Amsterdam Marathon 2023

Amsterdam marathon thoughts...

TL;DR: An honest run that seemed to flash by so quickly. 1.26:31 first half was obviously too fast. 1.31:11 second half was a fair reflection as the last 4 miles were tough. Eyes welling up as I cramped meters from the stadium. Shuffled home in 2.57:42. 

Logistics were fantastic as I had done my homework reasonably well. We stayed in the north-west corner on the outskirts of Amsterdam. A 10 min walk to the mainline train station at Sloterdijk which is also serviced by the metro and trams into Amsterdam/Schiphol. Amsterdam was 15mins away by tram which stopped 10m from our hotel door. 

The other significant benefit of our base was the mainline connection to Zuid to the south which served the Olympic stadium and the sports hall where the expo was based. I collected my race number and had a scan around the expo on Friday afternoon once we had checked in and got settled. All good. 

We spent the rest of Friday and Saturday milling around Amsterdam. So much to see and do. Everywhere a beautiful view. Too much walking. A 90 min boat trip gave my legs a break as did the frequent stops sitting at cafe's having a cuppa tea. It rained a lot too. 

Onto race day and got to the Olympic stadium nice and early and without any drama at all. Public transport in the Netherlands puts ours to shame. A torrential downpour was forecast and arrived 30 minutes before the start of the race. Living in Manchester you get to spot the signs so I had dropped my bag off and headed into the stadium and the relative comfort of one of the concourses as the downpour did its best to dampen proceedings. 

I had an issue with my watch just before the start so relied on elapsed time and the official km markers instead of gps. Not a bad thing as we all know they are not 100% accurate. 

Sloshing around the wet track for 200m before we exited the stadium reminded me how busy big marathons are. Runners were zigzagging all over the place trying to get a better position. I noted the 3hr and 3.10 pacers ahead of me but decided to focus on staying upright and leave catching them until things settled down.

Around 21mins for each 5k was my rough plan before the race. My knee concerns had faded as the previous days' walking seemed to help it. It was either that or the general fatigue in my legs from all the walking superseded any stiffness in the knee.

Through 5k in 20:22 (official splits) so a smidge too fast. I had caught and passed the 3.10 pacer. I missed the first aid station (sports drink first, then water, then sponges) all in paper cups except the sponges! I took water at all the other stations slowing a little each time to actually swallow some water.

I reached 10k in 40:44 so pacing well but a touch too fast I noted. I needed to settle down. Aerobically I felt great but I could feel my hips a little. I think I passed the 3hr pacer just after 10k. In hindsight I probably should have sat with him but the masses following the pacer put me off. It was too busy so I forged ahead. I did glance behind once or twice and I had a nice 200m gap so felt controlled.

By now we had reached the more rural section along the river Amstel which was great running. The wind was slightly at our backs and only a few spots of rain spoiled the relative tranquillity of this section of the race. Pockets of crowds now lined the route but I do recall feeling a bit cold here. The cheers certainly helped lift the spirits. Having your name printed on your number is a great invention. It was of course a little more exposed compared to the city. 15k reached in 1.01:25 so a better judged 5k split of 20:39. I recall deliberately telling myself to "calm down" and "relax".

I knew a significant point in the race was approaching, not just in terms of distance, halfway would be reached soon, but also the turnback point over a small bridge and back down the other side of the river. Just prior to this the wind and rain picked up. I made a surge at one point to 'tuck in' behind a couple of runners to shield myself. The turning point over the road bridge was great. Big crowds cheering here and the milestone I had factored into my mind duly met. I could sense growing confidence in my ability to get to the finish now.

20k came in at 1.22:31 so 20:35 for that 5k split. Running into an ever stronger headwind now and the rain swirling around made me feel right at home. In fact it was pretty hard going for this stretch along the Amstel. Halfway in 1.26:31 (4:06/km pace / 2.53 pace). Of course that was too fast. I spent the next km remonstrating with myself as my pre-race mantra of enjoying this as my first overseas race and concerns about a stiff knee in the two week taper rescinded. Keep it steady. Legs felt ok but not amazingly fresh either. Nothing from the stiff knee. I hate the taper sometimes.

