Dublin Marathon 2017 for Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind
Introduction
Me and Julie finished the Dublin Marathon 2017 on Sunday October 29th for the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. At the time of writing it's been two weeks since we crossed the line at Ireland's World Class Marathon and we have only just about caught our breath.
It's been two weeks since we crossed the line at Ireland's World class Marathon and we have only just about caught our breath.
The Build up to a Marathon
Marathons are terrifying. Everybody knows if you're going to run a Marathon pain is inevitable in order to finish. Never mind running for time if you want to do that like I did then you accept that you will be in pain, you're going to run through it, you're going to force the issue and that when you finish you probably won't be able to stand upright without feeling a twinge or ten ( ten is no understatement).
The week leading up to the Marathon was brilliant, with 5 days to go our fundraising campaign went into hyper drive our friends and family came out in force to sponsor us. At work the kindness of people was unimaginable. Colleagues, members and friends popped into the Clinic with cards and well wishes. I was blown away by the support we received. Julie being a prominent member of the Cork Bar found herself in the same scenario. We rapidly realised that we would reach €1,000 quickly and we did. Our final tally was €1,505 raised for Irish Guide Dogs. Our dear friend Michael Fahy was so incensed that 30 cent stood in our way of a round figure that he put it right on his next visit to our apartment (celebrating the Marathon and fund raising party). Michael had already donated a substantial sum of money to the cause. This was one example of many people who were incredibly generous and really went above and beyond to support the Irish Guide Dogs and wish me and Julie well with our Marathon fundraising efforts.
Marathon Expo
As part of the Dublin Marathon you are required to register at the Dublin Marathon Expo in the RDS. This is never anything less than a spectacle. This was my 4th Dublin Marathon in a row and still I found myself swept away by the enthusiasm of the volunteers and trade show people. Despite 20,000 people participating in the Dublin Marathon and the obvious pressure the volunteers and Dublin Marathon staff were under I couldn't help but notice how friendly they were. At my number collection the lady at the desk took a moment to ask me as I was in the first wave was I running for a time? Looking back this lady must have served hundreds if not thousands of athletes that day and still at 3 pm she took a moment to smile at me and ask me a little about my race. A similar thing happened again at the goodie bag collection in the next row. That lady asked me how many marathons I had completed. I was astonished by how friendly the volunteers were. They were upbeat and confident of a record finishing number in the race this year. With that kind of infectious enthusiasm I am certain many runners took to the course the next morning in great form.
A bizarre twist then took place. To cut straight to the point the church of Scientology were at the Dublin Marathon Expo. Contrary to media reports they were in my opinion not massaging people. They appeared to be carrying out some sort of spiritual healing technique which involved running there hands over the fully clothed runners. There contact was light at best. Some runners were availing of this opportunity. The majority were bypassing this stand nodding in disbelief and carrying on. I don't think this was a big deal. There were plenty of other stands which didn't quite capture a runners attention and also there were others which took up 90% of a runners time at the expo. Later media reports made a big deal out of the presence of the church of Scientology at the expo but I couldn't really relate to their outraged angle. I'm quite certain that almost every runner in the field had some sort of religious inclination but from Sunday at 9 am their only common religious belief would be running.
Finally, we faced a serious threat ....terrorism.... I realise that some people reading this will immediately shout 'AH STOP now would ya bhoy' in that familiar Irish flippant way but this was real. Our bags for the 2017 Dublin Marathon were clear. The same lovely volunteers who wished us well also advised us that anything that wasn't clearly visible or appeared to be concealed in our bags would result in our bags being searched. This was the first time that I had met a genuine terror threat at a race and I found it hard to reconcile my feelings here. What if I was walking Julie into danger. Julie had been swept away by the magic of the Dublin Marathon in 2016. So much so that she had entered in 2017 before I did. Marathons are dangerous and I had been very rigorous with our training regime leaving no stone unturned from energy gels to to intervals we had done everything in training. Now I found myself thinking 'why hadn't we discussed and planned for a maniac with a gun, bomb, car, truck, bus or plane?'. The volunteers message was simply 'we're taking no chances here'. I was reassured by that but in the back of my head my thoughts drifted to the endless what if scenarios???
The Marathon
The atmosphere on the morning of the race was electric. We couldn't have asked for a better day weather wise very little wind and about 12 degree's Celsius. I have said this for the past two years that the Dublin Marathon is a World Class Marathon and today was yet another strong performance by our national marathon. I left Julie at 8.30 am in Merrion square fully confident that the next time I would see her that we would both be Marathoners. I was nervous so much so that the night before I offered to run with Julie throughout her first Marathon. I shouldn't have bothered with that. Julie is very independent and told me in no uncertain terms to cop on and leave it all out on the course during my race. Julie pointed out that this was our last race this year, that our training regime had been tough and that a PB should be in my sights tomorrow. At 9 am when the gun went off I had nothing to lose. I knew Julie would make it. If she struggled I knew she would graft her way over the line.
