[ View menu ]

Bucharest Marathon 2023 and the Following Run

Since I couldn’t get myself to write about the actual run in the previous personal post, I’m forcing myself to do so in this one by including the next run in it and writing that part first, so I will need to edit the post and complete this part as well over the coming days. But I am going to write something before midnight as well, somehow, beginning with the fact that I had 1:37 as the start time, but the official one was 1:39. Either way, I then had 5:32 for each of the first two kilometers, which was better than expected, especially in case of the first one, which I thought was going to take me some six minutes, considering how crowded it was and the fact that I tried to avoid weaving too much, so I won’t add to the distance.
I obviously pushed more once the crowd started to clear, but I had the distinct impression that the marker for three kilometers was placed too early, so I have serious doubts that I really covered that kilometer in 4:45, especially since I then appeared to have a significantly worse time on the following kilometer. I didn’t write down exactly what it was, I probably didn’t even remember by the time I got back, but I remember that much. Either way, it is still possible that the marker was placed correctly or at least that the error resulted in a difference of less than ten seconds, which would make the third kilometer the fastest one. Otherwise, the fastest would be the fifth, which I covered in 4:55, pushing in order to gain a few seconds before the refreshment point, where I slowed to a walk, grabbed a cup of water and one of that other drink, drinking a little of the water first, then pouring the rest into the other cup and drinking it like that, plus a piece of banana, which I ate after I resumed running. And that was the rule for the regular refreshment points, at least until I was in too much trouble.
What followed was a period of getting my head down and covering the distance, with my eyes on the 3:45 pacemakers, whom I had been closing on before that first refreshment point and then found myself needing to do so all over again. And, despite that bad slope from the end of the seventh kilometer, where I actually lost less time than I thought I would, I arrived at the second refreshment point, which was on the 11th kilometer, pretty much with them… Only to obviously fall back once again, so I pushed to catch up and covered the 12th kilometer in less than five minutes. And I think that it was the last time I managed that, because I remember thinking that the 13th kilometer should be the last fast one, the route and the accumulated effort making it quite clear that I was going to get slower after that, but probably finding that it wasn’t quite that fast because I moved from one side of the road to the other a few times over the course of it, most of the others staying on the side that I hadn’t chosen at first because it was shaded, so that probably cost me.
While the 14th kilometer wasn’t that fast overall, since it ended with that short but bad slope, when the route returns on Victoriei, it also included the corresponding slope that goes down, when the route turns off Victoriei, and I made full use of it in order to actually get ahead of the 3:45 pacemakers. Not for long, of course, since on top of how much that slope slowed me, I also dug one of the bars out of the running belt, but if the original plan had been to eat it on that slope, I ended up only losing even more time, since at that point I decided to leave it for later and just moved it to the pocket of my tights. And then there was another refreshment point in Cismigiu Park, and that was when I stopped being able to keep up with those pacemakers, so they pulled ahead and the distance kept increasing after that, and as I was returning on Elisabeta, back past the park and towards Victoriei, so I was climbing another slope that, while not steep, is quite long, they were starting to even get out of sight. And that was also when I started to realize that drinking two cups at each refreshment point wasn’t such a good idea, since I was starting to feel too full and some liquid was even coming back up.
In spite of that, I did the same thing at the following refreshment point, and while the problem didn’t worsen right away, I was thinking about it and decided to delay eating that bar one more time, albeit not for long, since the initial plan was to eat one more thing right after the halfway point and I then meant to eat it after 22 kilometers, also in order to get a better time at that point, remembering that I had managed to get there in less than two hours last year… And this time around I did significantly better, I believe managing to get there in just under 1:57, or something along those lines. It might have even been just under 1:56, I can’t really remember. Either way, the road does climb a little in that area once again, as the route gets back to Constitution Square, so after 22 kilometers I slowed and finally ate that bar… Which I found to be nauseatingly sweet, though I believe that the nausea wasn’t really caused by the bar.
I was surprised to see another refreshment point, albeit offering only water, when I got back to Constitution Square. At the time, I was wondering whether the organizers had given some thought to the question posted by someone who had asked whether they’ll follow the recommendations that apply when the temperatures are expected to exceed 25°C, which was the case for that day’s high, and offer at least water every 2.5 km, at least for the second half of the race, but now that I think about it, I realize that it was probably a point set up by the sponsor that offered the water, since the only other one that was in between the regular ones was set up by the nutrition sponsor. Either way, I did take a cup and drank it, which might have helped with the nausea but probably contributed to the fact that soon after that, as I was reaching 23 km, a certain pressing need started to appear. And that 23rd kilometer was also the first one that I covered in more than six minutes.
I got back under six minutes on the following kilometer, but went over six minutes once again on the 25th, which included another refreshment point. However, that pressing need, which had gone away soon after it had first appeared, didn’t return at that point, and that might not have been such a good thing, because it meant that I continued past that gas station that’s right at 26 kilometers, where I went to the toilet two years ago. In itself, that was just fine, so I returned and stayed under six minutes per kilometer until the 29th kilometer, which was the first one that I covered in more than six minutes without slowing in order to eat or drink. So I guess that my body was sending me a pretty clear message, but that pressing need hadn’t returned, so I just kept going when I then passed by that gas station once again, the route having turned on the 28th kilometer.
