Over the hill

A.M. Last run before the marathon, tired after very poor sleep. Kept the pace very easy. Hot in the full sun. 6,4k in 32:01, av pace 5:00/k, 8:03/mi.

Well I ran a right dogs dinner for a race that’s for sure, big disappointment. My wife the same in the 10k, in training she could run under 55 mins, race day 57:32. Lack of sleep didn’t help, despite asking for a quiet room in our hotel we were placed in a room on the 8th floor. This was located on the outside area of a huge dome that overlooked the lobby area. Here the main 24hr bar was located, the noise spiraled upwards until 2am when it quietened down. We also had Mr & Mrs lets have a domestic when we’re drunk in the room next door. We couldn’t change our room for a few days, before the marathon I was awake until 2:30am, getting up again at 5am. Breakfast was some white bread and honey before boarding the bus to the start. I was blurry eyed, unenthusiastic and tired but I figured I would fire up when the race started.

The timing was on gun time so I got a good position near the front to avoid loosing time at the beginning. I planned to start at 4:15/k and see how I felt, settle in and pick it up a little. Weather was about 68°F and a good crossways breeze from the sea. The course is straight out along the coast to the turning point and back along the same way. A 40m gradual ascent over the first 7k with some views of the sea, then a drop back down again to sea level by km 8. The route was then in a straight line along one half of a coastal dual carriageway with uninspiring views of building sites, hotels and waste ground. The refreshment stations were every 2.5k offering water, powerade occasionally, slices of orange and apple. Spectators and drums were at the start and some small tourist groups outside of hotels.

Bang goes the gun and off we go, picking up the coast road out from Antalya. I felt ok and just stuck to my own pace. Past the 2k point I noticed a turkish runner was alongside me at the same pace, with a mix of english/german we communicated, we had a similar time goal and agreed to run together. I set the garmin to record 5k splits so here they are with a few comments.

1. 21:15, spot on, no problems, settled in, slowly overtaking runners who’d shot out at the beginning.

2. 21:08, sun is out and it is warm, the water was given to us in ½l bottles which I found far better than the usual cups, felt ok.

3. 21:21, slightly too slow, already finding this harder than I should have, try and pick it up a little bit.

4. 21:20, again too slow, at about km17 we’d clapped the Kenyan runners on their way back. They look strong and with a long stride length that eats the ground up. Just after km20 my fellow turkish runner taps me on the shoulder to tell me he wants to slow down now which was a real shame. I hit the ½ way turnaround in 1:29:54, slower than I wanted but I still thought I could run under 3hrs.

5. 21:15, running on my own for the last 5k, the straight stretch is monotonous, each km taking seemingly forever to complete. Upto now been drinking the water that was offered, at the drink station made a dive between the helpers to grab a powerade bottle off table, unfortunately knocking some bottles onto the ground.

6. 21:44, km27 is where I started to loose it, I could see the pace slowing to 4:16/k, I sped up (so I thought) and was shocked at the 28km marker to see I’d actually gotten slower. I kept telling my legs to go faster and there was no response. At the km30 point I was feeling despondent, I’d ran faster to this point in training.

7. 23:28, getting worse now, I was running at my usual easy run pace, I didn’t feel out of energy, no wall, just slow and I couldn’t change gears. I tried and tried to bring the pace down to 4:30/k to bring me in under 3:05 but it didn’t happen. The one good thing was I reached the ½ marathon turnaround point at 31,5k, their race had started later so I was suddenly surrounded by runners that I was overtaking, that helped.

8. 23:26, still on easy run pace, feel sore and tired and looking forward to finishing.

9. last 2.2k, same pace. Entered the football ground where the finish was, here there was a crowd to clap everyone in. I managed a smile but I was well cheesed off with myself.

Past the finish line got my medal, a plastic bag containing food and drink (good idea) and met my wife to commiserate each other. Queued for about 40 mins to retrieve my bag in a packed narrow corridor full of jostling runners smelling of sweat and vomit. They couldn’t find my bag and I had to dig it out myself, just what you need after you’ve ran. Bus back to the hotel for some grub and a lovely 9 hour sleep.

