Well done to Derek Saville on a Frankfurt PB
On Sunday, October 27th, DCM day, I took part in the Frankfurt version. Though it doesn’t come close to the great Dublin support and atmosphere en route, it does provide a flat and fast course. I felt the latter more important to me than the former. Particularly as I was chasing a particular time that I knew was on the very outer limits of my ability. Sub 2:50.I had come agonizingly close in two previous attempts; gave up on it; then dusted myself off for ‘one more attempt’ this year.
I changed my preparation for this one. I went back to basics. Namely, get down to the club for the Tuesday and Thursdays and try and hammer out really good quality speed stuff with great training partners like Mark, Ronan, Wes, and others. The fitness gained here complemented the longer runs over the week really started to show as I got closer to the marathon. I did about 14 weeks which was down from my usual 18.
Anyway, to the day itself. Another key difference from previous years was my decision to take much more fluids on board. I wore a bottle belt which I always dismissed in the past. But when you have no support on the course to hand you drinks and water stations have paper cups only, you can’t really avoid carrying your own. I tried to keep really disciplined throughout, keeping to my target pace. I managed a big negative split in the 2nd half which is always pleasing.
The finish line is in an indoor arena which is really cool. When I looked up to see 2.47 at the time I was really surprised, elated and in running dreamland! As I lay with legs raised, close to the finish line, I reflected on all those runs in darkness, rain, before work, late into the evening, on holidays, pints and take-aways resisted, babysitters sought, torturous intervals; I was somewhere between laughing and crying… a wonderful place to be. Finish Time: 2:47:26
