Well, this race has been high on my priority list for a few months now. This was my first big test over (almost) a half-marathon distance and I wanted to see what I was able to achieve. I had managed to obtain a preferential bib for the race, so I had no excuses as to being held up by the other 25 000 runners that participate in this race every year.
Laurence and I had arranged to meet up with Nico, Hélène, Brigitte and Didier at the station so that we could all head to the start of the race together. We weren't alone on the platform, as like in the previous big races, there was already quite a crowd of runners from Maisons Laffitte ready to take part. A motley collection of bin-liners, old T-shirts and old jumpers were lined up waiting for the train. Half an hour later and we got off the metro at Bir Hakeim, a short walk away from the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
The crowds of runners had already gathered for the start of the race and I left Laurence and the others with the crowds as I walked down the side of the Iena Bridge to access the pens at the front of the field. I met F-X here and we were joined by Nico who had dropped off his bag in the meantime. It was pure luxury to be in the first pen, just behind the elite. We had loads of space and could even have warmed up by jogging around the pen. In comparison, the runners in the main pen behind were not organised by expected time and it was like lambs to the slaughter, huddled together in a large pack of 23 000. I looked around for an old rival, Frédéric Poirier, but I couldn't spot him, despite the fact that I'd seen his name on the website of participants. I wasn't going ot worry about this and just concentrated on my own efforts.
We started at 10:00 am and headed up towards Trocadero, the hardest part of the course. I was slightly hampered by other runners but it wasn't as bad as I'd expected and I was able to run the first kilometre in 4:01. At the roundabout beside Trocadero, we headed back downhill to Avenue Foch and I let myself get carried away at this point, following the flow of runners around me. The second kilometre marker arrived very quickly, too quickly in fact, as I looked at my watch to see the lap time of 3:32 appear. I told myself to slow down as I knew that I wouldn't be able to maintain this pace for long, the runners around me were doing likewise and I was steadily overtaking them.
It was out to the Bois de Boulogne now, and some memories from the marathon earlier this year passed through my mind. This was completely different though as the roads sloped gently downhill for the first few kilometres through the park, before some small undulations in the middle section. I saw that the Garmin was registering 3:51 - 3:53 per km at this point and I wasn't worried by the pace as I was slightly above the 3:55 that I'd set in the virtual partner. I felt comfortable and full of energy and as I passed others I noted that they were breathing far more heavily than I was.
The feeding stations were well organised and situated every 5 km along the course. I made sure that I took on water at each one and was really pleased to note that I appear to have mastered the art of drinking from a bottle while running and avoiding choking. I must note this on my CV for future reference ! I poured a little of the water over my head too: it was only 16°C, but I wasn't taking any chances. We left the Bois de Boulogne after 10 km and I overtook a female runner with a Belgium national vest on (after some Google search: Véronique Coene a Belgian cyclist in the 2004 Athens Olympics). A kilometre later and my right shoelace came undone, despite my double knot, and I had to stop to retie it. I set off again only to note that my Belgian friend had come past me in the process, so I concentrated on reeling her in again. This accomplished, I set about finding my rhythm again.
My virtual partner on the Garmin was 1 minute behind me now and I tried to concentrate on maintaining this advantage. As we ran alongside the banks of the Seine, the encouragement from the crowds was fantastic and I felt a real boost from the cheering. I was beginning to tire now and the energy that I had at the start was waning rapidly. I passed Dominique and his son Christophe who cheered me on at the 15 km mark , while I just put all of my effort into keeping my speed up. I knew that I would beat my objective now, but I wanted to do the better. The urge to slow down and take it easier was strong and I fixed the runners around me to encourage me over the last few kilometres. We crossed back over the Seine at the 17km mark, beside the Louvre and this was the hardest part of the race as we headed back into a slight breeze.
I counted down the minutes in my head until the finish: 2.5 km - 10 minutes of pain to bear ! 2 runners came past me at this point, but at a speed of at least 10 seconds per km faster than me. I tried to latch on for a while but I was soon dropped. I just hung in there now and ran as fast as I could. The Eiffel Tower appeared again and I knew that I was close. A last effort over the final kilometre and I arrived in 1:17:33. I'd beaten my objectives and was under 1:18 - fantastic. I was over the moon. Splits were as follows: 5 km - 19:04; 10 km - 38:19; 15 km - 57:44; 20 km - 1:17:33.
Nico arrived shortly afterwards and I saw him in the finishing tunnel. He was pleased with his time having run 1:23:42 and very steadily all the way. He looked very fresh and far better than I felt. I didn't see Didier, but he ran 1:31:15. From what I can see of his splits, it looks like he was hampered at the start due to the crowds and he can probably run at least a minute faster to go under 1:30. F-X finished in 1:29:40 and he said that he wanted to go under 1:30 in his current form so he should be fine with this.
Laurence, Hélène and Brigitte all finished together, having managed to stay together the whole way. Finishing time of 1:48:56 so they could probably run faster but the number of runners on the course doesn't help. They were pleased too with their results.
I loved this race, due to my performance admittedly. Looking at McMillan, this time over 20k is better comparatively than my last record over 10k so I should be able to shave off another 10 seconds on this. Predicted marathon time is 2:52 and a whisker - I won't aim for this but play it safer by running around 4:11 per km. Time will tell.