Leaving the Amstel river section is another milestone and reaching 25k in 1.42:39 gave me some further encouragement as the pace was still strong 20-25k split in 20:38. 

25-30k felt good and I know from past experience this is where I generally get a little 'giddy' and the pace increases slightly. True to form I split 25-30k in 20:31. That turned out to be the beginning of the slow decline towards the finish line.

My hamstrings and quads went downhill pretty quickly thereafter. Aerobically I felt fine (I'm sure we all say that when our legs go) but the fatigue in my legs wasn't going to get any better as I sucked down my last gel at 32k. 30-35k split in 21:01. Not too bad I thought. Only 30 seconds lost on the average pace for the 5k splits up to that point give or take a few seconds.

The crowds started getting bigger now as we headed back west towards Vondelpark along the main carriage way that skirts the southern edge of the city centre. I am focussing hard now just trying not to lose too much time. It's getting much harder to keep form. I'm being passed by runners who are seemingly much fresher. They've got it spot on. A couple of aid stations in quick succession lift the spirits as my name is called out by the volunteers handing out the drinks. I take large gulps of an energy drink followed by some water slowing deliberately to get as much in as possible.

35-40k is a grind splitting the 5k in 22:25. I'm doing well not to cramp now as the pace gets slower and slower. I can feel my hamstrings in particular wanting to spasm. I get to the entrance to Vondelpark and know I'm close but in that strange place where I'm not sure how much longer I have to run for. Using all my experience I start to count each stride up to 100 in my head. Crowds cheering ever louder. Keep going.

Through the park, the pain in my legs is increasing. I caught a glimpse of the stadium for the first time. I still don't really know how much further is left to go. Suddenly, the stadium looms large and I approach the final left turn when cramp hits me. I'm on the apex of the corner which isn't ideal. So I tuck into the barrier as best I can to avoid the fast finishing runners.

Experience is a wonderful thing. I reach down and get into a stretch as best I can. The crowd here is unbelievable. Everyone seems focussed on the stricken runner trying to get going again. I take a step or two out of my stretch and stiffen again. I'm so in the way of others on that tight bend. I stretched once more and somehow managed to get moving, the cheer that went up was fantastic. I shuffle into the stadium and onto the track holding back the emotions. I spot the clock and note 2.59 tick over. I was a minute or more behind the official clock so know I'm comfortably under 3 hrs. Relief and joy at getting over the line. A tough ending for sure but I live to fight another day. Slightly older and wiser once more for the experience.

Back at the hotel I showered, did some stretching and then felt much better. We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling around the city and enjoying some food and drinks. I even broke my 18 month abstinence from alcohol by having a couple of pints of Guinness watching the England Vs Fiji game.

Official splits:

SPLITS KM. TIME PACE CULM. TIME

5 km         00:20:22 04:04 00:20:22

10 km         00:20:22 04:04 00:40:44

15 km         00:20:41 04:08 01:01:25

20 km         00:20:36 04:07 01:22:01

21.097         00:04:30 04:06 01:26:31

25 km         00:20:38 04:08 01:42:39

30 km         00:20:31 04:06 02:03:10

35 km         00:21:01 04:12 02:24:11

40 km         00:22:25 04:29 02:46:36

42.195         00:11:06 05:03 02:57:42

 

Welsh Castles Relay 2022 - Stage 2

Returning to the Welsh Castles Relay for the first time since at least 2010 (results don't seem to have been added to powerof10.info) I felt good after a decent warm-up having teetered on the brink of panic about getting to the start of the stage in time. 

Conditions were decent but a strong breeze was evident. It wasn't too warm at the 11am start time. All the minor niggles and twinges I had felt during the week had disappeared thankfully. 