Well what can I say, my training over the winter had gone really well, I was fully confident I would run under 3 hrs, no excuses. Time now to forget about this and work towards the next one.

No of finishers. Marathon – 347, Halfmarathon – 724, 10k – 362. No of toilets 6.

Men’s marathon was won in 2:16:13 by Philip Muia (Ken)

Womens marathon in 2:42:54 by Kristina Loonen (Ned)

 A.M. Trail run after a complete weeks break from running. I plan a couple of easy weeks now, I'm guessing this but to have some good spring times here I wanted the break to rebuild back up again. Total 17,4k in 1:26:59, av pace 5-/k, 8:03/mi

 A.M. Easy pace rec run on trails. Glad to be back in greenery, you don't appreciate what you have at home until you go away. Very sore leg muscles after yesterday's run, one drawback from taking a break. Total 12,1k in 1:04:42, av pace 5:21/k, 8:36/mi.

 A.M. Another slow easy run on trails. Thigh muscles still feeling sore. Stormy winds and rain this morning, part of the weather front that has battered the southwest of England two days ago.  Total 16,3k in 1:25:52, av pace 5:16/k, 8:29/mi.

A.M. Hilly trail run. The weather gods had their fun this morning, very strong winds, lashings of rain and to finish hail over the last 5k. Muscle soreness is easing off, just a bit of teeth gritting downhill now. I did enjoy the run though and started to feel like I was getting my act together again. Total 22,1k in 1:43:51, av pace 4:42/k, 7:34/mi.

A.M. Heavy rain for today's muddy trail run. No point cutting the run short, when you're soaked through it doesn't matter then, so long as you stay warm. Total 16,5k in 1:24:12, av pace 5:06/k, 8:13/mi.

A.M. Lovely sunny weather this morning, a pleasure to be outside. Hilly trail run, short and easy, ticking along nicely.  Total 12.1k in 58:01, av pace 4:48/k, 7:43/mi.

Small race report for a small race. I had a number of reasons for racing this morning: I wanted to assess my condition after the holiday break, kick-start my training again and regain some enthusiasm, but most importantly just enjoy myself with a race in the local countryside.

A.M. Wind and rain for today's long run. Poor sleep and sore quads after yesterday's race made for a bread and butter pace. I was a bit dosy at the beginning and didn't notice a thorny branch across the trail, I turned my face at the last minute but it caught my earlobe. I didn't realise until I was back but it had bled copiously down my jaw and around my throat, looked nice and gory. The hills at the end went ok, no probs uphill but the last 1k drop into town was painfully sore. Total 35,2k in 2:53:21, av pace 4:55/k, 7:56/mi.

A.M. Back to wintry conditions in the run upto Easter. Light dusting of snow on the ground for a short hilly trail run. Nice and easy recovery pace, muscular soreness easing after 5k. Total 12,2k in 1:04:39, av pace 5:18/k, 8:32/mi.

P.M. Easy evening run with the missus. 8k in 44:44, 5:35/k, 9/mi.

A.M. The temperature is sinking faster than a greek ferry. Freezing point this morning with snow showers. Very wintery conditions over Easter are predicted, the bunny is going to have to hide the eggs in the snow. Warmup for 4k, then 12k in 50:50, Cooldown 5k. Total 21k in 1:33:40. av pace 4:28/k, 7:11/mi.

A.M. Brrr, out comes the fleece and thick gloves that I'd put at the back of the wardrobe. Hilly trail run, it didn't start well and straight away on the first hill I was finding it a bit of a slog. I plodded on and for no apparent reason half way through I suddenly felt good, I could feel my posture changing from slumped to upright. I enjoyed the 2nd half of the run and it felt more like the form I was in before the break. Total 25k in 1:59:03, av pace 4:46/k, 7:40/mi.  

