Slices of Big Apple

The moment of truth is on the horizon. I was fortunate enough to be selected in the race lottery drawing. Now, The New York City Marathon is only three weeks away. Not exactly plenty of time. To be frank, I have mixed emotions. It's definitely going to be a thrilling experience, like Dubai was. I haven't been to NYC in more than seven years, so I'm in for a treat as I return to this extraordinary metropolis, the busiest "beehive" of all. The other side of the coin is the uncertainty that is lingering until then. You can never be sure if your preparation was good enough until you're actually taken to the test, you have to be in it to know it - plain and simple.

When I sign up for a marathon - this one being number three - I have a specific goal in mind. I have a competitive personality. For some people, it's enough to be part of it, to enjoy the experience. Undoubtedly, New York is the perfect choice for an experience of a lifetime. Others, including me, go for it with a time goal, with the intention to set a new personal record. That doesn't mean it's going to be less of a great ride. I enjoy the challenge, challenging myself. I find it interesting to see how far I can go in the marathon, what can a software engineer who hadn't been involved in any kind of sports before 2007 accomplish with determination and the right level of training?

Throughout the last three weeks, I had a chance to taste two slices of Big Apple. The Wachau Marathon 10k race represented one of the two test races that are part of my marathon build-up. Test races allow you to objectively determine your current status in training. Is the marathon goal realistic or does it have to be adjusted based on the test race outcome?
I'm not a particular fan of 10k's, race pace is usually only slightly slower than your 1k interval pace. You're in a constant struggle to maintain the target pace if you go for the maximum. As you move up to the half-marathon and marathon, the pace becomes more moderate, relatively "comfortable" for most of the race. I felt great in the last interval session before the race (3:54/3:46/3:53/3:52/3:55min/k). While I still have respect for anything near 4:00min/k, I find it much more manageable now.


With around 3 kilometers of warmup, including short sprints at race pace, I entered the race. My goal was to stay as close to 4:00min/k as possible. Unsurprisingly, that was relatively easy througout the first 2k but became considerable harder thereafter. In contrast to the Linz marathon build-up, the comfort faded with the 2k mark and never returned except for some short periods during the race. In that race (00:45:03 in April), the race pace of 4:30min/k was comfortable for around 8k, I even had enough reserves to accelerate during the last kilometer. Three week ago, the race was much more difficult. I completed the 10k in 00:41:59, which is a new personal record. The absolute maximum, I could not have gone further. A fast finish was impossible, I was glad to have completed the race. In retrospect, I think that I started out too fast and therefore suffered quite early and throughout the race. I had a goal in mind that was too ambitious, a goal that was beyond the required time for my marathon target. The race relentlessly reminded me of my current capabilities and, most importantly, provided me with a pretty accurate indicator for other distances. With an average pace of 4:11min/k, I'm still satisfied with the outcome. It's roughly in line with my marathon goal and, after all, a considerable improvement (00:03:04) over the last PR after only 6 months.


Last week was even more crucial. I particiated in the Bad Ischl Kaiserlauf, a half-marathon. Unfortunately, I was not up to my game due to a cold I had developed some days before the event. It was a difficult decision, but I eventually decided to take part while not pushing for the maximum. The higher than usual heart rate indicated that there was no way to go for the required goal pace. Instead, I settled for running solely pulse-guided, without monitoring the pace. Despite my handicap, I felt surprisingly good all the way to the finish line, I even managed to accelerate in the last 4 kilometers and sprint to the finish to complete the half in less than 1:35, the result was 1:34:26, a new PR (01:40:50 in April; -00:06:24). I many ways, this was the best and worst race of my life. I was forced to hold back to be on the safe side, yet I've never experienced a more comfortable half-marathon race. So, all I take away from Bad Ischl is confidence. A half has never been that easy and enjoyable for me. Plus, I learned that running pulse-guided can lead to unexpectedly good results because you never exceed heart rate thresholds while trying to maintain a specific pace - instead, you account for the course and your current condition and automatically run at optimal pace for the current cardiovascular effort. In perfect condition, 1:32 should have been possible, I guess. Of course, I won't repeat the test race to find out. I walk away knowing that I would have had the capacity to finish faster and run a longer distance.

In any case, this is not the time to rest - yet. NYC is coming, a mere three weeks remain! With 1,032k worth of training in the pocket, I will now head out for the last major long run before entering long run taper mode and reducing the mileage total after next week. I am not yet where I need to be but I'm confident that the final sharpening period will enable me to aim for a precision landing on November 1st.

From Dubai to Linz in 2:40

2 minutes and 40 seconds. That's what the Linz Marathon 2009 had in store for me. In every race I participate in, I am determined to "travel" as far as possible, I cross the start line with the intention to shorten the distance. This time around - the second one, to be exact - I was lucky enough to keep moving in the right direction, towards a new personal best. 3 hours, 56 minutes and 7 seconds after the gun, I beat my Dubai performance by 160 seconds. While that certainly means I'm getting closer, I was left wanting more, going even further than that. However, it was not meant to be on May 17, it just wasn't.

