Race Report: London Marathon

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FoxyMcDeadlift
FoxyMcDeadlift Posts: 771 Member
So, today i ran my first marathon! It was a great experience and something i'd said i wanted to do in my life. Having run a few halfs, it was the logical step up. The weathers been all topsy turvey In England for the past few days, with heavy rain and a bit of sun. I oppted to run in my vest and a tshirt, and 3 quarter lycra bottoms. For fuelling, I had 4 gels which i thought i would use at 6,12,18 and 22. I set my dream goal as 3:30, realistic as 3:45 and worst case at 4+

With strategies out of the way, onto the race. It was a perfect day for a run, a bit hot, but not a heatwave, the race was massive. I've run a half with 18,000 but there was 40+ today, at times, this was pretty overwhelming, but only really at choke points, the end and the start. I started halfway in the red start, theres 3 starts at London because its huge. remembered Arcs golden rules and tried not to set out too fast, the first mile was 8:56 because there was just so many people, by the third mile i was running 8:10s. I thought this was fine as i'd later speed up to a 8:00 average. This was in the end, the fastest i went! By about miles 5, i was still wading through people as the three starts join up and from here on in, i stayed in the range of 8:25 - 8:31 for the bulk of the race.

About mile 20, i think i started to get signs of the wall. I've never run a marathon, so i dont actually know what the wall is, but my legs were burning around the hamstrings. From here on in, i took on a lot of extra Lucozade drinks, and a random banana from the crowd which i think helped. My pace slowed a bit, too a eventual 8:34 average, this was really hard, but i said to myself i just shouldnt walk, i set that as my end of the race goal. When i got to about 400ms i saw i was just about to miss a 3:45, my realistic goal, so i sprinted the last 400 metres, it was probably the slowest sprint ever. I thought at the time i ran a 3:45:10. But my chip time says 3:45:29. I finished in 7321/42649 and thoroughly enjoyed the day. I think i'll definately do another one, but im not sure when and where. The atmosphere was electric, but the race was perhaps a bit too big for me.

Replies

  • PercivalHackworth
    PercivalHackworth Posts: 1,437 Member
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    Man, that's fantastic :-)
    Congratulations, you sure did pretty well !
    Time for rest now. Any pictures ?
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    Congrats man! Thats a really good time. Way to push thru! Great job
  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
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    Great job! Congrats on running a smart race!

    In the future you'll find the right size race for your tastes. "Big City" races can be pretty awesome in terms of crowd support.
  • DaveC29
    DaveC29 Posts: 232 Member
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    Awesome job!! Congratulations on the good finish!
  • bonjour24
    bonjour24 Posts: 1,119 Member
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    you did amazing! and thank you for the tips.
  • FoxyMcDeadlift
    FoxyMcDeadlift Posts: 771 Member
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    The crowd was brilliant! When you pass a big charity spot like Caner Research, it really lifts you! On the flip side, i ran into 3 people at the end of the race because they started walking and the starts staggered! And none of my family saw me, and my one friend who saw me i didnt see. Raz, there may be some photos, but i think they charge a lot for them. I'l look into it

    I think i will stick to smaller, more intimate races in the future, but its good to say you've run one of the big 5'!
  • beccalucy
    beccalucy Posts: 250 Member
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    Awesome time, I ran London too as my first and finished just under an hour after you.

    I kept getting bashed by people who were bigger than me which hurt although the crowd was brilliant it was overwhelming at times!

    Hope you aren't suffering!
  • soccermum75
    soccermum75 Posts: 588 Member
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    Awsome accomplishment! Congrats on finishing the marathon in a great ime!
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
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    Well done. Your experience with hitting the wall is very similar to mine from my first marathon. All previous races at shorter distances predicted that I was at the right pace the entire time, but until you hit that 20 mile mark for the first time, well...you haven't. I had nearly the same type of reaction between 20 and 21.

    Now that you have this wonderful aerobic base from your first one, keep the mileage up (after a 3 week rest period, no running for a week! Then slow, easy running for the next two) so you can roll into training for the next one. :)
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    Well done!

    40,000 runners?!?!? That's the entire Ottawa Race Weekend for all of the events!
  • MissFit0101
    MissFit0101 Posts: 2,382
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    Just getting to read this for the first time. Awesome recap and well done!