I set off with the first dozen runners who quickly split into a lead group and a chasing group. After the first km I was just off the back of the second group but knew I had to let them go. 

After another km or so I caught and passed 2 runners who tried to go with the second pack but were obviously at the red line early on.

From 3km onwards it was a solo effort. I could feel one of the 'passed' runners trying to stay with me but he fell back after another km. 

I was ticking along nicely and was getting a real boost from the intermittent marshal points including some familiar faces at 10k. In fact I had to settle down after the adrenaline rush of the cheers each time. 

The first 10k is run on a cycle path and once we came off this onto the roads the course got a little more lumpy. I didn't notice the small rises and falls but there was a couple of short, sharp climbs that curtailed my pace and I had to work hard to get back into stride once I crested the climbs. 

The finish was a fast downhill into Criccieth with a fantastic grass section and over the finish line. We were greeted by an enthusiastic crowd and met up with Jo and some club mates for a quick photo.  

I felt it was a good run and I felt strong which was a good confidence boost. 11th place overall and first of the Vet category teams to finish the stage. The next team was almost 4' back so got the team off to a great start. Unfortunately the team couldn't maintain this early momentum and we eventually finished 5th Vet team. I'm sure we can improve on this in 2023. 

Great Manchester Run 10km - 38:12 Official

I didn't get a proper warm-up in as met up with work colleagues. However, I did jog off away from the crowds for just over 1km so got a decent sweat on with a couple of surges to get the legs firing. 

I started near the front of the orange wave - maybe 10 secs to cross the timing mat as the gun went so no problems with crowding or getting into my stride early on. I tried to settle down as the race got under way but inevitably got swept along a little in first 2km. 

No discernable discomfort from recent niggles and in truth, I never once thought about them during the race. Breathing was good and I didn't feel I was working too hard during first 5km (18:43). 

There was a breeze which I thought might affect pace but actually had a good cooling effect as it started to get warm after halfway. We turned around at Old Trafford and I tried to stick with one or two others as I continued to pass quite a few who were going backwards as the temperature increased quite dramatically - the 11:30am start catching a lot of runners out. 

Into the final few km and I was working hard now, breathing rate had increased and sweat was pouring off me as the earlier cooling breeze had dropped. I managed to keep things going and as the 800m, then 400m signs appeared I got a bit of a move on to cross the line in 38:12 (second 5km 19:29). 

Not perfect then but I feel a combination of maybe a bit too quick early on and the warm second half cost me a sub 38min finish time. Plenty of room for improvement over the coming weeks in prep for Chester Marathon in early October.  

Manchester Marathon 2022

TL;DR - 3hr13'39" - 1:37:55 half split 1:35:44 second half

Headed out just before 7am to catch the first tram of the day. Met another runner at the stop who was not familiar with the ticketing system so lent some knowledge to aid him. We ended up chatting most of the ride into the city centre and onto our connection station at Cornbrook. Inevitably the chat turned to shoes - he was premiering in a pair of Nike Next%. I think he ran well looking at the results afterwards. 

Straightforward arrival into the start zone at Old Trafford and took the opportunity to have a final pee using the cricket stand toilets. No problems. Had a quick meander around the start but decided to grab a seat at one of the many picnic tables and chill. I gradually started to take off layers in prep for the bag drop which was easy at that early start time. 

Started off super cautious, but in truth I was inside 3hr20' pace from the off. I felt super comfortable and controlled throughout the early km's so kept the ~4'30" / km rolling nicely. Crowds were great at the start but thinned out a little nr Whalley Range/Withington Rd which are residential and it was an early Sunday morning afterall. One guy seemed to be up for annoying his neighbours and might have been in a dispute with one of them as he has his hi-fi speakers pumping out tunes from his flat. Brave lad round those parts. 

