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 It was either that or the general fatigue in my legs from all the walking superseded any stiffness in the knee.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