To cap it all, I looked up Frédéric Poirier's time and he finished a minute behind me !! I'm over the moon - first time I've ever beaten him in a race. I'll have to leave a message on Facebook!
Laurence and I had arranged to meet up with Nico, Hélène, Brigitte and Didier at the station so that we could all head to the start of the race together. We weren't alone on the platform, as like in the previous big races, there was already quite a crowd of runners from Maisons Laffitte ready to take part. A motley collection of bin-liners, old T-shirts and old jumpers were lined up waiting for the train. Half an hour later and we got off the metro at Bir Hakeim, a short walk away from the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
The crowds of runners had already gathered for the start of the race and I left Laurence and the others with the crowds as I walked down the side of the Iena Bridge to access the pens at the front of the field. I met F-X here and we were joined by Nico who had dropped off his bag in the meantime. It was pure luxury to be in the first pen, just behind the elite. We had loads of space and could even have warmed up by jogging around the pen. In comparison, the runners in the main pen behind were not organised by expected time and it was like lambs to the slaughter, huddled together in a large pack of 23 000. I looked around for an old rival, Frédéric Poirier, but I couldn't spot him, despite the fact that I'd seen his name on the website of participants. I wasn't going ot worry about this and just concentrated on my own efforts.
We started at 10:00 am and headed up towards Trocadero, the hardest part of the course. I was slightly hampered by other runners but it wasn't as bad as I'd expected and I was able to run the first kilometre in 4:01. At the roundabout beside Trocadero, we headed back downhill to Avenue Foch and I let myself get carried away at this point, following the flow of runners around me. The second kilometre marker arrived very quickly, too quickly in fact, as I looked at my watch to see the lap time of 3:32 appear. I told myself to slow down as I knew that I wouldn't be able to maintain this pace for long, the runners around me were doing likewise and I was steadily overtaking them.
It was out to the Bois de Boulogne now, and some memories from the marathon earlier this year passed through my mind. This was completely different though as the roads sloped gently downhill for the first few kilometres through the park, before some small undulations in the middle section. I saw that the Garmin was registering 3:51 - 3:53 per km at this point and I wasn't worried by the pace as I was slightly above the 3:55 that I'd set in the virtual partner. I felt comfortable and full of energy and as I passed others I noted that they were breathing far more heavily than I was.
The feeding stations were well organised and situated every 5 km along the course. I made sure that I took on water at each one and was really pleased to note that I appear to have mastered the art of drinking from a bottle while running and avoiding choking. I must note this on my CV for future reference ! I poured a little of the water over my head too: it was only 16°C, but I wasn't taking any chances. We left the Bois de Boulogne after 10 km and I overtook a female runner with a Belgium national vest on (after some Google search: Véronique Coene a Belgian cyclist in the 2004 Athens Olympics). A kilometre later and my right shoelace came undone, despite my double knot, and I had to stop to retie it. I set off again only to note that my Belgian friend had come past me in the process, so I concentrated on reeling her in again. This accomplished, I set about finding my rhythm again.
My virtual partner on the Garmin was 1 minute behind me now and I tried to concentrate on maintaining this advantage. As we ran alongside the banks of the Seine, the encouragement from the crowds was fantastic and I felt a real boost from the cheering. I was beginning to tire now and the energy that I had at the start was waning rapidly. I passed Dominique and his son Christophe who cheered me on at the 15 km mark , while I just put all of my effort into keeping my speed up. I knew that I would beat my objective now, but I wanted to do the better. The urge to slow down and take it easier was strong and I fixed the runners around me to encourage me over the last few kilometres. We crossed back over the Seine at the 17km mark, beside the Louvre and this was the hardest part of the race as we headed back into a slight breeze.
I counted down the minutes in my head until the finish: 2.5 km - 10 minutes of pain to bear ! 2 runners came past me at this point, but at a speed of at least 10 seconds per km faster than me. I tried to latch on for a while but I was soon dropped. I just hung in there now and ran as fast as I could. The Eiffel Tower appeared again and I knew that I was close. A last effort over the final kilometre and I arrived in 1:17:33. I'd beaten my objectives and was under 1:18 - fantastic. I was over the moon. Splits were as follows: 5 km - 19:04; 10 km - 38:19; 15 km - 57:44; 20 km - 1:17:33.
Nico arrived shortly afterwards and I saw him in the finishing tunnel. He was pleased with his time having run 1:23:42 and very steadily all the way. He looked very fresh and far better than I felt. I didn't see Didier, but he ran 1:31:15. From what I can see of his splits, it looks like he was hampered at the start due to the crowds and he can probably run at least a minute faster to go under 1:30. F-X finished in 1:29:40 and he said that he wanted to go under 1:30 in his current form so he should be fine with this.
Laurence, Hélène and Brigitte all finished together, having managed to stay together the whole way. Finishing time of 1:48:56 so they could probably run faster but the number of runners on the course doesn't help. They were pleased too with their results.
I loved this race, due to my performance admittedly. Looking at McMillan, this time over 20k is better comparatively than my last record over 10k so I should be able to shave off another 10 seconds on this. Predicted marathon time is 2:52 and a whisker - I won't aim for this but play it safer by running around 4:11 per km. Time will tell.
To cap it all, I looked up Frédéric Poirier's time and he finished a minute behind me !! I'm over the moon - first time I've ever beaten him in a race. I'll have to leave a message on Facebook!
1 comment:
Well done and a great time.
Post a Comment