It wasn’t long after that when it became painfully, desperately obvious that doing so had been a big mistake. I was starting to feel the need for something that would help me a little more, and I was obviously slowing quite significantly, so at 30 kilometers I took the first liquid magnesium… And my belly rebelled, that pressing need returning suddenly and with a vengeance, which led to awful times on the next two kilometers. There was also a refreshment point on the 31st kilometer and, while I’m tempted to say that I kept doing what I had been doing, since that need had just reappeared and I was hoping to be able to withstand it, if not that it’ll even go away again, I’m not absolutely certain of it. Either way, I know that I didn’t even calculate the times for those two kilometers, but that I went over eight minutes on each of them… And I also passed by a couple of restaurants, thinking about dashing in to use a toilet but not doing it. And Radu and his group, who had been well behind me, also rushed past me at that point, I believe a little before returning to Unirii Boulevard, so at least a kilometer earlier than last year. And, while I then somehow managed to push a little more despite looking around ever more desperately for one of those more proper public toilets and delayed that moment until after I passed that marker, after 33 kilometers the 4:00 pacemakers overtook me as well.
There were some more restaurants on Burebista, but I passed by those as well, since at that point I was feeling somewhat less desperate and also had another gas station in mind, if necessary. And I did gradually recover to some extent, so by the time I reached that gas station, at the end of Decebal, I passed by it as well, especially since I wasn’t even certain that it had toilets. However, it was obvious that, if I wanted to have any chance to keep going, I had to avoid eating or drinking anything else, and that was also a part of the reason why I discarded the bars when I reached the spot where the nutrition sponsor was offering various products. I actually stopped there for a moment and initially reached for the bars, but I still had the one taken during the half marathon which I had taken with me, the one I had eaten being one which I had purchased, and I was obviously going to go back with it, and at that point I wasn’t thinking about taking some more for later use, so I just grabbed a gel and a vial of liquid magnesium… Unfortunately, I only had a better look at the gel after moving on, at which point I saw that it was one with high caffeine content, and while that, in itself, may be useful during such a run, especially when I’m running on next to no sleep, caffeine also has certain side effects that I definitely didn’t need at that point, or in fact at any point, so I put it away then and I’m not sure whether I’ll use it in a future “official” run either, so I may end up using it during the next long practice run.
Still, while I put that gel aside, at 35 km I did have the one which I had taken with me… With the obvious result, my body reacting pretty much instantly and making it absolutely clear that I wasn’t going to be able to even reach that gas station again, much less finish, without going to the toilet. But I was in this area that I know well, on Basarabia, and set my mind on going in a certain restaurant, ignoring a couple of others that are before it even if I had never been to any of them, including that one. However, when I saw that the marker for 36 kilometers was just after that restaurant, I wanted to reach it first, and then I obviously didn’t want to go back, not even a few steps, so I continued to the place where the route turned, which wasn’t far ahead, desperately clenching my butt, and I finally dashed into the restaurant on my way back.
As soon as I approached the door, I was asked whether I needed help, and if I just rushed past the person at the entrance, when I was asked again after stepping inside and having a quick look around, I asked about a toilet, apologizing and saying that I couldn’t make it anymore, and I was pointed to it, so I rushed there, hearing comments behind me along the lines that it’s not surprising, when you run so much. But the pleasant surprise, after holding it in so much and then letting loose in such an explosive manner, was that there was no blood. I was there for several minutes, however, since it just kept coming; there were a couple of moments when I thought that I had gotten rid of enough to be able to get back, only for more “blasts” to suddenly come when I meant to wipe. But I was eventually able to wipe, albeit obviously without taking the time to do it well, and get up, then quickly washed my hands and left. I apologized once again on my way out, but I probably shouldn’t show my face there again, since I have no idea what state I left that toilet in, since I just flushed and walked out, and that’s even without taking the smell into account…
Calculating from the moment when I stepped off the route to the moment when I got back on it, I lost pretty much exactly ten minutes, but I had really recovered, the result being that I returned below six minutes per kilometer and could just keep it up. Of course, there were two more refreshment points, in fact only some three kilometers apart, the one which should have been around 35 kilometers having probably been pushed farther back by that one set up by the nutrition sponsor… Or maybe not, since I think that it was more or less in the same place last year as well. Either way, it came soon after I resumed running, which was a really good thing for me, since I could actually make use of it, though I’m once again not entirely sure that I did the same thing I had been doing before the situation got bad. I believe so, but I do think that I had a piece of orange instead of one of banana at one of the points and I couldn’t say which one it was, and I’m not even absolutely certain that I did so at all or, in that case, whether it really was a piece of orange and not one of apple. Either way, the two kilometers that had refreshment points were obviously slower than the others, but not by much. And I had taken both vials of liquid magnesium with me, so when it seemed that some cramps were once again about to come, as I approached 39 kilometers, I could drink one more and still have one left for later use, since I had also taken that one from the point set up by the nutrition sponsor. And there was enough time for it to kick in before the end, so I covered the 42nd kilometer in 5:43, which is similar to what I managed last year. And then I had 1:03 for that final portion.

