Craig Gibbons' Lifeblog lifeblog://tri.eat.net

Berlin Marathon 2006

This past weekend I made the journey to Berlin to take part in the Berlin marathon, one of the world marathon majors. The day did not start well, waking at 4am to make a 7:30 flight from Stansted, I loaded up my motorbike and was on my way with time to spare, but realised some time later I was definitely not following the very best way to the North Circular. No problem, I was making good time so I backtracked a bit and ended up wasting only about 15 minutes. All was going well
until, somewhere just before the turn-off to the M11, a couple of flashes from behind and the realisation I had just lost another 3 points. Aaaargh. Doh! Grrrr. Nothing that can be done about it now I thought so I just carried on to the airport, parked, joined a queue the length of the actual airport and waited... and waited, eventually getting to my gate bang on boarding time, except nobody was boarding. More waiting and we board, then more waiting. Eventually the plane escapes gravity 2 hours later. I am nonplussed.

I get to Berlin, take the subway over to the marathon expo and set about trying to get registered. The expo is carnage, which is expected with some 40,000 marathon participants, not counting the 20,000 taking part in the rollerblade and wheelchair race. Eventually I get my number and head on over to rent a ChampionChip (a timekeeping device which attaches to ones shoe). There I wait another 30 minutes, scowling from time to time at the guys in front of me who declare quite offhandedly they’d be happy with anything under 3 hours. From there I try join the pasta party, waiting in yet another queue for 30 minutes, eventually reaching the front only to discover you need a token, not cash for this fine fare. Grrr. Undeterred and intent on carbo-loading, I walk the streets of Berlin looking for any place called Giovanni’s, or Mario’s or something, eventually finding a Portofino. Perfect. The food is great, the service prompt, the beer German, I leave completely satisfied and carbo-loaded, ready for the next day.

I wake up with the chime of my mobile phone at 6:45AM. Make ready and set off for the start, opting for public transport instead of a taxi. After all, surely everybody is in a cab right now trying to get to the start. After 30 minutes waiting on a platform I am starting to feel
anxious with only 20 minutes to go before the start. Eventually the train comes and I make it to the nearest station, about 1km away from the start. I start my marathon early and run like forest for the start, making it there, I estimate, around the time Haile Gebrselassie (the eventual winner) is passing the first 5km marker. I am amongst the last 50 people to cross the start line and face a veritable ocean of fun runners before me.

I had resolved by that time to just keep it steady and finish in a reasonable time. After all, one can hardly call two training runs over the last 6 weeks preparation. The first half of the marathon is great. Berliners really embrace this marathon, with hardly a section of curb vacant and everybody making some kind of noise. Whole bands setup roadside, people shake tambourines and marackers. Even restaurant chefs come out of the kitchen, banging pots and shouting encouragement. This is great, but shortly after halfway I am starting to feel the strain pain and I know I need to really concentrate now. The first half had been all dodging and maneuvering around slower runners but with my energy levels rapidly waning, I try a different tack. Run smarter, not harder. Take the gaps that open instead of trying to Titanic through, conserve energy, put one foot in front of the other.

Mile 16 rolls round and my legs are now so familiar with a single range of motion they are incapable of doing anything else. Not like I can feel them anyway. 10 more miles to go. One foot in front of the other.

Mile 20 and I am gulping any energy drink I can get my hands on like a sugar junkie. It’s working and I carry on, determined to keep up my pace.

Mile 24 and delirium is setting in. The heat is oppressive. I head for the roadside showers and come away soaking. The cold is a shock to the system and it’s good. I carry on.

Finally the sign I have been waiting for what feels like my whole life, the FINISH. I can smell blood and I increase my pace. Possibly a bad move as I feel my right hamstring seize up. I have to run kind of funny to stop it completely seizing up and forcing me into retirement so close to my goal. The crowd support is incredible.

After what feels like several miles I cross the finishing line, exhausted, elated, overjoyed. The scene looks like a bombshell hit. Runners walking around all over the place looking confused,
shell-shocked and fragile. The road is lined with thousands of drinks, biscuits, bananas and chocolates. It’s finally over.

