10km at 7:15
10-32km at target London Race Pace of 6:30 min miling
10km at 7:15
So, having not run a flat marathon since November 2013, I decided to include Seville as part of my London preparations. While this may seem barmy to some, I've always performed better with longer 22+ mile runs as part of my training, and a couple of non running club buddies (Matt and Rob) had entered - and what better way to get some winter sun in than by racing in one of the flattest marathons in Europe??
While racing Wokingham 2 weeks previously had given me a lot of confidence, it had also taken a lot out of me. I had tapered for that, had to recover for a week, then taper for Seville, so not really ideally prep for a Marathon. But then this was a training run. I had to keep telling myself that!
So while I felt in great shape, I still felt a little under cooked for the marathon - training had been going well, but I hadn't reached the longer tempo runs as yet, so had to consider that in my race planning. London was still 9 weeks away, so I wanted to ensure racing here wouldn't completely spoil my preparation.
The longest marathon pace run I had done in training was 10 miles (done as a 6 mile easy, 10 mile race pace, 2 mile easy), so decided to step it up from that.
The first 10km at a comfortable pace (7:15 min miling) then hit it hard for 14 miles (6:30's) before cruising in at 7:15 min miling for the rest of it. This would be enough to get me under 3, but without killing myself in the process.
The Race
Seville is known for being fast, and I positioned myself at the back of the 2:45-3:00 pen. As I was starting conservatively, runners went streaming past me, being overtaken by runners from the pen behind. I enjoyed holding back, though perhaps running at 7:00 instead of 7:15 was a shade quick. It did, however, feel extremely easy.
The course was fantastic, starting just outside the Olympic Stadium,with the first 10km going out along the river, and back the other side. At this point the field was beginning to thin.
At 10km (passed in 44 dead) I dropped the hammer immediately settling into 6:30 miling. It felt great. The hundreds of runners that went past me at the beginning were already slowing, and I was flying past them. I could see the sub 3 her pacer balloons - huge blue ones that you could spot from miles off! I eventually reeled them in at 10 miles, but struggled to actually get past them, such was the size of the group!
It slowed my pace a little (a 6:36 over the mile I was with them), but enjoyed picking up the pace again once I eventually manoeuvred myself through the group.
I went through the half way stage in 1:28:30, and pressed on. By mile 16 I wasn't overtaking so many runners, and had my first battle - I was beginning to flag. I've been psychologically weak in the past, giving up at the first sign of pain, so at this point had to consider my options - my initial target was to get up to 20 miles at target pace, then cruise in - don't think about the 26, think about the 20. Then make a decision. So I secided to press on.
Miles 18, 19 and 20 were a little slower (6:40), and to reach that point was a relief. I went through 20 at 2:14:30, 30 secs up faster than my Abingdon Marathon split.
I decided to have a very easy mile, then consider my options. While I had achieved what I wanted, I still wanted to break 3 hours again!
At 21 I was really battling, but knew that if I could hold 7 min miling, I could still go well under 3, and even get close to a PB - though I didn't want to kill myself to achieve it!
The last 7km were actually the most stunning, running through a park and the old town, where the support was fantastic. I had a mild panic when I saw the 3 HR pacer on a switchback, but worked out. I had at least 2 mins on him!!
I managed to hold sub 7's over the last 5km, with the finish inside the Olympic Stadium. This was really fantastic, a chance to savour the finish and enjoy a job well done.
I did put in a bit of a dig, and managed to get a new by 13 seconds!! Amazing after all that distance, that would have been about 50 m.
Final, official time of 2:57:44
The legs felt great for a period, but there is definitely some work to do for London. 14 miles at 6:30 pace was definitely my limit on the day, and I'm not sure I could have managed more. Hopefully I can recover well and enjoy a good block of training before London in 9 weeks!
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