2:59 !!!

Frankfurt Marathon

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Location:

Neunkirchen,Germany

Member Since:

Jan 23, 2018

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Marathon Finish

Running Accomplishments:

Marathons:

Merzig (04/09/05): 3:56:41

Cologne (05/09/11): 3:26:16

Frankfurt (07/10/28): 3:17:16

Essen (09/09/11): 3:23:34

Frankfurt (18/10/28): 3:16:46

Ulm (19/09/29): 3:11:53

Personal Bests:

10k 37:24 (2009)

HM 1:23:42 (2009)

M 3:11:53 (2019)

Short-Term Running Goals:

  • 5k < 19:00
  • 10k < 39:00

Long-Term Running Goals:

Marathon < 3:00

improve my 10k and HM-PB

Personal:

married, two children, born 1981, 40 hours-a-week-job in a local townhall

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Race: Frankfurt Marathon (26.2 Miles) 03:16:46, Place overall: 2083, Place in age division: 384
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.0026.200.000.0026.20

I will write down some statistics first so that I am able to compare with future marathon-training-cycles:

Race time: 3:16:46 (PB by 30s)

HM 3 weeks before: 1:29:14 (factor 2,21)

10k 5 weeks before: 39:58 (factor 4,92 to M; 2,23 to HM)

weekly average miles last 12 weeks (incl. marathon-race):  44 (70,9 km)

weekly average miles last 12 months: 31 (49,5 km)

Splits:

5k     24:16

10k   23:26, 47:42

15k   22:52, 1:10:33

20k   22:52, 1:33:25

HM               1:38:35

25k   22:55, 1:56:19

30k   22:51, 2:19:09

35k   23:37, 2:42:45

40k   23:44, 3:06:29

M     10:17, 3:16:46, 1:38:11 (2nd HM)

 

From the start I ran behind the pacemakers for 3:15 hrs. In a field of 13.000 runners we were about 300, maybe 400 runners who followed the pacemakers. The first 10k of the race lead through small streets for such a big event. So we had to deal with the same problems as cyclists in a group do: every curve and every barrier on the streets were very dangerous. I saw 3 people fall in my group in the first half of the race. It got even worse when we came to water stations. Imagine 300 or even 400 runners trying to get water from desks that were maybe between 160 to 260 feet long. We fell over each other and there were several shoves. At one of the water stations, I was tripped by another runner and nearly lost one of my shoes. It was horrible to run in that group! I won´t ever run in such a group again if possible. But I was trapped in that group until halfmarathon, there was no way to run faster and free! That said and seeing my splits, the first 5 k were the slowest of the race (which isn´t bad normally), even the 2nd 5 k were too slow (avg. 5k-time should have been 23:05). So we lost about 90 sec. in the first 10k! Even with such a long distance left that´s a lot of time to catch up! As soon as the pacers were able to run faster, they tried to catch up those 90 sec. Suddenly, we ran in the pace we should do from the start, but it feels hard to push when you´re running slower for 10k. Until 30k, I felt really good and ran exactly the pace that was needed, even if the group ran even faster. But I didn´t have the energy to catch up the time I lost in the first 10k. Also, it was very windy and we had tailwind in the first half of the race where we were trapped in the pack. With legs feeling more and more tired and fighting against the headwind, I got a bit slower from 30k to 40k.

After finishing the race (it´s maybe the greatest destination for a marathon worldwide, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMsNm3nv7ik), I was a bit disappointed to have failed 3:15. But I remembered the following:

  • It was my first marathon in 9 years.
  • I even ran a personal best by 30 sec. while my times in shorter races were a lot faster 9 years ago.
  • I started running again 2 years ago (July 2016) with 5k being the longest possible distance to run for my fitness!
  • Maybe it would have been possible to run 3:15 without that lost time in the first 10k. But it´s also possible that I just didn´t have the energy and fitness to run 3:15. Who knows...

There were also some more good points:

  • It was the first marathon (of now 5) where I didn´t have any problems with cramps. Maybe I am the most proud about that point. That gives me confidence to run more aggressive in future races.
  • The muscle ache the day after isn´t as bad as it were the marathons before.
  • Therefore I think the most important points were the training tips in this blog (running consistent 6 x a week incl. a long run) and a good nutrition strategy during the race (I drank every 5 k and used an energy gel every 30 minutes from the beginning)
  • The race motivated me even more to reach for bigger goals!

And I know what to do:

  • after a 2-week-break from running, I will try to get into more consistent training.
  • I know that the training I did the last weeks is the best for me and I just need to go on.
  • I need to get up the mile averages carefully for the year and for the last 12 weeks leading to a marathon.
  • I don´t need extraordinary long tempo runs to prepare for a marathon. I did tempo-runs at marathon-pace for about 60 minutes.
  • It was a great tip from Sasha about the long runs: I alternated easy long runs (stopped at 3 hours) with some faster long runs the other week: 2 hours with some marathon-pace running or a 10k/HM-race
  • I made great experiences with stretching 2 x a day for about 5 minutes, just the main gymnastics. I was free of pain since then (had achilles inflammation and runners knee before)
  • I need to lose weight from 75 kg (165 lbs now) to 68 to 70 kg (150 to 155 lbs), my height is 180 cm (70.9 inches)

 

 

Comments
From Rhett on Mon, Oct 29, 2018 at 19:50:20 from 66.185.237.66

Nice Martin! You ran almost a perfect even split. That’s not easy to do. It sounds like you learned a lot also and have a great plan moving forward.

From Jon on Mon, Oct 29, 2018 at 19:51:10 from 96.33.86.208

Congrats on the PR, and future goals

From Rhett on Mon, Oct 29, 2018 at 19:51:25 from 66.185.237.66

And congrats on the PR.

From jtshad on Tue, Oct 30, 2018 at 07:23:40 from 141.221.191.225

Congrats on the PR and lots of great learning from the training and the race itself. You are on a good trajectory for continuing to improve your times and reach your goals.

From Tom Slick on Sat, Jan 05, 2019 at 12:48:09 from 174.148.13.42

Wow, I can't believe I missed this entry in your blog. What a great race you ran and you clocked in an overall Negative Split, running the 2nd half faster than the first half. Congrats on your super PR, a 3:16:46 is a great time. What marathon are you going to do next to achieve that 3:15: or faster?

From Martin on Fri, Aug 23, 2019 at 03:52:03 from 212.88.157.202

Shame on me that I didn´t thank all of you for your comments!

Well then: Thank you very much!

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