Reflecting upon that marathon I recall several things…

The comradery amongst runners. While walking back to the baggage reclaim after the finish, a man suffered severe cramps in both legs. As he collapsed and fell to the ground he was instantly caught and helped by 3 total strangers who immediately stretched him out.

At every water point the sound of so many plastic cups being crushed, an applause of feet for the volunteers there.

A man running barefoot, another dressed as a smurf… both for reasons I may never understand.

A couple running with their two children in what can only be described as a “race pram”. I felt like quipping, “what, couldn’t find a babysitter”, but this would probably have been the truth of the matter.

For me, a marathon is a personal struggle against the clock, the elements and other runners, but mostly it's a struggle against that voice inside my head that says "go on, walk" to which I must always reply emphatically, "NO"! I finished the 2006 Berlin Marathon in an official time of 3:42:30.

Harlow 10 Mile

Last weekend I was up bright and early on Sunday morning, ready to run the Harlow 10, a 10 mile (surprisingly) race held in the town of Harlow (surprisingly), just outside of the M25 North of London. It's the first race I've done since the Edinburgh Marathon more than a year ago and I was quite excited to get back into competitive running. I've run 10
miles and more plenty of times in running but have never raced this distance and I had no idea what time to expect. Anything under 1:15 would have perfectly acceptable, but as soon as the gun went, I found myself running along at a fairly brisk pace which I was certain I could not maintain for the entire distance but I thought I'd see just how far I could push it. The course started quite tough with a few sharp hills and even some offroad before levelling out onto a nice flat tarred
section where I managed to regain some breath and keep the pace up, helped along by the everpresent sound of footsteps just behind. The race ended with a very tough section through a park with the sun now directly overhead, sapping every last bit of energy and making me very
grateful to be finished in 31st position, with an official time of 1:04:54.

Marathons Aplenty

I signed up for the Chicago and then Berlin marathons some time ago but I blog them today for posterity. One day at work, while pondering my poor state of fitness and general lack of extra curricular activity, apart from furrowing a nightly path from the couch to the fridge and back, I received an email from the gym, inviting all interested parties to participate as part of a Merrill Lynch team in the Chicago Marathon. Having been in Chicago more than 10 years ago, I recall 2 things from my time there, cold and wind... yet I was keen to return. Chicago is afterall a beautiful and viby city in the summer and I thought seeing 26.2 miles of it from street level might provide a different perspective on the place. About a week later, stricken with compulsive single mindedness reminiscent only of marathon training days gone by, I discovered the Berlin marathon was taking place a month before Chicago and I figured it would be a good warm-up. I later found out both of these marathons form part of the World Marathon Majors, consisting of the Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York marathons. I hope to
do London next year and maybe NY too, we'll have to see how high and how long these levels of enthusiasm will hold! The Berlin Marathon
takes place on September 24th and the Chicago Marathon on October 22nd.

Paris Marathon 2006

A couple of weeks ago, I signed up for the next Paris Marathon, taking place on April 9th, 2006. As far as world marathons go, Paris is definitely in the top 10 and I am already looking excitedly forward to it. I am not however, looking excitedly forward to getting back into training while the mercury skirts the zero degree mark outside!

The route is particularly scenic, passing by many of Paris’ most famous attractions and reaching its end at Avenue Foch. Last year there were around 35,000 runners from 88 countries. I imagine this year will be something along the same lines. Fortunately, the organisers had the foresight to operate a ‘bib system’ whereby faster runners get to start ahead of the rest of the pack by choosing a start group. The target time this time round is sub 3 hour, something of a benchmark among marathon runners.

It might just be time to get those thermals out and rejoin the Wednesday night marathon group at running club.

