The weather was perfect for the 8,000 participants of the Dublin Marathon this morning. A crisp, clear Autumn morning warmed up beautifully as the race went on, with the temperature rising to 11 or 12 centigrade. No wind worth talking about. This was my first marathon and I was quite nervous at the start. I'm only running since April and had only ever completed one previous race, a 1/2 which I ran in 1:53 last month. My longest run during training was a 20 miler. My primary goal was to finish the race, something I wasn't all that confident about as I've had a cold for the last three weeks as well as a right hamstring which has been tightening up during my last few runs. Secondary goal was to finish in less than 4:10. Dream result was a sub 4 hour finish. Anyway, the race got underway at 9am and I crossed the line 90 seconds later. There were participants from all over the world. At least 1/2 the field were visitors and the atmosphere was nice 'n' friendly. Whole chunks of Utah and New Jersey seemed to have flown in to support the runners from Joints in Motion and Team in Training, so the sidelines were noisy and cheerful. Reached the halfway mark in 1:53 but at that stage my legs felt like lead. I was walking the water stops at that stage, so that was a short break every three miles. At 15 miles I was uncomfortable, but not so much I had to stop. At 20 miles (3 hours) I'd gladly have sat down. I was f**ked... Covering the last six miles of that race was the most difficult thing I've ever done. It was painful. The only thing that kept me going was that walking seemed to be even more difficult. Breathing was fine, as was heartrate, ditto running pace. I just felt extraordinarily tired, and my leg muscles were stiff as they've ever been. A water stop at 24 got me going again and I crossed the line at 4:07. Boy, was I happy to see that finish line. What have I learned: Most important, RESPECT THE FREAKIN' DISTANCE! What they say is true. Don't run the marathon until you have a full marathon training program done. And don't do that until you have at least a year's running under your belt. Anyway, I'm signing up for the Connemarathon tomorrow. connemarathon.comconnemarathon.comOpen ↗ - I'm a sucker for punishment. But this time I'll do it right. :-) Thanks for reading.
Nice to read that somebody else has been to that place ... well done on your first marathon. Nice time, too! You kept up the pace pretty well towards the end despite your suffering if you did the last 10 k in 1.07. "Colm Gallagher" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
The weather was perfect for the 8,000 participants of the Dublin Marathon this morning. A crisp, clear Autumn morning warmed up beautifully as the race went on, with the temperature rising to 11 or 12 centigrade. No wind worth talking about. This was my first marathon and I was quite nervous at the start. I'm only running since April and had only ever completed one previous race, a 1/2 which I ran in 1:53 last month. My longest run during training was a 20 miler. My primary goal was to finish the race, something I wasn't all that confident about as I've had a cold for the last three weeks as well as a right hamstring which has been tightening up during my last few runs. Secondary goal was to finish in less than 4:10. Dream result was a sub 4 hour finish. Anyway, the race got underway at 9am and I crossed the line 90 seconds later. There were participants from all over the world. At least 1/2 the field were visitors and the atmosphere was nice 'n' friendly. Whole chunks of Utah and New Jersey seemed to have flown in to support the runners from Joints in Motion and Team in Training, so the sidelines were noisy and cheerful. Reached the halfway mark in 1:53 but at that stage my legs felt like lead. I was walking the water stops at that stage, so that was a short break every three miles. At 15 miles I was uncomfortable, but not so much I had to stop. At 20 miles (3 hours) I'd gladly have sat down. I was f**ked... Covering the last six miles of that race was the most difficult thing I've ever done. It was painful. The only thing that kept me going was that walking seemed to be even more difficult. Breathing was fine, as was heartrate, ditto running pace. I just felt extraordinarily tired, and my leg muscles were stiff as they've ever been. A water stop at 24 got me going again and I crossed the line at 4:07. Boy, was I happy to see that finish line. What have I learned: Most important, RESPECT THE FREAKIN' DISTANCE! What they say is true. Don't run the marathon until you have a full marathon training program done. And don't do that until you have at least a year's running under your belt. Anyway, I'm signing up for the Connemarathon tomorrow. connemarathon.comconnemarathon.comOpen ↗ - I'm a sucker for punishment. But this time I'll do it right. :-) Thanks for reading.
