12 weeks of (fairly) consistent training, and it's over. Not quiet as quickly as you can say 'Marathon' but over as quickly as I can run it. It all seems a little strange.
Running a marathon demands a big training commitment but it also does something else. Surreptitiously it takes over and begins to dominate almost every aspect of your life. Long runs dictate what you do the night before, what you eat. The other runs mean you're constantly tired. Your ability, or more appropriately desire to do other everyday activities such as cooking and cleaning diminish and wain. It impacts not only on you, the person doing the marathon but on those around you. I'm pretty sure the last twelve weeks I have become an insufferable bore. Only talking about pace, miles and for this route, ascent.
For us the festival started on Friday as we used the race as an excuse to get away for the weekend. Though not wanting to risk getting anything wrong on race day we settled on a self catering lodge. This meant we could keep doing something we enjoy (cooking) and also guarantee that I got the calories and types of food needing in the two days leading up to marathon day. We stayed at the Mcdonald Forest Hills resort resort, Loch Ard. We stayed with Anna's Brother and sister (in-law) who were also going to be running the 10km with Anna. Anna had the Friday off work and picked me up straight after work and we headed across to Aberfoyle via Callander and the Laid Inn to pick up some 'essential' supplies.
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| Loch Venachar cafe |
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| me at Loch Ard |
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| Loch Ard |
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| Loch Ard |
The lodge itself was great and had more than enough room for all of us and looked out over the loch which was stunning. After some home made Mexican chicken (thank you Delia) and a couple of beers it was off to bed for an early night. Saturday brought with it the joys of Spring in the trossachs. It was definitely 'taps aff' weather. What else was there to do than head off in search for cake. Anna had actually planned to meet Jurgen who was cycling through the area. She had cycled from Glasgow and we still managed to arrive after her. After some Enormous cake what else could we do but go and get some lunch, followed up by... Yep more cake, this time at the Loch Venachar café. I kidded myself into thinking a banana and walnut muffin was healthy.
The day pretty much continued like this with Anna driving us somewhere and then all of us eating until it came time for bed and a restless night sleep most likely caused by eating too much. I know, never happy.
Sunday started at 06:20, a lye in if I was at work but I was on holiday mode by now so the alarm hurt badly. Eventually I got up and tried to force enough breakfast to fuel me for the next 26.2 miles. Toasted Muffins and Naked bar down I then began to act like a 16 year old going to prom by trying every possible combination of running clothing I had on, finally settling for a rather ravishing 80's inspired Purple top, blue shorts and some yellow compressions shorts, just call me Malvolio ;) Looking suitably odd we headed to Loch Katrine. The car park was already a hive of activity and as usual I suspected of everyone else of being a 'proper runner'. Conspiracy theories aside it was a very welcoming atmosphere with lots of chat amongst runners of almost all abilities and attires. The Race director started us off with some house keeping rules and some information about just how much this event has raised for the charity Altzeimers Scotland. She has done a phenomenal job and if you want to know more about her endeavours that are vast and many please click here or if you want to know about Alzheimer's Scotland and the work they do click here. While this was going on there was a quiet magical starting gun from a flock of ducks creating a perfect arrow down the start line, you've got to love Scotland. Once we started I settled into the back of the pack hoping that I would slowly crawl back the minutes later on in the race. I got chatting to a chap called Fletch who had run the westhighland way race twice and he was adopting a ultra run walk strategy for the marathon. I was inadvertently doing the same in order to keep up with my heart rate target.
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| Only in Scotland |
The first 4 miles are what Scottish folk call undulating but with the heart rate reigning me in the first few miles were as follows.
1.11:17
2. 11:15
3. 10:56
4. 11:35
5. 10:53
HR at mile 1 and 2 was 144bpm. Then I let it upto 148 by mile 5
This was pretty frustrating if I'm honest but I also hoped I would pick up as the time went on. The hills were runnable but I didn't actually lose much distance on those infront of me that were running slowly while I walked up and I figured that I was saving energy on them so I decided to trust the Heart rate and kept on trucking. The route is scenic and runs along a private road along the loch side. As you get further along the course it becomes more exposed and more rural. The festival runs a 10km, a half marathon and a full marathon. It's strange running and seeing the return markers for the shorter distances on the other side of the road and seeing the turn points mean that there is plenty to keep you occupied and thinking.
Soon enough the route opens up and you end up getting absolutely beautiful views of the loch and surrounding hills. However, with the views come the hills and the knowledge that for every down on the way out it would be an up on the return.
6. 11:15
7. 11:15
8. 9:32
9. 9:48
10. 9:32
HR upto 155bpm
The slow early miles meant that I was full of energy and as the marco calculator allowed my heart rate to pick up I started getting into a good rhythm and started to catch a few runners. It felt good to begin to see other runners, the small size and winding course mean that you can go long stretches without seeing another runner especially in the early and later miles where there is less overlap with the out an back route.
Mile 10 was when I saw the first runner on there way back and they were flying, it's hard to think they had just done 15 odd miles. From then on it was a steady stream of people coming past. Almost all of whom gave a nod or a few words of encouragement which was great to see and speaks volumes about the Scottish running scene.