A.M. Rain and sleet, not the most impelling weather to make you go out and run on the holiday. A snow plough passed me heading uphill but lower down it was just slushy underfoot on the trail. A couple of hills at recovery run pace, then back home for a late breakfast. Total 16,3k in 1:23:25, av pace 5:07/k, 8:14/mi.

P.M. Short afternoon trail run, cold but thankfully dry, nice and muddy. Total 8.1k in 39:42, av pace 4:54/k, 7:53/mi.

Easter hasn’t gone quite as planned. I thought it would be a good opportunity over the holiday long weekend to get some decent mileage in, instead I wound up sick. Thur and Fri I had been coughing a little while running, Fri I was up all night with a constant chesty cough and sore throat. My wife picked up a couple of medicines for me Sat morn and I have stayed in at home since then to shift it. This morning I ventured onto the treadmill for 4 x 5k with breaks in-between to drink water, have coughing fits, suck lozenges etc.

Worse today so no running at all,  heavy cold symptoms as well as the cough. Spent last night on the sofa so my wife could sleep. I now look forward to any sort of running outside, perhaps later in the week. Planned which races I would like to do in the next couple of months to cheer myself up.

A.M. Felt I should try and do something so ran a 10k treadmill run.                                       

1st 5k 24:51, 2nd 5k 21:30.

A.M. First time out since last Fri. Easy run with lots of coughing breaks and the cold air was raw on my throat but it was still good to be back outside again. 12,1k in 59:03, av pace 4:53/k, 7:51/mi.

P.M. 10k treadmill run. 1st 5k 22:52, 2nd 5k 21:12.

A.M. Easy paced trail run, starting to feel much better, only 2 enforced coughing stops. The temperature is starting to pick up and the snow is quickly disappearing. Nice to be out and about this morn, the animals in the woods obviously feel the same, lots of noise and sightings. Total 18k in 1:27:37, av pace 4:52/k, 7:50/mi.

P.M. Slow and easy evening run winding through the vineyards. Warm and windy allowing me to select some 3/4's to expose my shins to an unsuspecting world. I'm getting excited at the prospect of summertime, it makes doubling so much more inviting. Total 12,2k/7,6mi in 1:01:33, av pace 5:03/k, 8:07/mi.

A.M. Starting to feel much better now so I treated myself to a hill run this morning. The run starts in the valley and goes uphill to the top of one of our highest hills in the area. The top is reached after 10,8k and approx 300m ascent and was a triple F run last summer (a firm family favourite). I like to hit the top under the hour and today was pleased to see 56:26 on the watch. The snow was patchy and slushy and disappearing fast in the milder weather we are now experiencing. The rest of the run is across country then back downhill with a couple more small uphills at the end that are good strength sappers. A delight to run and it was a decent hard steady effort today. Total 23.3k in 1:55:36, av pace 4:58/k, 7:59/mi.

A.M. Beautiful sunny weather, rather than run in the woods me and my wife drove out a little to run in open farm land. A pleasant wavy route, I started slowly and gradually worked the pace down. I noticed when I tried to run any faster than 4:30/k it caused me to start coughing up some of the crap that is still in my lungs so that last 6k was stuck on the 4:30 pace. Total 16,3k in 1:17:02, av pace 4:44/k, 7:36/mi.

A.M. Long run time again on a dull and dark morning. I've felt out of sync throughout Mar with holiday and then some sickness so starting from today I want to get back to some steady consistent running. I ran by feel settling into a comfortably hard pace, today that was about 4:35-4:40/k. This was fine until km23 when I hit the hills on the way back. The pace dropped to about 4:55/k, I tired and couldn't get back into the same rhythm and so the next 10k turned into a bit of a slog. I was accompanied by light rain showers the last 8k which was actually quite refreshing. The last couple of k was downhill, which was a treat and fairly easy to hit 4 min pace. Not a great run, nevertheless another long run down. Total 35,5k in 2:48:21, av pace 4:45/k, 7:38/mi.