Great effort Colm and enjoyable report. Youll get a sub four in not time. Doug Burke
Colm Gallagher said:
The weather was perfect for the 8,000 participants of the Dublin Marathon this morning. A crisp, clear Autumn morning warmed up beautifully as the race went on, with the temperature rising to 11 or 12 centigrade. No wind worth talking about. This was my first marathon and I was quite nervous at the start. I'm only running since April and had only ever completed one previous race, a 1/2 which I ran in 1:53 last month. My longest run during training was a 20 miler. My primary goal was to finish the race, something I wasn't all that confident about as I've had a cold for the last three weeks as well as a right hamstring which has been tightening up during my last few runs. Secondary goal was to finish in less than 4:10. Dream result was a sub 4 hour finish. Anyway, the race got underway at 9am and I crossed the line 90 seconds later. There were participants from all over the world. At least 1/2 the field were visitors and the atmosphere was nice 'n' friendly. Whole chunks of Utah and New Jersey seemed to have flown in to support the runners from Joints in Motion and Team in Training, so the sidelines were noisy and cheerful. Reached the halfway mark in 1:53 but at that stage my legs felt like lead. I was walking the water stops at that stage, so that was a short break every three miles. At 15 miles I was uncomfortable, but not so much I had to stop. At 20 miles (3 hours) I'd gladly have sat down. I was f**ked... Covering the last six miles of that race was the most difficult thing I've ever done. It was painful. The only thing that kept me going was that walking seemed to be even more difficult. Breathing was fine, as was heartrate, ditto running pace. I just felt extraordinarily tired, and my leg muscles were stiff as they've ever been. A water stop at 24 got me going again and I crossed the line at 4:07. Boy, was I happy to see that finish line. What have I learned: Most important, RESPECT THE FREAKIN' DISTANCE! What they say is true. Don't run the marathon until you have a full marathon training program done. And don't do that until you have at least a year's running under your belt. Anyway, I'm signing up for the Connemarathon tomorrow. connemarathon.comconnemarathon.comOpen ↗ - I'm a sucker for punishment. But this time I'll do it right. :-) Thanks for reading.
A water stop at 24 got me going again and I crossed the line at 4:07. Boy, was I happy to see that finish line. What have I learned: Most important, RESPECT THE FREAKIN' DISTANCE! What they say is true. Don't run the marathon until you have a full marathon training program done. And don't do that until you have at least a year's running under your belt. Anyway, I'm signing up for the Connemarathon tomorrow. connemarathon.comconnemarathon.comOpen ↗ - I'm a sucker for punishment. But this time I'll do it right. :-) Thanks for reading.
Colm
Congratulations, Colm! It was tough, but you did it and in a reasonable time. It *is* true what they say about marathons! Sorry you had to experience the hows and whys. Best of luck in training for the Connemarathon (great name!). You'll find you'll still be pretty tired but not beat to death when you train fully. I bet you'll really like it!
I enjoyed your report too. I've only ever spectated at one marathon before and it was the MCM in 1999. I thought everyone doing it was quite mad. Now I know... ;-) BTW, how do you record your mile times?
-- Colm
"Doug Burke" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]... : Great effort Colm and enjoyable report. Youll get a sub four in not time. Doug Burke
"Jonathan Sydenham" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]... : Nice to read that somebody else has been to that place ... well done on your first marathon. Nice : time, too! You kept up the pace pretty well towards the end despite your suffering if you did the : last 10 k in 1.07.
I enjoyed your report too. I've only ever spectated at one marathon before and it was the MCM in 1999. I thought everyone doing it was quite mad. Now I know... ;-)
Thnkas Colm.
Quoted message said:
BTW, how do you record your mile times?
I carried a typewriter the whole way.
