Marathon de Toulouse

I haven't had any time to write my blog this week due to the activity going on at work, but it seems pretty pointless now that the marathon is run and all of this is superfluous. Needless to say I only went out twice during the week and both runs were very easy. So I benefitted from a good taper and was supposed to arrive fresh and ready to go for the marathon.

Neither Laurence nor I felt fresh and ready when we got up this morning. What had been a glorious, sunny, warm Autumn day on the Saturday when we arrived had turned into a grey drizzly cool Autumn day for the marathon. Not that we were complaining about this as it was very calm on the wind front and it was fairly ideal conditions for the race. Jean-Pierre drove us into Toulouse and we met up with some of his running friends from the St Sulpice club who were also taking part. I don't know what Jean-Pierre had been saying to them about me, but I felt a large weight of expectation on me as he explained that he wouldn't be able to take photos of me as I 'd be running too fast.

Anyway, I had more immediate problems to deal with as I tried to find somewhere to go to the toilet yet again that morning. I'd been preparing the marathon in the usual with with a carbo drink for 3 days to take on calories and energy in the muscles. I was now trying to empty my bladder of what felt like 3 litres of liquid before the race started. Apologies to the owners of the nice house in the centre of Toulouse but the entrance gate set back from the main street was just too tempting.

Laurence and I wished each other good luck and we went to our different starting pens. I met Gérald at this point and we discussed tactics. He was set on his 4:15 pace and going under 3 hours whereas I was going to attempt 4:08 pace and the 2:55 target. I set my Garmin and the virtual partner to this pace and I blocked the bezel in this mode. The gun went and we set off very easily. Gérald and I ran side by side with another runner from Bordeaux (Patrick Darche - 52 years old) who was also aiming for 2:55 but at 4:10 pace. The race is not a big affair compared to Paris or even La Rochelle as only 5000 runners were supposed to be taking part (the actual number of finishers was half this amount so there must have been many no-shows) and I was surprised by how long we were able to see the head of the race with the Kenyan contingent.

The course was flat and urban, and Gérald and I ran together until 6 kms when I had to stop for another pee stop (a nice white van this time ;) ). Patrick shouted out about errors of youth as he ran past and Gérald was just behind him. I lost 30 seconds for this manoeuvre but it was worth it as I soon felt a lot better and caught them both up a couple of kilometres further on. Gérald announced that he was stopping at this point to relieve himself and I just pushed on.

I'd set the Garmin to virtual partner mode and so I couldn't see the time just the gain I had on the target pace and by 10k, I was about 1 minute up, going through in 40:56. I was not looking too closely at my split times per km, but they were around the 4:00 mark at this point and I thought that I should pull back slightly, not wanting to burn myself out. A couple of runners passed me at this point, noticeable since they were both about 1.95m tall. I almost followed them until I saw that my splits were well above target pace and I let them both go. I felt very comfortable and was breathing very easily. It was the first time ever that I was able to judge my pace correctly, staying within my comfort zone and easing when I got carried away by the runners around me.

The next few kilometres were unremarkable: the scenery was still urban and I was running with a small group of 4 runners, trading places to lead the group. The lap times were still showing between 4:00 and 4:06 and I was happy just keeping it in this zone. The virtual partner was showing a lead of 1:40 at this point over the target pace, and I didn't want to push this any harder, worried that I'd go into the red and blow my race. I was concentrating on taking on liquid regularly since the marathon provided feeding stations not only every 5k but also water stations at every 2k and 7k (ie 7k,12k,17k, etc.). This was great and with the drizzle and the mild temperature of around 12°C, I felt very comfortable and not too sweaty. I was eating fruit jellies every 10k in order to keep up my sugar levels. All of this seemed to be working for the moment ...

We went through the half-marathon in just under 1:26 and then I saw Jean-Pierre at 22k who asked if I was still alright. He was waiting to accompany a friend from St Sulpice over the last half of the race and I just stuck my thumb up to show that I was still fine. There was a nice downhill section at this point and I managed a 3:59 over the kilometre as we started heading back to Toulouse through some more rural areas. I still felt good and wondered how long this could last. I had a 2:00 gain now and I was calculating just how much slower I could run and still beat the target. It was reassuring to know that I could still manage some mental arithmetic and that the energy levels weren't too low.

In fact, even at 30km I still hadn't hit the wall and wondered when this would happen. I'd left our little group behind and was running with a couple of younger runners, one of whom still had enough energy to talk. It was only at 35km that the fatigue began to set in. I'd been counting down the kilometres for a little while now and they seemed to be taking longer despite the Garmin still showing a 2:15 advantage and 4:06 pace. The split time came up for the 36th km : 4:15. Ok, so I was slowing, but I only had 6km to run and 2 minutes of leeway. I could drop to 4:28 pace and still beat 2:55. This encouraged me mentally (probably because I was still composed enough to calculate!) and I knew that despite the tiredness my pace was still strong.

The end of the marathon was long and I was eager to get it over with now. The kilometres went by regularly at about 4:08 pace and I knew I'd made it, I just had to get to the finish line. The last sentence sounds ridiculous, but this is exactly how I felt. I'd made the effort and done the job it was time to stop ! I just focused on maintaining the rhythm and not pushing too hard so as to avoid cramping in the thigh. I could feel the muscles hardening all over the leg, but most particularly down the inner thighs in both legs.

All of a sudden, Henry, Paul, Marion, Chloe and Isabelle shouted out to me and this was a great boost about 400m from the finish. I raised the pace to finish stronger and crossed the line in 2:53:27 and a new personal best. I wasn't even that shattered at the end - sure the legs were fatigued, but no cramps and I didn't feel the need to sit down and rest. Gérald crossed the line a few minutes later in 2:59:50 so he was happy too after the last 2 marathons in 3:01.

I had a massage and then a shower before watching Laurence finish in a new record time for her of 3:51:48. She did brilliantly, suffering a little towards the end, but still shaving 6 minutes off her PB. All thrilled to bits with our performances despite all the doubts we had beforehand. Great weekend all round.

PS. according to McMillan off my PB of 36:57 over 10k, he predicts 1:22:13 for a half-marathon, and 2:53:24 for a marathon. My times : 1:22:12 and 2:53:27 - the guy's a genius !!!