Ich bin ein Hamburger

I really do like Hamburg, both the race and the place, I think I could quite happily live there, it has a laid-back feel and yet everything seems to happen with a pleasing quiet efficiency.  Sadly my running was not up to the mark due to a foolish build-up, however I still had an enjoyable trip and am sure I'll be returning to run this excellent marathon again.  Last year I ran a cautious first 18 miles and then blasted through the final part of the race feeling invincible, this year I finished barely able to stand up straight.

Our journey over was a little convoluted due to me trying to be a bit 'smart' and delay purchase of flights until the price was reduced.  Prices kept rising and by the time I abandoned my cunning plan there were no direct flights available and so we had to fly into Dusseldorf from Heathrow and then catch a connection to Hamburg.  The wait was under an hour and all worked very smoothly, the strange thing being that when we re-boarded it was the same crew, same aeroplane and strangely about 25% of the same passengers from the original flight.  It seems I was not the only one to leave booking too late!

Once we arrived at our hotel we had a very relaxed day, I collected my race pack from the expo just around the corner with no problems and we went out for a meal in the early evening and I had a decent night's sleep, waking at eight in the morning.  The start/finish was only five minutes walk from our hotel but I had a moment of panic thinking that my watch was still on UK time before reassuring myself that all was well and I still had an hour before all the running business commenced.

I was reasonably confident of a PB and hopeful even of getting under 3:50, I planned to take it relatively easy until the 25k point and then try my usual burst for the finish.  I jogged calmly through the first 5k but noticed the race clock beside the course at this point was at 40 minutes.  I knew I had taken 10 minutes to cross the start line and was slightly surprised that I wasn't a bit quicker, feeling like I had been at about 28 minute pace but put it down to the slight crowding at the start.  On reaching the first aid station I had a drink and piece of banana and it was then that I realised I had forgotten to eat any breakfast.  I had intended to get some fruit at the hotel but somehow this had slipped my mind.  

I was aware that to have a good shot at my target I needed to go through halfway in about two hours, I was confident that I had the fitness to run close to 1:50 for the second half and so I kept myself calm and enjoyed the atmosphere of the event.  Hamburg is the second largest marathon event in Germany and enjoys good support from its citizens which is a great lift.   The route takes you through some interesting territory, there's always something to focus on; the sleazy delights of the Reeperbahn, the graffiti of the St Pauli squat areas, the massive ships in the port, the architectural whimsies, well-to-do suburbs, lakes and parks.  It's an attractive city, definitely my favourite road marathon and it was nice knowing the route, no alarms and no surprises here, just nice easy running.  Maybe a little too easy...

On reaching half way I checked my watch and was slightly shocked to see it reading 2:06.  I had let things drift too much and decided that I needed to pick up the pace immediately rather than waiting for the 25k mark.  As soon as I started to increase the effort level I knew there was a problem; it was a real struggle getting any response from my legs.  From that point on the race was a slow death, I knew energy was depleting faster than I have been used to recently and by 37k I was in trouble, my head was swimming and pace was dropping rapidly.  I was forced to the side of the road where I rested for a while stooped over, hands on knees, steelng myself to continue.  I had absolutely flown through this stage last year, feeling like I was overtaking everyone.  This year they were all streaming past me.  Bizarrely I was still enjoying it, really relishing the battle to finish.  Increasingly my head was spinning and I had to keep stopping, there was no point pushing myself to collapse and despite feeling rough I was confident that I had the wherewithal to reach the finish without unnecessary drama.  The final 2k was like wading through treacle I felt I was hardly moving, my legs could barely lift my feet from the ground.  Official timing shows that the final 2195 metres took 17 minutes!

I crossed the line in 4:17:21, got far enough over so as not to cause an obstruction and just rested for about two minutes with my forehead pressed on the cool metal of the railings.  A marshal came over I think asking me to move on but registered my pained expression and nodded in unspoken understanding, allowing me time to gather myself.  I don't think I could have mustered the German to explain so was grateful for her sensitivity.

It is said that more is learned from failure than from success, and although this was not a terrible result, in fact the fourth fastest marathon I've ever run, it was a good way short of what I was hoping to achieve.  My biggest lesson was the importance of fueling properly; breakfast at 4.30am and then nothing for twelve hours the day before a marathon followed by no breakfast prior to the run was clearly not the cleverest of approaches and the resultant running on empty was not pleasant.  Similarly two flights and several hours of travel carrying baggage adds its own stresses and fatigue.  Finally I often experience psychosomatic illness leading up to a race but in this instance I think the symptoms which kept me awake on the Friday night may have been genuine on this occasion and also possibly impacted on my endurance.  The good news is that a run which goes very badly indeed now results in a better finish time than anything I was capable of doing last year so progress has definitely been made.

4th May 2014  Hamburg  4:17:21  #34