Notes
I was delighted with this race, it felt well executed and well earned. Conditions were nearly very good - cool, overcast and just a little rain for the first couple of miles - but throughout the race there was a strong wind, and for a couple of particular stretches of road, it was a nightmarish headwind which definitely cost me some time.
The event was very well organised. Small, cheap, low-tech and friendly. I picked up my bib at 8:00AM and went back to the hotel to get ready. The race started at 9:30AM. My aunt and uncle came over from the Isle of Skye to meet up for dinner the previous evening and they were super helpful before and after the race.
A lot of the race is a blur. Here's what I can recall:
- I lined up a few rows back. I noticed a guy in a t-shirt from a race in Texas talking to his friend about aiming for a sub 2:50, so I made a note not to go out at the same pace as he did. I set off in as controlled a manner as I could. After quarter of a mile the Garmin said I was hitting 6:11 pace - it felt like an easy jog. Race day magic was happening today! There was a pack of about 20 behind the lead runners and I deliberately fell off the back of it in an attempt to get down to around 6:50 - 7:00 pace. The first 2-3 miles were undulating but gradually climbing, and I was happy to lose some time early on if it meant a gentle start to the race. I'd been thinking about the coaching advice handed out in the book Running With The Buffaloes - 'Calm mind. Outcool the opposition' and was determined not to screw this race up by going out too fast.
- After maybe 2-3 miles we were well out of town and running through pine forests. I had overtaken a pair of runners in yellow Metro Aberdeen singlets and one of them fell in behind me and stayed there for several miles. His feet slapped the floor hard with every step but it wasn't hard to resist the temptation to try and leave him behind. I was focused on running my own race. Through this section, which encompassed some long downhills, I made up the time lost on the initial climbs and just tried to keep things feeling easy. In fact it felt so easy that I had ridiculous thoughts, like what an anti-climax it would be if I still felt like I was just jogging at the end, having run sub-3. Ha. Slappy-feet guy eventually went past me and joined a couple of others. I ended up 100 yards or so behind that little group for a long, long way.
- During my last marathon I forced myself to focus totally on each mile and not even contemplate the finish until I was beyond 20 miles. This time I felt more relaxed about completing the distance and could hardly avoid counting down the miles - the mile markers counted down, so that after 385 yards you see a '26 miles to go' sign, and so on. This made the clock math a lot easier, as did my bhearn-style pace band.
- Some of the countryside was beautiful, in an empty, rugged way. It reminded me of the US. After 6 or 7 miles, I could still see the lead car down the road ahead, which says more about how open the terrain was, and how straight some of the roads were, than how close I was to the leaders.
- Around 10 miles we hit the coast and for around 8 miles the wind was at our backs. Of course, it felt like there was no wind at all, but I guess it was gently pushing me along. I had identified this section as the place to really settle into the work - it wouldn't feel super easy any more, but nor should it be tremendously difficult. At the half way point I was about 30 seconds ahead of schedule. I tried to stay relaxed and work through each mile, counting them down. With about 12 to go, the half marathoners joined for the rest of the marathon route and quite a few came past me. One gave me some encouraging words. I wondered if he'd checked my bib, or whether he thought I was in the half marathon with him, but had blown up early and was going backwards through the field.
- At 19 miles the course enters the coastal town of Lossiemouth and turns back on itself. My aunt and uncle surprised me by waiting for me there - I wans't expecting to see them until the finish - and giving me some encouragement. I was about to need it; the next mile was directly into the wind and up a gradual hill. The wind was seriously howling down the road at us and I'll admit trying to shelter behind a couple of half marathon ladies until I realised they were struggling even more than I was. I was running something like 7:30 pace up that hill, though it felt like I was hardly making forward progress at all. Over the summit, we took a sharp left into some woods and immediately it felt much, much easier. Such a relief. I was back in the 6:40s and feeling good again, though it felt like my legs were getting tired and were close to being done for the day. I enjoyed this section a lot - flat, no wind and winding through a beautiful pine forest. My aunt and uncle came past and got a few drive-by photos which made me smile. I was really focused on counting down the last few miles now, and was becoming aware that I was over a minute ahead of sub-3 schedule.
- 5 miles from the finish my right knee began to hurt a lot - a sharp, stabbing pain with every step. I honestly couldn't have cared less. If I injured myself today, that was OK - I don't have to run again for a long time. Calm mind. It eventually dulled and become easier to ignore.
- With three miles to go the course was gently downhill and still sheltered from the wind. Runner were beginning to come back to me and I picked it up a bit down the hill to reel them in. That was about a 6:30 mile and I was excited to push on to the finish. I recall thinking that, to my surprise, I was really enjoying this - really enjoying running, and really enjoying a marathon. Shortly afterwards I caught up with the pack of three that I'd been sitting behind all this time. I took a modicum of pleasure in blowing past slappy-feet guy; he was slowing down. I also passed the half marathoner who'd offered encouragement several miles back when he went past me. I thought I might be able to get close to a 2:58 at this point.
- The penultimate mile was really rough. The road was a gradual incline and again straight into a very strong wind. I felt like I lost a lot of time - this was over a 7-minute mile and I was working a lot harder than the previous mile. It felt cruel to have to put in such an effort just to keep plodding forward at this point in the race. I overtook a couple more people on this stretch, who were obviously finding it just as difficult. Along with mile 19-20 this was the most difficult point in the race.
- Once I turned into the town of Elgin with about a mile to go, the wind was no longer an issue - the course was a lot more sheltered. I started to really push for home, thinking about how hard I'd had to run the last mile, just to stay near goal pace. At the 1-mile-to-go point I realised I'd have to run about a 6:20 last mile in order to break 2:58 and figured that wasn't going to happen. I did want to finish as strongly as possible though, and tried to make the most of the downhill run into town. With half a mile left I passed the runner in the Texas t-shirt; no sub-2:50 for him I guess. Entering the park with about 400m to go some guy in jeans and a sweatshirt ran out on to the course a few yards ahead of me and was running fast down the course towards the finish. I figured he was trying to get to the finish area in time to meet someone, but for some reason having a random guy in jeans running a couple of yards ahead of me over the last few hundred meters was really irritating. I remember thinking that he was running pretty fast, which meant I must be running pretty fast, which was good, right? But - so annoying. I was probably unravelling a bit at this point and I probably shouldn't have clipped him as I turn the corner onto the finishing straight. Stars before my eyes now and all out for the line. I passed a guy with 50m to go and see another approaching the line, but moving really slowly - I think I can get him. I pass him a couple of yards before the line and I'm done - 2:57:48 on my watch. 6:09 for the last mile. What just happened? That's a lot faster than I finished a 10K a couple of weeks ago, and by far my fastest mile of the day. And it felt good - not easy, but really good.
- My aunt and uncle were right there, full of congratulations and handing me clothes and drinks and food to eat. So great to have that support and see friendly faces at the finish. We walked over to the car, a 2 minute drive back to the hotel and we agreed I'd have a quick shower and meet them in the bar for lunch. I got into my room, closed the door behind me and couldn't quite hold back a couple of tears. Done.