The first kilometer was a frenzy. The excitement was getting to me, I was ducking and diving amongst the other athletes trying to find a rhythm. I was 200 meters behind the 3:30 pacers. I could see the pacers balloon off in the distance. My PB was 3:29:20 from the 2015 Dublin Marathon. In another Marathon I would have panicked and sped up immediately but I had 5 marathons under my belt and I had learned from each one of them. As I gazed at the pacers balloon in the distance edging further away I remembered that I had started slow in 2015 and that I had fallen behind the 3:30 pacers until I hit Phoenix park where I caught up and stayed steady. My thoughts in 2017 were much sharper and refined. I told myself that now is not the time to race anyone, Establish a rhythm, focus on your pace be consistent, relax your muscles and conserve your energy.
Establish a rhythm, focus on your pace be consistent, relax your muscles and conserve your energy
My target pace for the race was to stay between 4:45 and 5:00 per km. Once I made my way into Phoenix park I was right next to the 3:30 pacers. I felt strong. I was tempted to pull away but we were only 10 km in at that stage and I was just about to take my first gel. From previous marathons I had determined that my starts (opening 10 k) should be slower and then my middle 10-30 km should be steady. In my splits shown in the pictures above and below I wasn't afraid to go slower in the opening 10 kilometers. I managed to extend my steady period until I had run 33 kilometers.
After 35 kilometers I hit the wall. The wall physiologically is in theory where you run out of carbohydrates to use as fuel for activity and you are hit by a wall of fatigue. That definition is far too vague for reality. The truth is your body starts shutting off cramping, twinging and having feelings of impending doom. I took another gel. I had taken an energy gel as planned at 10k, 20k, 30k and now I had two left for on demand use and now was the time to use them. I reached for my on demand gel and then my right arm suddenly felt floppy and moved with it's own mind for a moment or so. I was losing salt at such a rate that my limbs were in danger of cramping. My right arm was in limbo low on salt but not completely depleted, sluggish and unable to take direction quickly or coherently. Once my right arm settled I took my gel. My stomach did not welcome the gel willingly. I battled the urge to vomit ferociously. My mind knew what was at stake at 30 kilometers I had read my time as 2:28. I had 62 mins to cover 12 kilometers and at the pace I was running I had every right to run for a PB. I wasn't letting this chance go without a hard fight. The next 7 kilometers were a war I won't forget in a hurry. My body yearned for rest but my mind was forcing the issue dragging every last ounce of effort out. My pace was dropping but I kept rallying.
The mental game that I spoke about in the past came into play here again. I knew I was on for a PB and it was a grueling fight. I was weary but I was focusing straight ahead. In 2016 I had slowed down due to exhaustion and took in the last 4 kilometres. It was beautiful the crowd carried me home. In 2017 I locked my gaze on a fixed point ahead of me and broke the last 3 kilometres down into micro segments. I barely aware of the cheers from the crowd. As I came into Merrion square I smiled as I knew I had a PB dead to rights.
With 200 metres to go I could see 2 runners about 50 metres in front of me leaning on one another. One man was in a bad way. I thought if I caught up to them I will help. Marathoners look out for each other. As soon as this thought entered my head my right hamstring locked. I was in trouble.
One man was in a bad way. I thought if I caught up to them I will help. Marathoners look out for each other. As soon as this thought entered my head my right hamstring locked. I was in trouble.
I wasn't giving up now. I talked my hamstring around to one last burst. Well I didn't talk it around as much as I forced the issue with my mind. I wasn't letting go and my hamstring got the message loud and clear and resumed working. I crossed the finish line in personal best of 3:28:42.
I crossed the finish line in 3:28:42. A Personal best
I was relieved. I couldn't stand up straight. As I walked on down the chute a first aider asked 'Andrew are you ok?' I replied 'I'm just tired'. He shouted 'Chair'. The man next to me had collapsed his legs no longer able to hold him up straight. I spent the next few minutes bent over a rail. My mind couldn't believe that I had broken my personal best. My body was insisting that it had indeed worked hard enough. I had exhausted myself so fully that I couldn't hold myself upright.
Later Julie crossed the finish line in a time of 4:43:50. We did it all running the Dublin Race Series, raised money for Irish Guide Dogs and rounded it off with two PBs in the Dublin Marathon.