You’re 36k in and one part of you says why are you putting yourself through this, the other part, maybe the deluded part, says this is exactly where you want to be. Hamstrings, glutes, calves all cramping, pain etched over your face. You look down at your watch and you think right everything you have for 6.2k. Don’t worry hamstrings, don’t worry glutes, don’t worry calves we’ll take it easy tomorrow. That’s the thrill of the Marathon, an endeavor that makes you question your sanity but also one that allows you to reach down to places you didn’t think you could and be as present as you ever could be.
For me my Marathon journey started back in 2017 with my first Dublin Marathon. A summer full of Weddings, Stags and various different drinking sessions funnily enough didn’t lend itself to optimal Marathon training. Managed to put together a couple of 20 mile long runs and went into it hopeful but that all went out the window when I went through the first 10k in 35mins, feeling as though I was already working as hard as I could. It was a long journey to the finish with the last 10k feeling longer than the previous 32k, let that sink in for a second. Somehow put together a 2.37 for my debut Marathon but felt incredibly disappointed more with the lack of respect I gave the distance and my lack of discipline in the couple of months leading into it. That evening after many many pints of Guinnes I vowed to come back and give this whole Marathon thing a proper crack.
For various reasons my next Marathon wasn’t until almost exactly 2 years later again on the streets of Dublin. That summer I utilized the fact that I lived a couple of hundred meters from the Marathon course and completed a lot of my training runs on the second half of the course in particular mentally envisaging how I was going to feel on Marathon day and how I would be ready for the ensuing battle. I also utilized the hilly terrain at home in Cavan and completed many of my long runs at Marathon effort on the hills around home to prepare me for the undulating hills in Dublin. I’ve never been as nervous the few days leading into Dublin for any race before or since. I put a lot of pressure on myself that day but it allowed me to get the best possible performance I could deliver on that day, in a way it made me bulletproof as I cared so much about running a sub 2.30 Marathon that I was willing to hurt more than I've ever hurt before. Being totally honest I don’t think this is a good way to go into a race but for me on that day it allowed me to produce a run that I wasn’t sure was in me. With 400 metres to go I looked at my watch I knew I had a Sub 2.30 Marathon and I couldn’t quite believe it. I soaked up the last couple of hundred metres and came home in 2 seconds over 2.29, really I should have focused a bit more and dipped under 2.29 instead of waving to the crowd but I loved it and wouldn’t swap that last minute or so for any time.
Post Dublin Marathon I got a great couple of months training in with Rotterdam 2020 the next Marathon penciled into the diary. 4 weeks from Rotterdam I felt as though a 2.26 Marathon was very doable then Covid intervened and put paid to any of those plans. To be fair I got some great training in during 2020 but lack of races meant that it almost counted for nothing. 2021 if I'm being really honest was a total disaster with injury after injury. Belfast Marathon at the beginning of October was the big goal over the summer but honestly it was a deluded goal in hindsight as my body wasn’t in a place to handle the rigors of a Marathon block never mind the Marathon itself, with 2 weeks to go I made the difficult but inevitable decision to pull out which hurt a lot and left me fed up with running but that only lasted a couple of weeks with new goals made very quickly whilst addressing some issues that needed to be addressed and putting a stronger focus on S&C and honestly putting less pressure on myself and more of an emphasis on actually enjoying my running.
Rotterdam Marathon has been an interesting part of my Marathon journey. I first entered it in 2019 and had to pull out 6 weeks before it due to an ankle tendon injury. I vowed to come back the following year and give it a proper crack but as I mentioned Covid intervened. So when trying to decide which Marathon to target for a Spring Marathon this year Rotterdam in a weird way made all the sense in the world. With 10 weeks to go to Rotterdam I really started to put in the work required not necessarily to run a fast Marathon time but to actually be able to finish a Marathon. That was my goal for Rotterdam to finish an actual Marathon, well actually to be more precise the goal was to make the start line and then once I heard that gun go I knew there was no way I wouldn’t reach that line even if I had to crawl. See for me post the Belfast debacle I had to remove ego completely and not look at what I've run in the past or what I think I'm capable of running and reassess everything and from a training point of view what paces, volume, supplementary training etc would leave me healthy and get me to the start line of a Marathon in decent shape. So paces had to be slower than they would have been in the past, volume had to be reduced, extra time need to be allotted to S&C, Pilates sessions, recovery sessions etc. As a coach I'm used to individualizing a runners training load based on past running history, injury profile, everyday life and in essence this is what I had to do for my own training. I had a lot of runners running Spring Marathons but my training was slightly different to theirs as that’s what I needed, that’s why I always stress don’t worry about what someone else is doing, what they’re doing is not necessarily going to work or suit you.