As we approached the city centre section the crowds picked up and running out and back along Deansgate was superb. Lots of people cheering loudly and making it feel like the big event it is renowned for. I heard a good few shouts for the Sale vest along here and also as I head back out of the city along the A56 towards the start area once more. 

The little loop out towards Trafford Wharf was again fairly quiet but passed by easily. Still feeling great at this point and confidence was building I had settled into a good rhythm. Of course a marathon is a long way and I was very mindful the lack of training would surely show later in the race. 

Passing through Stretford I knew I was approaching home territory and felt really good to be running once again after the injury layoff . Lots more positivity from the 'home crowd' as I approached Sale. Under the M60 and onto Cross St passing Crossford Bridge the crowds were brilliant and lots of familiar faces cheering and shouting encouragement. It really is great running through Sale wearing a Sale Harriers vest. You feel like a bit of a star for those few minutes. An extra spring in the step is unavoidable and riding the crest of the wave very intoxicating. I did remember to ease back down once I had passed by anyone I knew so not to get carried away. Very important. It's still a bloody long way to the finish and at this point the half marathon is still a good few km's away. 

Turning left onto Park Rd nr West Timperley takes you towards Timperley itself. Lots of vocal support once again and passing the halfway point in around 1hr37' I felt good and well under my initial conservative estimated time of sub 3hr20'. I realise I haven't mentioned my nutrition yet; I drank a couple of mouthfuls of water at each station and took my energy gels at 8km intervals as I have done in the past. It was quite a cool morning so no need to pay too close attention to taking on lots of water. 

We turn right onto Stockport Rd just before Timperley and head down to the A560 which is the other out and back section of the course where you pass other runners either up ahead or behind you depending where you are in the race at that time. Lots of the faster runners were going well at this point and I saw a club mate going very well as we exchanged motivational shouts to one another and I realised he was going very well to already be through Altrincham and heading for the finish. 

I'm still going well and nothing is feeling bad, breathing fine, ankle fine and legs in general fine as we approached Altrincham. I realised as I approached Alty that we were running it in the opposite direction to which I had run the route in the past. There is a small hill to deal with in either direction so it made no difference. I did get a minor stomach stitch around this point which felt uncomfortable but soon passed after some initial pressure applied to the area.

Out of Alty and heading towards Brooklands Rd. A road I know very well from training sessions in and around the Sale area over the years. Another chance to bask in the glory of wearing the red, white and green vest! Superb support once more and familiar faces returning from other vantage points to continue their excellent support. I also clocked some faces I hadn't see in years also calling out my name. Awesome.

I was passed by a club mate who started a wave back from me who was targeting sub 3hr at around 30k. He was slightly off his target pace but I encouraged him to stick at it and save some energy for a push towards the end if he still had anything left. 

Turning onto Marsland Rd and then Derbyshire Rd we eventually get back onto the A56/Cross St and the final 7km to the finish back at Old Trafford. As we exited Sale once again the support I received was brilliant and the confidence was really growing now.

By now of course I was working hard but the pace remained consistent and even. I saw my clubmate who passed me at 30k up ahead who seemed to be coming back to me. Realising he was going through a bad patch I picked my pace up to try and join him and potentially help him though this period of the race. I did notice one or two minor twinges of my right calf but proceeded to catch him quite quickly. 

After joining him at 36k I immediately moved in front of him and told him to follow me. I hoped he would latch on to me and we could get him moving as we neared the finish line. He breathlessly called out to say he was struggling and for me to keep the pace steady for the next couple of km's. I had been working hard to bridge the gap so sitting in was also in my best interests. 

We continued along the A56 passing under the M60 once more with the blaring techno house from an impressively large sound system echoing beneath the motorway underpass. My clubmate would regain some strength and move past me once more around 39k. He would miss his target by a couple of minutes but lives to fight another day. 

