some of my family members were going through hard times and running was not my priority. 

Nevertheless I was able to get the miles in and by the end of July I was in very good shape before I went on my holidays. I had targeted a sub 3.20 time and a sub 3.22 as a B time , all eminently achievable. I also hoped to get close to a 1hr30minutes for a half marathon and was scheduled to run a variety of 10k and 5mile races. Then the stomach bug hit me on the last day of my holidays and I missed 3 good weeks of proper training , DNFing the Tullamore half marathon. My confidence was dented and my fitness was compromised by September. Motivation was low and I doubted if I would even get on the start line.

I started again early in September and concentrated on running a  LSR on Thursdays and MP runs over the weekend.Everything else was rest or easy jogs. By October I was back in some sort of shape and was hopeful of getting a PB, maybe not a sub 3.20 but sub 3.27 at least. Either way I had to get some measure of satisfaction as I resolved to stop running marathons for the foreseeable future if I didn’t run a good race.

Myself and Aoiffe drove down to Farranfore airport meeting up with the rest of the Mallow runners catching a flight to Frankfurt/Hahn and a 2 hour bus journey into Frankfurt town itself. We settled into a solid enough hotel, even if the area was a bit on the seedy side but only a 10 minute walk from the start line. I was glad to say I slept very well on both nights and upon checking my resting heart rate I was glad it was well under 50 beats – always a good sign. Saturday we spent relaxing- going to the expo, mooching along to a art gallery and sitting on my rear for most of the day drinking tea, water and eating food. I felt good and was happy to be here with my wife and clubmates.

Sunday morning I was feeling in very good form meeting up with a large group of club mates and feeling pretty confident. I was wearing a 3hr27minutes pace band which was enough to aim for a small PB. I also had my garmin working off kilometres rather than miles, a issue which cost me a sub 3.30 last year in Amsterdam. The organisation of the marathon was pretty impressive and close to 10 am local time  our race started.

I wasn’t too far behind the pacers for the first 8 km but the pace was a lot faster than 4.55 km pace/ 7.57 mile pace. The first 5 miles involve a series of what seemed a bewildering series of loops around the city and I was boxed in for the first 40 minutes or so. However what served to bother me was that the sweat was running off me in gallons. I was finding the heat/humidity a real issue. Temperatures wise it was only 10 degrees but the combined heat of the runners as well the tall skyscrapers ensured there wasn’t a puff of air anywhere. Every other runner looked to be coping well enough which made me feel even more anxious, so maybe it was a Irish thing. Paudie and Denis later said they had similar issues as well. It also meant by around 10km I had drunk the entire contents of my water bottle and had used my gel a tad early. That said though once we got outside the central business district and into more open areas I felt a lot better. After 10km I had also caught up with the pacers and was getting into my stride.

After that I was in good running form and was running shoulder to shoulder with the pacers up until the halfway mark. I ran according to the km markers and my pace band rather than the splits on the garmin as the watch was around 2 minutes out per each mile or 45 seconds per kilometre. It was however practically impossible to follow the blue line as the crowding was still a issue so it was easier to run behind the pacers instead. That said there was the usual argy bargy at the water cup stations with one guy giving me a handoff at around 20k that Richie McCaw would be proud of. One of the other runners asked was I ok I nodded in the affirmative and plodded on. It’s the way it goes, no harm done.

I reached the halfway mark in 1hr 43 minutes and at this point I had two choices. 1)Stick with pacers for a further two miles or2) push on for the second half. I was feeling very relaxed and I was enjoying my race so I thought it was time to opt for the latter approach.

The people of Frankfurt seemed to be coming in large enough numbers to support the event and there was good craic from the various bands along the route. I was feeling very solid and by 30km I was around 10 seconds ahead of my 3hr27min target. By 32km I was around 15 seconds ahead of schedule and didn’t feel in the least bit troubled. At this stage it was time to push on a bit further and see what did I have left. While there was one or two small pulls the course was indeed flat and straight with a nice few downhills. I spotted Denis Cronin gave him a thumbs him and he responded in kind. He looked in good shape.

The crowd around me begin to thin out a bit and there was a lot more walking wounded making their presence felt. The legs were beginning to felt sore but I felt mentally positive and with less than 6 miles left or 48 minutes running I was pretty sure I was going to finish on the upward curve. This was confirmed to me at mile 23 which came in at 3hrs which gave me a 3/4 minute advantage ahead of the 3hr30min time. I was also running down Mainzerstrasse , the place where our hotel was situated and where Aoiffe was on hand to cheer me on.

Yeah I was feeling cocky…

…..then the car crash happened.

 It felt like the air was deflating out of my body and the energy levels begin to drop. I was also feeling a bit lightheaded with one spectator shouting at me to keep at it. (At least I think that’s what they said- no Deutsch). I was resolved to keep running or shuffling along as long as I could but I was feeling fckud. 

What was really beginning to cause the damage was having to run the last 4k in the same route as the first 4 k which meant looking at those horrible skyscrapers. I also had to  deal with the small path of cobblestones and a mentally draining out and back portion where all the faster runners were belting it.

I stopped and walked for around 20 seconds at mile 24 and shuffled on again at mile 25 before I walked for a another 20 seconds. I really thought I was going to drop down, the brain had gone into a freeze and the legs were really throbbing. However as they say “Pain is only temporary”, and I knew I was well able to finish out the last mile.

Perhaps my breakaway at mile 13 was a bit early or maybe my band aid training methods in September were catching up on me. The last half a mile seemed to go for ever ending in a straight run  up towards the Egbert (sic) strasse taking a sharp left towards the Festhalle. The run in into the hall is pretty cool alright. I managed a half token arms up in the air gesture crossing the line in 3hrs27mins59seconds. No repeat of Amsterdam 2014, this time the clock was on my side.

I was shattered. I had left it all out there. It wasn’t a PB but it was a personally satisfying time. It was also my 10^th marathon and my second sub 210 minutes. Next time I hope to set my heights higher.

The rest of the clubmates ran some cracking times, in particular Noel who came in at 2hrs49minutes35seconds while Sharon ran a brilliant 3hrs10minutes54seconds. 

My time was a lot more humbler. It was probably the poorest training cycle I ever undertook but in many ways my best ever marathon.It was also the best course I ever ran on.

When's the next one ? I don't know.

Happy days.

Post race drinks and chats in O'Reilly's, Frankfurt.

The morning of the race