I only ended up doing one race in the lead up to Rotterdam, had planned to run a couple of races but little niggles and the need to prioritize training left me with just the Bohermeen Half Marathon 4 weeks out from Marathon day as the sole racing test. I was so nervous the days leading into this race, I hadn’t raced in 20 months and although I felt as though I was starting to get into some decent shape in truth I had no idea what I would run that day. Also I didn’t want to go to the well too much as the big goal was 4 weeks later. I find it hard to race close to a Marathon as sub consciously you are probably always saving something and holding back slightly with the bigger picture in mind. Surprised myself with a 1.11 Half Marathon not far off my PB and felt as though I raced quite well throughout. Race didn’t take as much out of me as I thought and put in another really solid 2 and a half weeks of training before backing off 10 days before Rotterdam. Got about 4 key sessions in during this time and knew the work was done and it was all about being fresh on the day.
Flew out to Rotterdam the Friday afternoon and Dublin Airport was the mess we’ve all come to expect over the last while which didn’t probably help stress levels. After a long day of travel got to our AirBnB and got settled in hitting the bed early. Woke early Saturday morning and got a light run in to loosen the legs out before getting to the Expo to grab our numbers. The trick the day before the race is to stay off your feet as much as possible which is tough as you are so restless and ends up becoming a very boring day but the Masters, Premier League and Champions Cup kept us fairly occupied. Went to bed early not expecting to get much sleep and got a few hours but still felt rested the next morning. The next morning got the porridge and coffee in before heading into the city. I was lucky to get a Sub elite entry for Rotterdam so got use of a room where you could relax before the Marathon and chill which really put me into race mode I have to say and left me focused on the job in hand with no thoughts on anything else but the race itself and how I was going to approach it. Got escorted up the start line and after a bit of a wait we were on our way.
The start was very crowded and didn’t settle until about 3k into it. Plan was to go off at 3.30km pace and for the first few km’s have to say didn’t feel too comfortable but I know from previous Marathons this can be the case and I just hadn’t got into a proper rhythm yet. Even at this early stage 2 things became apparent; 1) The crowd support even at this early stage was incredible 2) It was warm and was going to get warmer. First 10k was uneventful enough hitting the 10k mark in 35.09, before hitting half way just over 1.14. Throughout the whole build up my PB of 2.29 didn’t feel achievable as I didn’t feel as though I was in the same shape as when I ran 2.29. However at halfway I started to think I can run a PB today. Probably got a bit excited and maybe that allowed me to produce a bit too much adrenaline at that point and in a weird way caused me to lose a bit of focus on the task at hand and underestimate how much there was still left to run and how much I would need to dig in and focus. I got to 27k or so and crossed a bridge which is where my girlfriend was and at that point my hamstring started to pull and cramp a small bit. This happened in my last Marathon but not this early so I started to worry and went into a bit of survival mode. 3.30 was no longer the focus with 3.35 per km being the aim from here on in which would of still left me under 2.30 at this stage. Kept that going for a while but found myself slowing as my hamstring couldn’t hold that pace. At 36k with everything cramping the goal was simply to get to the finish line without stopping, people were dropping out or starting to walk all around me, it was like a warzone but I wasn’t stopping. I made myself happy with hitting 3.45km pace which in all honestly felt as though I was sprinting. Got to 40k and knew a Sub 2.30 was gone which did hurt I have to say but kept reminding myself to get every last second I could out of me. Eventually got to the finish line in 2.30.47 for my 2nd fastest Marathon time.
I honestly was a little disappointed not to run a Sub 2.30 as I felt that run deserved that but I knew that was the best run I could produce on that day and I’m really proud of it. Had a little cry to myself after I crossed the finish line, not really sure why, the Marathon is a weird emotional rollercoaster of emotions, I suppose I cried as I was proud to actually finish a Marathon again and persevere with something that gave me so much disappointments and setbacks the year leading up to it and all my emotions came out. Hobbled back to get my gear and out of nowhere my girlfriend appeared and we had a long embrace as she's gone through all the disappointments and setbacks with me and knew how much this meant to me. Had a great evening celebrating with friends who had also runs some great times and friends who came over to support us and keep our hydration on point post Marathon. Dublin Marathon in October is the next big goal and honestly cannot wait to have similar thoughts at 36k as to why I put myself through all this and I know I'll have a little smile to myself and say this is where I want to be!
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