Ok, all seriousness aside, I have a Timex "Ironman Triathlon" watch. It's something I'd highly recommend. Just set it to the "crono" mode and hit the right button at every mile. When you're done hit the left button. It can hold 100 splits. Works as a timer and a regular watch too. Doug Burke
On Mon, 27 Oct 2003 16:59:05 +0000, Colm Gallagher <[email hidden]> wrote:
Congratulations, Colm! Sorry I didn't spot your number. (Mind you, I passed a good friend of mine somewhere in the last few miles without noticing, so much was I focussed on just getting the end).
I took 3 gels during the race. I didn't want to take any more than that because I've never used them before. At 4 of the water stops I took both water and Lucozade Sport. I'll probably use them extensively during training for my next attempt.
-- Colm
"Anthony" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Colm - Congrats on your 1st marathon!
Looks like your dream sub-4 result is not far away. Did you have any
Congratulations to yourself too! Did you enjoy it?
-- Colm
"John Moore" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
On Mon, 27 Oct 2003 16:59:05 +0000, Colm Gallagher <[email hidden]> wrote:
Congratulations, Colm! Sorry I didn't spot your number. (Mind you, I passed a good friend of mine somewhere in the last few miles without noticing, so much was I focussed on just getting the end).
"John Moore" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
On Mon, 27 Oct 2003 16:59:05 +0000, Colm Gallagher <[email hidden]> wrote:
Congratulations, Colm! Sorry I didn't spot your number. (Mind you, I passed a good friend of mine somewhere in the last few miles without noticing, so much was I focussed on just getting the end).
"Teresa Plymate" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]... : Congratulations, Colm! It was tough, but you did it and in a reasonable time. It *is* true what : they say about marathons! Sorry you had to experience the hows and whys. Best of luck in training : for the Connemarathon (great name!). You'll find you'll still be pretty tired but not beat to : death when you train fully. I bet you'll really like it!
"Paul Rooney" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]... : On Mon, 27 Oct 2003 16:59:05 +0000, Colm Gallagher <[email hidden]> wrote: : : >The weather was perfect for the 8,000 participants of the Dublin Marathon this morning. : : <snip> : : Good stuff, Colm. Good time too! Well done. : : -- : Paul My Lake District walking site (updated 29th September 2003): paulrooney.netfirms.compaulrooney.netfirms.comOpen ↗ : : Please sponsor me for the London Marathon at: justgiving.comlondon2004Open ↗
Oh, yes, I forgot to add: you'll probably knock half an hour off your next 'thon. But make sure you don't get rid of so much salt that your leg muscles begin to cramp towards the end - or eat too many gels and end up vomiting or getting stomach cramps! J "Colm Gallagher" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
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Thanks Jonathan!
-- Colm
"Jonathan Sydenham" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]... : Nice to read that somebody else has been to that place ... well done on
your
Quoted message said:
: first marathon. Nice time, too! You kept up the pace pretty well towards
the
Quoted message said:
: end despite your suffering if you did the last 10 k in 1.07.
Thanks for this URL, I hadn't seen it. My 'real' time was actually a whisker under 4 hours (3:59:40), as it was a couple of minutes before I crossed the start line.
Out of curiosity, how did they measure these times, do you think? I presume photos were taken as people crossed the finish line, which were subsequently scanned for the bib numbers. Personally, I think the whole idea of dropping the chips and using this system at the last minute was a major cockup. There was no recording of at what point each runner crossed the start line, and no recording of the time at the midway point. Did something go badly wrong with the organisation, do you think?
I'm not sure how they did it. Using the chips would've been a whole lot better. The time they've posted for me is quicker than the time I calculated. Yours is slower.... Who knows what way they did it? A colleague of mine ran a sub 3 hour and they had his time exactly right. It may be that they weren't as careful with the slower times.
-- Colm
"John Moore" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Out of curiosity, how did they measure these times, do you think? I presume photos were taken as people crossed the finish line, which were subsequently scanned for the bib numbers. Personally, I think the whole idea of dropping the chips and using this system at the last minute was a major cockup. There was no recording of at what point each runner crossed the start line, and no recording of the time at the midway point. Did something go badly wrong with the organisation, do you think?