When I got to the half way mark and turned around I had a wee panic that I'd only done half the route and still had another 8 miles until mile 20 (maths while running is not my strong suit) let alone 26.2. Eventually I decided to break out the sugar and work through this sensibly. Thankfully eating and telling myself to get a grip meant it was only a short blip. The next miles were also relatively flat so I managed to keep a good pace at a good heart rate of 162bpm my heart rate stayed roughly 162-168 with the exception of 'gravehard hill'. I think that was the hill I made the mistake of noticing the 12% incline sign on the way down when it was fun. On the way back it was just plain hard.
11. 9:41
12. 9:21
13. 9:11
14. 9:40
15. 9:20
16. 9:32
When I had my blip at halfway I promised myself if I got to mile 16 then it was only my four mile loop at home until 20. This mental trick seemed to work and I was still coming across people at this point so could focus on trying to reign them in. Everyone I saw I gave myself a mile to 'catch' them as something to focus on. I don't formally listen to music when I run. Preferring podcasts or radio but I couldn't get a signal on my radio and had forgot to put any podcasts onto my phone. Instead I had to try and focus not easy when the fatigue hit.
17. 9:25
18. 9:45
19. 11:16
20. 10:22
The small hills on the way out were not bigger and harder. There were a few people lined up graveyard hill and I managed a quick walk then a run over the top. From mile 20 I tried to think only about the next 2 miles and they went surprisingly okay considering I was now in uncharted waters with none of my training runs being over 19 miles. It also helped I was running close to a chap in pink. We didn't say much, instead focusing on our own battles, or at least I was.
21. 10:21
22. 9:50
At roughly mile 22 I started to get cramp in my right quad, speeding up seemed to make it worse, slowing made it easier. I tried to stay on target of 10 minute miles and decided not to push to get to my target HR as I didn't want to end limping over the line. This was after all supposed to finish with a good marathon memory. It was shortly after this that I started to feel sick as well, I didn't want to throw up on the course as I thought that might be viewed as littering ;) These last 4.2 miles were hard and increasingly slow. It's strange how one thing dominos another. I'm sure the stomach wouldn't have been as bad if the cramp hadn't started. I decided to push on as best I could and count down the miles one at a time. Looking back they seem fairly indistinguishable and I only really remember the sickness and hoping it would be finished soon. I also wondered what my time would be. I hadn't looked at my time since I started. I figured I should be working hard regardless of the time.
Whatever time I got was whatever I could get.
If it seems like this last section is a ramble of mixed, jumbled thoughts it's because that's what my mind was doing. Clinging and then jumping from one thing to another as my feet just kept repeating the same cycle they had been doing for the last 22 miles. I definitely should have brought music. It wasn't until I got halfway through mile 25 I had another runner pass me. I had talked to her earlier at mile 14ish. I had commented that I had liked her salomon running vest. As 'Salomon' passed me she gave me a kick up the arse (not literally, though that would have shown impressive flexability so far into a marathon) to keep going as there were only 6 minutes(ish) to go. Thankfully it was what I needed and we ran together for a short bit then she kept the momentum going and passed me. It did cross my mind to try and pass her to maintain my record of not being overtaken but to be honest I was beat. From about 800m I heard Anna shouting 'Come on Paul' and that gave me an extra push to finish (and find out where she stole the mega phone from). The finish was great with the pier creating a natural finish enclosure.
I finished in 4hrs 29mins 34 sec. Happy.
I gave Anna a hug, told her I was okay, that I loved her then tried not to seize up totally as she force fed me apple juice and other drinks. Turns out she didn't need a megaphone It was a great atmosphere at the finish and I managed to thank Salomon for the kick up the arse I needed. From there we all headed onto the pub for some lunch and the drive back to FUNdee. Anna managed an impressive 53 minutes on the 10km despite a calf injury. Donald managed an amazing 2nd place in the 10km.
Three days after the marathon I feel good, I was able to walk well the next day and will start to exercise today with a short cycle in preparation for the Kinross sportive. The aims of this marathon were to provide a good running base for the summer that would allow me to go further in the hills and provide a happy memory of a marathon and despite the time not being the best, on such a demanding course I think I achieved all I set out to do. I still wish I was a little quicker but I think given the course I would need a 16 week plan to do better. I will continue to look into heart rate running and try and use it better and more effectively in the future. I will probably do another marathon in the future but think for now it will be more fun to try some shorter races and head into the hills as that is where I have the most fun.
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| What 1717 feet of ascent/descent looks like |
Thank you so much to everyone involved with this event. It is a testament to the good nature of Scotlands running scene that there have been only positive things to say about the day. Thank you to everyone that shouted encouragement, and ran the marathon as you all helped me round. I hope the race provided everything you wanted it to.
Sorry for the length of the blog, I simply had a lot to say.
Now it's onwards to the Kinross sportive, hoping I don't get left behind by Steve my cycle partner.
Then onto the hills for some more adventures.
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