Munich

I waited in the starting pen of this race as relaxed and calmly certain of things as I'd ever been at the start of a marathon.  One of my certainties was that I was not going to break four hours this time, I'd had too much disruption due to illness and injury over the previous eight weeks and my fitness was just not up to it.  I was also certain that for the first time I was going to run the marathon distance without fear or restriction.  An introspective soul-search of what I enjoyed about running had resulted in a light-bulb moment in which I realised how conservatively I have been approaching my running, particularly at the marathon distance.  I've been either leaving too much in reserve so that I finish the race flying but with a time much slower than I should be capable of doing, or I've been trying to hold a nice steady pace that brings me in at target time.  Either running with fear of running out of fuel too early or governed, restricted and controlled by my watch and anxious about hitting target pace for every single mile.

Inspired by tales of the awesome Traviss Willcox's fearless exploits in recent marathons and ultras and encouraged by my own thoughts about being too conservative I had decided not to worry at all about my lack of training, accept my fitness for what it currently is and just go for it.  In preparation I had run the Windsor half-marathon by setting out much too fast, quite consciously, in an effort to get used to being a bit braver in races and, despite going dizzy by mile ten and badly running out of energy, I really enjoyed the liberation of running a 'daft' race.  Following that run I settled on my strategy for Munich; run at a comfortable pace until 10k, thereafter just go for it at the best pace I can maintain accepting that I will seize up miles before the finish, when I reach the point at which I have to stop, smile, consult my watch to see where I am and get home from there as best I can. 

On getting back to the hotel after collecting my pack from the expo and examining the course profile I realised that from the 10k point it was gently uphill for a few kilometres.  Rather than let this worry me I decided that it was as good a point as any to start the process of knackering myself and if it meant grinding to a halt a little earlier then so be it, I was very happy to accept that likely eventuality.

As a result of knowing I was going to go too fast too early in the race I was really relaxed and excited about it, rather than fearing the point at which things were going to get tough I was looking forward to it and interested to see how things went.  This relaxed state made waiting for the start a real pleasure, enjoying the bustle, anticipation and mounting excitement of those all around.  The following photo conveys the way I was feeling quite well...

Deciding to keep things sensible for 10k was an acknowledgement of my current fitness level, rather than fear, and made the early part of the race very enjoyable, there was no need to be constantly checking my watch, fretting about speeding up and avoiding crowds or holding myself back.   I was able to take in the sights, have brief conversations with fellow runners and just go with the flow.  By the time I reached the 10k point, though, I was more than ready to start running properly.  Sure enough the gradient picked up immediately but throwing caution aside and continually looking to pick off individuals or groups of runners made the slightly more testing nature irrelevant.  I completely missed the next two kilometre markers and was surprised to see the 13k sign when I was fully expecting 11k.  I was really enjoying myself!  

Obviously that sort of rapid progress wouldn't last and by 17k I was starting to feel increasingly tired.  At this point a young lad pulled alongside and spoke to me in German, I asked him if he was able to speak English and he enquired as to what time I was aiming for.  I told him that I didn't have anything in mind, I was just running by feel.  He explained that he had been following me for six or seven kilometres, being drawn along by my bouncing dreadlocks!  Another man then said "He is going at double F pace" in a strong German accent, his compatriot asked what that meant, "fucking fast!" came the reply causing us both to laugh out loud.  My reduction in pace was obvious by this stage as both passed me and eased off into the distance.  I was mentally challenging myself to keep the pace as high as possible until the 20k point.  Official splits show 57:48 and 53:33 for the first two 10k sections, which reflects the largely uphill nature of the second split as well as my distinct slowing as I approached halfway.

From that point I tired quickly and my mile splits show a drop from 8:30 to 9:00 and then 9:30 over the course of a six mile section, however, I reached 28k before grinding to a complete stop.  At this point I looked at my watch for the first time to see it reading 2:45:xx.  9 miles to go and if I could maintain 10 minute miles I'd be looking at a 4:15 finish, which would be my second fastest ever.  On the basis of the build up I'd been through that would be a pleasing result.  The remainder of the race was a case of keeping moving forwards by either a slow jog or the occasional walk for a minute or so.  By the 40k point I knew I wasn't going to achieve 4:15 but it was still a possibility that I could beat my second best time of 4:18:01.  The official splits show that I reached the 2k to go point at 4:06:29, I really put some effort into the final part of the race, and sprinted as best I could into the Olympic stadium, reaching 7:42 pace for the final half mile but came home in 4:18:10.

I gathered myself after the final effort, went through the medal collection area and was confronted by the upsetting sight of a middle-aged man in a bad way, laid supine and lifeless having CPR performed as medics darted back and forth.  I queued for an alcohol-free beer and then plonked myself down on the football pitch at the centre of the stadium, reflecting on the fragility of life, the 1972 Olympic massacre, the 1974 world cup final and marathon running in a confused stream of consciousness.  

On reflection I am very pleased with the way this event went.  Up until this point I would have run the race very conservatively, allowing myself to finish strongly probably with a time twenty minutes or so longer, however, I think I got close to the best time I was capable of achieving in the circumstances.   I am looking forward to testing the running without fear strategy when my fitness is at a better level.  I'm quite tempted to aim for a 1:45 first half and see where I get to from there! 

13th October 2013  Munich  4:18:10  #21