There are tons of things that can go wrong when it comes to a marathon. First, there's the training. Injury, illness, plenty of reasons come to mind. My training was fine. While I missed some sessions due to a brief cold and my work hours, I completed around 600k worth of long runs, tempos, intervals, and recovery runs. Significantly more than Dubai, a solid foundation for a good outcome. To make sure I could do better the second time around, I incorporated more intense speedwork. I've never been a particularly fast runner but I did notice that the Dubai training helped in this regard. The 3:29 plan I based my training on suggested a relatively moderate interval pace that was very manageable at the time, so I borrowed most of the intervals from a 3:15 plan. I'm quite sure that this move enabled me to complete two test races that were part of Linz Marathon training in time. The results: a new 10k PR of 00:45:03 as well as a new 21.0975k PR of 01:40:50. Before Dubai (00:47:23 and 01:53:10), these would never have been possible. Consequently, I walked away from these test races with confidence for race day. The last long run of 34k with 10k at race pace was also going as planned although the course was a little more challenging than I anticipated - I was in Redmond, WA at that time and decided to run around Lake Sammamish. Nice landscape, unusually warm and friendly weather for the pacific northwest, and an all other than flat course. I could only gain confidence from that one, it was a successful marathon simulation. I wonder if it was the unknown territory that helped making it an easier and more enjoyable run. The new scenery definitely made things more interesting, it definitely was a refreshing variety...

A good training experience. In fact, the test race times translated to a theoretical maximum of around 3:30 for the marathon. Nothing more to ask for. Reducing the training volume is where you could go wrong next. Fortunately, I had a good plan that included an adequate tapering phase. After the last 24k run, I was slightly worried because recovery was progressing at a lower than usual rate. My legs did not feel fresh at all, not even after two days of rest. Whenever that happens (typically right after a hard run), an ice bath comes to rescue. Exposing your legs to ice-cold water (the coldest possible water a bathtub can offer, no extra ice required) for around 15 to 20 minutes can be an easy fix, even if not applied directly after a workout. The first few times, it was quite a struggle - I'm certainly not a fan of cold. Several sessions and highly uncomfortable minutes involving swear words, it's only the initial psychological hurdle that you have to overcome to get through the ice bath experience.
The last few days, it was all about an appropriate diet. Counting on the tried and tested Dubai carboloading routine, that was nothing to worry about.

Race day. For a marathon in May, there's a good chance of warm temperatures and a clear sky. The day before race day, things were looking good: partly cloudy, mild rain, perfect conditions overall. On Sunday, however, the weather completely turned around. At 8:00am, 30 minutes before the start, it was quite warm already. The sun was strong, not a single cloud was there to block it. My goal was 3:29. Even before the start, that was melting to a more reasonable 3:40 in my mind. Would that be enough to compensate for these conditions? I wasn't sure, my intention was to decide on the go.

The gun sounded and the masses slowly started to move towards and across the start line. As always, many of them started way too fast. I tried to maintain a pace of around 5:10min/km, not a real challenge. I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was for me to stay there, all the tapering, carboloading, and rest make a huge difference. 4:57min/km would have been impossible though, it was too hot. The Linz Marathon course turned out to be harder than I imagined. It is said to be a fast course, it might actually be compared to other city marathons - the course record is 2:07:33 - but compared to Dubai, every other marathon course loses, plain and simple. I mean, there's no way to make a dead-flat course that essentially directs runners from A to B and back in a straight line any easier. Hence, the switch from a course that was optimized for a world record attempt to an "ordinary" marathon course did take its toll - I suspected that already.



My new fueling strategy was to consume 1/3 of a gel pack every 5 kilometers with around 100ml of water (tested during my marathon simulation in Redmond). It did take some effort to handle the gels while running (opening them, putting them back) but it seemed to work energy-wise. The first half was rather uneventful, I was feeling fine. I even thought that the warmth was not much of an issue. 1:48:42, a 5:09min/km average, right on time for 3:40. Status green.
Throughout the next few kilometers, maintaining the pace became more and more difficult. When I checked my heart rate, it hit me. 199 bpm. What an unpleasant surprise, I certainly was not feeling the full extent of that load. At that point, I knew that I had to slow down immediately to avoid a disaster. My max HR was 204 based on available data, I had to take action to avoid a breakdown - the last thing I wanted was dropping out. No, not a DNF, that can't happen. Not today! Beginning from 23k, my pace average was around 5:25min/km. The biggest issue was direct sunlight, it was relentless. Whenever I exited a shady and cool passage, the rays hit me with full force. Continuing started to require hard work, thoughts of stopping came through my mind. "Stop!". I tried to fight them but that day, I was not entirely successful. Eventually, I was forced to give in and resort to walking for short periods, several times during the last 10k. I was seriously disappointed. Looking at the heart rate data though, it was clear that it was what it took to make it to the finish line. The pulse did not go down, slightly slower paces did not really affect it anymore. A more radical approach was required. Walking. Even walking was hard under these circumstances. My survival strategy was to take walking breaks for aid stations and consume more than planned.

