2010.10 - Golden Indian Summer with Marathon

Who has thought that blue & sunny sky with temperatures up to +17C are possible @ 50* 8' N 8* 40' E until mid-November ?

Those who did were right this year.

The display of the colors was breathtaking.

I was surely glad. It was much more enjoyable to run 5 hours 13 minutes 12 seconds in the sun than in fog and rain.
That's how long it took me to conquer the official marathon distance of 42kms 195 mtrs.

The idea to try came to me a week before the race.

For a week I buried myself into runners' magazines and marathon internet sites, trying to avoid all the typical mistakes of a first-time-marathon-runner.

I did pretty well.

The one thing I would do differently next time is taking a longer training time than a week.

I loved the Bib Nr I got. "2486" - we tried to think of all the possible equations you could build with these digits & came up with a long list - like 2+4=6, 2+6=8, 2x4=8, 6x4=24, 6x8=48, 8:4=2, etc.

It was quite a thrilling experience to be one of 13.000 who decided to tackle the distance that day.

The dark blue rain clouds not visible on this picture made many of us wear the rain cloak.

Luckily we never got to use it - I threw it away before the race.




A last hug before my big adventure with my most enthusiastic cheering buddies.

The beginning ... at about 3-4 km ...

... and towards the end ... ca. 40 km.



And the finisher photo with the end time.











Some notes to my first marathon:

• My goal was to finish, possibly between 5-6 hours.
• I expected me to walk a lot more than I actually did - the sheer fact of always having other runners around you makes you want to move on instead of falling behind.
• I forced myself to have breakfast, ate two marmelade toasts without butter despite of no hunger due to being nervous, drank one glass of juice for breakfast, more water on route to the race.
• I followed the recommendations of the runners' magazines and underdressed for the weather - Tshirt and shorts seemed chilly before the start but was just perfect during the race. I even got a little sunburn in the face.
  
• The first 10k was easy due to the thrill and adrenaline that carried us.
• I had some worries how I will be able to find my pace if so many run faster, slower around me - it was no problem at all. Within the first 15 minutes I settled at a comfortable pace with plenty of others running at the same speed.
• Somewhere around 5km Norbert and the girls waved at me from the road side - I found that pretty amazing considering the chances of seeing and hearing each other among 13.000 runners plus audience.
  
• At 10k they set up the first station of refreshments - I didn't really feel the need to drink but thought better of it and took a cup as a reward to get this far.
  
• The stretch between 10k and 20k was also OK. I missed the live bands which produced great music for the audience and the runners. Everytime I passed one - especially the drummers - I felt like flying over the ground with their rhythm.
• After 10k the refreshment stations were set up every 5km. They gained a reward status in my eyes. It was easier to motivate myself to cover the next 5kilometers rather than think of the distance I already left behind or still had ahead of me.
  
• I drank 1-2 cups of water and took a piece of banana at each station. I found them delicious. Considering how much I actually drank and ate I was astonished that I did not have to use the toilette during the race or for a while after it. Obviously, the marathon requires a lot more fluid than I thought.
  
• At km 20 and 35 I had a squeeze - felt no real difference but all the magazines recommended to use them along with lots of fluid - so I did.
• My calves started to get cramps at 20k and got worse gradually till the end. They worked on the verge of pulling together all the time and when they suddenly did, I had to stop and did some stretching.
• Nevertheless, before this phase my weakness was rather mental than physical. My mind convinced my legs they needed a little break, a little walk and I took some between 10k and 20k although I could have got along without them. After 20k it was different.
  
• I needed to walk a lot between 20 and 30k, trying to find the best way to cope with the pain in the calves. A girl my age encouraged me to go along while passing by, I did and we ran together a couple of kms, helping each other when the other one wanted to stop.
• 30km was back in the heart of the city with more people to cheer and music again - there was just no way to walk past these people. Every runner, no matter how tired or how much in pain started to run more and faster again - me too. We started to get the victorious feeling that Finish was possible and within reach. The Coke they offered from this point was also helping a lot. Felt like party time.
  
• The other reason why I started to resist the need to stop was due to experience. Whenever I took a little walk, right after that the first couple of meters running turned out to be very painful - I am not sure why but running on proved to be less painful than stopping and starting again.
• 40k - adrenaline kicked in again - the last 2 kilometers felt like the first 2. An overwhelming pride and joy filled me. Norbert and the girls positioned themselves right before the Finish Line. It was so good to see them.
• I made a promise to myself to run a marathon in my life long time ago - probably over 20 years ago - I finally felt satisfied and at peace in this respect - it was an extraordinary feat and experience !
  
• Right after the race I walked around - did a lot of stretching - and apart from overtired calves could detect no real pain - not even my hips which I was afraid of before the race. So I was astonished of the intensity of the muscle pain which rushed in right after I got out of the car at home. First of all I could hardly get out and felt dizzy. No more walking up or down the stairs. I crawled up and lied in a hot bath for an hour, then crawled out, to the dining table and into bed.
• The next 2 days were just simply sore. Especially the night after the marathon. Standing still was painless but anything else hurt a lot. I guess this was the price I paid for not preparing properly.
  
• The day after my right foot on the outside, between little toe and heel got very sore - felt like in a constant cramp - but only when I walked - it made me limp. Since it did not hurt without weight on it, I figured it must have come from the fact that I rolled over my foot during the marathon differently due to the cramps in my calves. I was right - it took 1 and a half weeks but the last sores of the race finally disappered.
• Will I run again - I am more careful now with the promises I make to myself. I do not know yet - maybe. If - then appropriate preparation to avoid sore muscles.
  
• A friend who ran the marathon already three times congratulated me with this saying - "Cheer up my friend. The Pain will leave, the Pride will stay." - And so it is.

The fastest runners at my first marathon were:
Man: Wilson Kipsang from Kenya - 02:04:57
Woman: Caroline Kilel from Kenya - 02:23:25

I also found interesting that among the women the 10th and 15th place belonged to Hungarians.