Go figure.... 5 weeks ago I ran the Berlin marathon, flat course, big occasion, months of great training, on target at mile 20 for a sub 3.20 time only to blow up and scrape in at 3.31.22. I ran the Dublin marathon yesterday...hilly course..crowded field...very little decent training...slow pace and I came in at 3.28.23.
I'm still trying to get my head around it. Obviously I am chuffed. The search for a PB goes on (and on and on) but to get a sub 3.30 (third time with two close calls) is a feeling of immense satisfaction. The difference lay in simply selecting the correct pace. I went into Dublin with a very relaxed attitude. I had no notions of running even close to a 3.28. When asked I simply told people a sub 4 marathon was the plan and that was the truth. Even during the preliminaries I met a number of club runners - John Collins, Darragh Wiley, John Paul Buckley and so on, and it was the same answer every time "A sub 4 finish, relaxed run".
The first couple of miles I didn't even look at the watch. I just kind of sauntered along with the crowd. By 10k we were well into the Phoenix Park and about to enter Castleknock and I looked at my watch for the first time. It read around 50.25 and I suddenly realized I was doing pretty alright. The pacer ballons weren't all that far in front of me, around 30 seconds or so. At that stage I resolved to just tip away, dont force the pace and see what happens after that, the complete opposite to Berlin.
Mile 7/8/9/10 all continued in the same vein.7.45/7.28 (rapid downhill)/7.35/7.50. Time at that stage was 1hr20mins (course time) which meant I was on the shoulder of the pacer balloons as were John Collins, Dan Collins, Jim O'Mahony. Jim said his calf was giving him a bit of gip and figured he would be doing well to hang on for a few miles. John and Dan were in good fettle as was Barry O'Callaghan who wasn't too far behind. I felt pretty good but was anxious not to get over excited and kept it all very lowkey.
I pushed on a bit after Portobello ,namely to get near the water station and before I knew it I was creeping ahead of the pacers, a mirror image of previous Dublin marathons in 2010, 2011, 2012. My splits at mile 11 were 7.58/ mile 12 7.47 and the half way point in Walkinstown was around 7.45. I was around 30 seconds ahead of the pacers and while I would hardly say I was confident I was happy with my form.
And so it went - slow but steady, not fast, not too slow, all even pace running. I was thinking if I kept it around 7.50 - 7.55 I might have enough to keep me going for a while yet. A couple of seconds faster and I could have been cooked. My endurance from Berlin and the two long runs I did in the previous weeks (fast MP 17 miles and a slow LSR 18 miles) were also helping. By mile 16 I was pretty determined to give the sub 3.30 a shot. However it was this very point that I started to get into trouble.
The breathing was getting laboured and the tiredness started to kick in. 10 miles was a hell of a long way to go. Time really started to drag and the head began to go through the mental agonies. Again I kept telling myself, keep at it, you have nothing to lose here. I also poured the entire contents of a water bottle over the head, arms and legs. The cooling effect helped dramatically. I was obviously suffering from heat loss. The other factor was I was also started to run with two young runners from the Brothers Pearse club. They both looked as if they knew what they were doing. One guy was pacing the other guy and they were keeping a excellent beat. I just kept abreast or behind them and followed their lead. It was that simple. No heroics this time. By mile 17 I was feeling good and with the two lads doing all the hard work in front of me I was happier. At mile 18 I timed myself at 2hrs22mins30seconds, a full 90 seconds ahead of the pacers. Less than 8 miles to go. Down to single digits.
As I say the marathon was a slow steady crawl. It was wasn't very dramatic, fast or much different in terms of pace from mile 8 to mile 26. At mile 20 I was beginning to figure this was going to be my day jogging past a number of familar faces, including my buddy Aidan McGee. He was having a rare rough day at the office and I was disappointed to see him struggle.
I had banked nearly 2 minutes at this stage and I was wondering could I push the pace a bit more but when I tried at mile 21 the legs didn't like it at all. It was back to the conservative, park the bus style after that.
The hill at mile 22 didn't provide much problems at all. It never does. In fact it is the downhill afterwards all the way to the Stillorgan flyover that does the most damage to the legs. It's those miles 22 - 24 that are the toughest. Nearly there but plenty of work, I only had 70-90 seconds in the bank at this stage.A couple of bad miles where I am forced to stop or walk and I was done for. I was hanging in here at this stage even getting cranky at some clown who ran across the route with his bike.
Mile 25 took me past the RDS. I checked my watch, the time was around 3hr19mins maybe slightly faster...Just one mile to go running down Lower Mount street. The legs were beginning to buckle at this stage and it was a mile that dragged on for ever. 800 metres to go and everyone started to pick up the pace. I was going a bit mental at this stage determined to milk it for all it was worth. I knew it wasn't a PB but it was probably the best marathon I have run in many years. 26 miles were up and the clock read 3.26.45. The last 200 metres seemed to go for another mile and the legs were completely packing in before I crossed under the clock at 3.28.23. After that it was completely overwhelming...a mixture of delight, exhaustion, emotion and disbelief. Where the hell did that run come from? I hadn't even backed myself.
Thankfully I managed to compose myself bumping into Aoife Caroll on the way to get my medal before meeting with my clubmates and my friend Aidan. We hung around for a few hours around Dublin with Emer (Aidans wife) and their son Declan before I drove back to Cork via Portarlington.
A great day. No need to think much more beyond that. Lets soak it up.
Comparison of my Garmin splits between the Berlin and Dublin marathons. Amazing how a slow steady pace can yield a 3 minute faster finish despite a 5 minute difference at mile 20 between Berlin and Dublin.
Berlin Dublin
Mile 1 8.28 Mile 1 8.32
Mile 5 38.30 Mile 5 40.34
Mile 10 1.15.42 Mile 10 1.19.00
Mile 15 1.53.10 Mile 15 1.58.16
Mile 20 2.32.38 Mile 20 2.37.20
Mile 25 3.18.43 Mile 25 3.17.21
Mile 26.2 3.31.22 Mile 26.2 3.28.23
well done cathal.
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