The route heads briefly towards Chorlton before turning onto Manchester Rd and then Seymour Grove once again where I was surprised to see another clunmate running alongside the road cheering on her parnter who was just ahead of me. She also cheered loudly as I passed by and I knew the end was close by now. My pace had slowed a touch after the exertions to bridge the gap to my clubmate. It was also inevitable I would slow at some point because of the lack of training. 

My calf muscles were both now twitcy and threatening to spasm so I kept trying to relax and be smooth. As I turned the final turn onto Talbot Rd with the finish line in sight I was forced to briefly stop for ~10 seconds at 42k to stretch out my right calf. A quick stretch was all that was required and I slowly got back into my stride for the final few hundred metres. 

I crossed the line feeling pretty good and not too badly beaten up at all which is fair considering this result was quite a lot slower than my best. Overall I was very happy as my ankle behaved and I proved that my aerobic engine isn't too diminished from the 5 month layoff. Great to be back out there. 

Week 26

M. 10k am, 6k pm 

T. 16k Session 7x 2'30" + 60secs off 90secs 

Felt pretty strong in humid conditions.

W. 24k MLR ran along the canal to keep it simple. Felt pretty tired but got it done. 

T. 6k super easy. Running late as had physio.

F. 21k steady. Ran in Saucony Speeds to test them over longer distance. Felt good when up on toes. 

S. 13k easy

S. 29k long run. Easy 10k then 16k @mararhon effort. 4:10/km avg so 2.56 pace. No HR data as forgot strap.

77.6k for week. Tough week with tough session in the long run. Got it done and ankle holding up. Need to do some active work to strengthen things on left side. 

Round The Resers 2021

Annual Round The Reser local 8km race (300 runners). A good turn out from our club as the organiser is a club stalwart. It's a two lap course but slightly altered this year to ensure maximum covid safety, this meant twice up that stinker of a climb. It's short but sharp, especially second time round. 

We set off in small waves based on 5k times. Having not run a 5k for years I didn't know where to position myself. As it turned out there was maybe only 20 people ahead of me so we all started in the first wave. The small numbers basically meant we were running in small groups (6 max). 

I was with the front of our B group guys who are all younger than me. We got up the first climb easily enough on lap 1 and pushed on through 3km. The group began to split apart after that and another club runner came along with me. We ran strongly through 4-5km until the second lap and the hill again. We trudged up this but it took me at least 30 seconds to slowly recover. Unsurprisingly everyone said they died on the hill second time around during the post race chatter.

Me and my 'companion' got going again and he took a couple of meters out of me up to 6.5k. However the switch-back path decent allowed me to catch up, pull alongside and then pull away from him decisively. 

As my watch lapped 7km I focussed on speed and leg turnover. I also used another runner ahead who was slowing before a sharp left then right kink onto the bridge towards the finish line.

30.13 and 16th overall. 

On a flat course that's sub 30mins I reckon. Very pleased with that. My first race since York marathon 2019. 

I also tagged on an extended warm-up/warm-down which included another big hill back to the car for approx 21km for the day.

Fartlek sessions

Interesting blog post about Kenyan fartlek sessions: fartlek session examples

Some ideas which I will look to incorporate into some sessions specifically for marathon training. 

Progression Long Run

24.3km progression run with Matt S. Conditions good. Cloud cover, nice breeze but warmed up towards the end. 

Started out easy at 5:00min/km and picked it up to finish strong at 4:02min/km. Ankle was a little uncomfortable at times but no pain. 

Aches a little this afternoon. 

Ran the wrong week too. Should have been running week 2 of schedule. Idiot. 

Sleep last night: 11:30pm - 7am

10k easy run this afternoon listening to the latest batting collapse. Activations worked again as ankle was free at the start of the run but got a little sore towards the end which is the opposite of what has bee  happening. I dont think I'm past this one just yet. Easy miles tomorrow with company. 

0130 - 0830 7 hrs sleep. Slept well, woke up once or twice.

0915 - 75.5kg