At some point during the last 5k, the 3:45 pacemaker passed by. I managed to leave the 3:45 group behind throughout the last 3 hours. I had to let them go. "Maximum effort for the last 5k, hang on to them!", I thought. I desperately wanted to follow their lead, I simply could not. I was unable to act, couldn't go beyond jogging. A fact that was hard to accept.

The last kilometers weren't any easier, I struggled all the way to the finish line. I knew that I had lost too much time with my lower than 5:10min/km pace and walking breaks, all I wanted at that point was finishing in a time below my debut. I did not want to run a marathon without setting a PR. No performance regression, please! For the last two kilometers, more and more spectators appeared. As we approached the finish, I did what I had to do, what I did in Dubai. I accelerated!



Only 500 meters. The pain didn't matter anymore, I didn't feel the pace, speeding up was easy all of a sudden. Hauptplatz Linz was approaching. Running towards the finish at Hauptplatz was fantastic, people left and right, cheering and screaming names. There it was. I did it again! I actually crossed the finish line, after 3:56:07, with a pulse of 208 bpm. It was all over... I didn't care about the time, did not stop the clock on my watch, all I wanted was to get out the sun and rest for some minutes. I received my hard-earned medal, grabbed a sports drink and proceeded to the finish area for marathoners. Rest in the shadow, finally.



It certainly was an extreme experience! Dubai was hard, extraordinarily difficult. Not because of the weather - not an issue - but the marathon challenge in itself. In Dubai, I managed to maintain my goal pace all the way to the finish line. In Linz, I had to give in, the warm weather and direct sunlight practically destroyed me, ending the second half in a mere 2:07:25 (6:02min/km average). Despite all that, I still finished 2:40min ahead of Dubai. Recovery was fast, I kicked it off with an ice bath right after the event. The next day, my legs were fine. I could even take the stairs without problems. Besides the ice bath routine, my theory is that the considerably slower second half helped quite a bit.

The positive? The valuable experience of a hot weather marathon and a new 42.195k PR. Still, I'm not entirely satisfied. I didn't get a chance to go for 3:29, which should have been possible based on my current 10k and half PRs, had the conditions been different. I'm left wanting more, what I need is another chance! Sure enough, I already have a NYCe plan...

The third one's the charm

That's the old saying. If so, what about the second? Now, I don't know what you associate with that, I'm thinking of the most challenging event there is for a runner who's not in the ultra category: the king of the distance, the marathon - what else.

As a newbie who successfully completed his marathon debut in Dubai in late January, I was asking myself: What's next? When is the next one going to be? The marathon was a painful experience for sure, painful in the sense that I had to fight against myself to keep going during the last 10k. It was not some sort of strong physical pain that I was going through but my mind signaled quite convincingly that it was high time to stop by broadcasting the feeling of fatigue. While it was hard, I knew all along that Dubai certainly wasn't going to be my last one - no surprises there - I even registered for Berlin 2009 while I was still in the UAE. That's a different story though...

I wanted my next challenge to happen as rapidly as possible. I finally had the proof that a marathon was not out of reach for me. The Linz Marathon in May turned out to be a good opportunity for a follow-up, the next mission to complete. Soon enough to satisfy my desire to go again, yet plenty of weeks away to allow for improving my running shape. The gun will go off on May 17, in around one week. I've been in training for quite some time now, mileage already exceeded that of my debut - 567k vs. 416k. Things are looking good, but I still find myself asking what to expect from marathon #2. As you go beyond that, #3, #10, #20, things are most likely getting easier... Not the marathon in itself, but the journey. You know you can handle the distance, you have more "data" to optimize your preparation and your race day performance. You can learn from experience. What about #2, where you only have a single event to derive experience from?

The second certainly has the potential to get you back on earth, set your goals straight. After #1, I was full of confidence, ready to go for a PR in the next race. 3:45. No question. 3:30. Sure. 3:15. Hey, why the hell not! Could that confirm my hypothesis right there? My claim that the second might actually be considerably more difficult than the first one, even though you don't have to race through the same road of darkness again? You might think you know it all as you've done it once before and could therefore be tempted to set a very, ridiculously unrealistic goal. In most cases, training should take care of that by having you fail in test races or hard and long workouts, giving you a chance to adjust your goals for the actual race. I actually lowered my expectations from an unrealistic 3:15 to a sane 3:29 after having completed my 10k and 21k test races in a time that's in line with the new target. Looking back, that's an excellent improvement already that should translate to a high level of confidence for Sunday. Still, some degree of uncertainty remains that I find very discomforting...