Amsterdam Marathon 2005

Following up on the success of last weekends Edinburgh marathon, I decided to keep the momentum going and signup for another marathon, after all, one needs something to keep one out of mischief on Friday nights and there really is no greater deterrent than the prospect of running 15 miles the next day to keep you going easy on the Chivas. When I was looking around for another marathon to do, I wanted one which was taking place in September or October and as I soon discovered, there really aren’t many interesting ones going on at that time of year. Sure, one can signup for the Beachy Head Marathon, or the Baxters Lock Ness Marathon, but heck I’ve never even heard of Beachy Head and well, we were in Scotland last weekend and I’ve already been to Loch Ness. Besides that, there really isn’t any monster anyways! Among those that did look like viable contenders, were the Chicago and Amsterdam marathons. I spent about two months in Chicago some years ago and have a special affinity for the city, but the distance, cost, time difference and prospect of having no support were major deterrents despite the attractive mental imagery of running along the shores of Lake Michigan and re-savouring the humours and vapours of the windy city that is Chicago. Chicago is also a massive race, this year, according to the website, entries close on August 15th or when 40,000 runners have registered. That’s quite a formidable event. Eventually, after careful deliberation, Amsterdam emerged as the clear choice. Last year 16,000 runners participated in three events. This year’s marathon, the 30th one held, takes place on October 16th will no doubt prove to be a memorable event and an excellent opportunity to improve on that PB (Personal Best for those non-runners) of 3:22:10 set at Edinburgh. Let the training begin.

Edinburgh Marathon 2005

This past Sunday (12th) saw the running of the 2005 Edinburgh Marathon, an event which my good mate Russell and I have been training for ever since we signed up in December last year. It's been a long road; both of us have been injured, ill, through physiotherapy and bottles of vitamin C and back on the road come the Wednesday night Serpentine running club training run. Running a marathon is a must-do goal to set in one's life. Triathlon's, summiting Everest and Iron Man competitions aside, it's one of the most physically challenging activities one can undertake in one's lifetime and for me personally the realisation of a dream and proud sense of achievement. All these months, the fact that we would be running fully 26.2 miles on June 12th has never been quite so real than when we were lined up on the start line amongst 11,000 other runners in biting cold and persistent drizzle. Thinking back to my days as a track athlete, lining up on the starting line before a 1500 meter race, barely able to hold back the natural compulsion to heave up all those butterflies, the experience of watching the yellow numbers of the start clock counting down wasn't entirely dissimilar. The race started with a resounding, Signal Hill noon gun kind of bang and we were running, only 26.2 miles to go Russell quipped. I pretty much went at my own pace from the get-go and eventually settled into a good 7 minute per mile pace with a welcome partner I recognised from running club, looking for the same target time of anything under 3 hours and 30 minutes I was. My lurvely girlfriend Laura hauled my good folks around the course at a rate of knots to make it to 5 points on the course to shout cheers and hand-off Squeezy energy packs, very impressive. Without boring the reader with a mile-by-mile blow account of the race, it was good going for the first 16 miles, then miles 16 - 18 started to get rough, 18 miles is the most I had ever done in training due to injury quite close to the race and I started to feel the effects of the increased distance and persistent pounding on the legs. Strangely this coincided with a pregnancy like (I would imagine) craving for jelly babies, odd. By mile 19 I was hurting and still had more than 7 miles to go, a marathon in its self at that stage. I kept in my head 2 things, one, that if I just kept putting one foot in front of the other it would eventually all end and two, I had already done enough to secure a time well inside my original target and need only keep going. Until the end of the race that’s exactly what I did, one foot in front of the other, always fighting back the urgent desire to walk, to stop, to lie down even, but never succumbing to the temptation. As my father would say, a lot of character was built in those last miles. I finished the race some 3 hours, 22 minutes and 10 seconds after the gun. Russell finished around an hour less than his original estimate, in an excellent time of 3 hours, 31 minutes and 59 seconds.

Next time, 3 hours.

UPDATE: Results are out, go see for yourself

2005 Edinburgh Marathon

It's official! I'm doing the 2005 Edinburgh Marathon... and, much to my surprise, so is my good mate Russell. It'll be great to have a training partner, although he may have to lay off the fags a bit! We are also trying to organise a relay team, essentially, each relay team consists of 4 people, who each run just over 10km of the course. It'll be a great weekend in Edinburgh and a good laugh, c'mon, you know you wanna! The race takes place on June 12th, 2005. For more information, check out the Edinburgh Marathon website.

UPDATE 14/12/2004: Laura, Anthony and Simone are doing the relay, just one more required!
UPDATE 31/12/2004: My lurvely girlfriend Laura has joined the relay team, we're all set!