I know that there was a small difference between what I had and the official time, but I didn’t even write down what I had, so whether it was one second or two, and whether it was more or less, I can’t say anymore. But it doesn’t really matter, what matters being that the official time was 4:16:18 and the recorded real time was 4:14:40. That’s my second worst time, only the first one, from 2018, being worse, and I was slower than last year even if you deduct those ten minutes, since last year was the only time when I didn’t have such problems. But, with that in mind, if you also take into account the fact that I lost at least six or seven minutes, and likely even more, over the course of the nearly seven kilometers that I covered while struggling not to shit myself, it would mean that I could have been faster than last year if I’d have somehow managed to avoid this problem one more time.
Since I didn’t avoid that problem, those calculations are pretty pointless… Though it is quite obvious that waiting so long and then having that gel and needing to go after all was the worst option, the best having probably been either to anticipate what was going to happen and dash into that gas station when I ran past it the second time or at least go into the first restaurant I passed by after things got really bad. Of course, I wouldn’t have maintained that sort of pace all the way to the end if I’d have gone several kilometers earlier, but I’d have certainly gained quite a few minutes overall. And just digging in and not eating or drinking anything else until the end might have also been a little better, since I’d have probably been slower by one or two minutes per kilometer, but I went some 5.5 kilometers before the end and it wouldn’t have been two minutes on each kilometer, to add up to more than the ten minutes I lost. But, of course, in that case I risked to still end up needing to go, in which case I’d have lost even more time.
What’s clear is that this was, at best, my next to last chance to reach that goal of having an official time of less than four hours for a marathon before I turn 40, and this assumes that the race won’t be pushed back next year as well, since at the moment the date is October 13. However, on top of not getting any younger, next year the Bucharest Marathon will host the World Masters Athletics Marathon Championship, so I’m thinking that start sectors will be reintroduced then, and there may even be a slight delay before the amateur runners will be allowed to start, behind the professional athletes. And these times would get me in sector D, if the thresholds will remain the same, or even worse if they’ll want to offer more space for the faster runners, so my start time will be quite a few minutes worse. And my target is unquestionably the official time, not just the real time, so I won’t just need to be faster than last year, but make up for those lost minutes on top of that… And I don’t see any of that happening.

Before midnight, I only had the first three paragraphs of what’s above, though I also already had the entire part about October 27 as well, as I already mentioned. So I then had to somehow get myself to add the rest as well, even if it’s not just hard to think about those moments, but also quite hard to be sure of the details, or to recall some of them at all, seeing as I don’t have that many notes, and in fact, past a few things about the early part of the race, pretty much all I have is an e-mail I sent to my mother on the evening after the race. But I finally managed to get myself to write the rest of it, editing the post in order to add the rest Saturday evening.

Despite obviously not deserving any break, Carrefour’s campaign meant that I really couldn’t run on the week that followed the marathon, at least not unless I wanted to do so while being exhausted and end up even more depressed because of the result. As such, I only ran again on October 27, when I woke up seconds before the alarm rang, at 2 PM, and got up after it did. Then I had the usual stuff, but once again replaced three almonds with apricot pits, and the sweet thing was a slice of something brought by dad, with added honey. It was probably some chec and had apparently been sent by my mother, but it was bought, not made by her or by that friend of hers. Either way, I left at 4:40 PM, wearing the full running gear, getting back to the old running shoes. The reported temperature was 23°C, but it was overcast and I think I even felt a few drops, and by the end of the run it was about 21°C.
The time was 47:10.54, with sector times of 4:21.26, 4:58.66, 5:49 (5:48.65), 4:22 (4:21.82), 4:59 (4:58.87), 5:44.22, 4:23.06, 4:59.13, 5:44 (5:43.75) and 1:51.12, making for lap times of 15:08.57, 15:05 (15:04.91) and 15:06 (15:05.94). I started at a somewhat controlled pace and the first sector was a little faster than I thought it’d be. Then I pushed, reaching a pace that I didn’t think I was going to maintain even over the course of sector two, and when I saw what pace that was, it was no surprise. However, I did maintain it, the times continuing to be good and, in fact, very steady, with the first lap ending up being the slowest. But I was just aiming to stay under 48 minutes and over the course of the first two laps I kept thinking that it was going to be difficult, only starting to wonder whether 47:30 was possible after finishing lap two. It still seemed really unlikely, but after two sectors I was thinking that I’ll even be safe at the end of the lap. And I wasn’t just safe, but at that point I knew that I should even get under 47:15, which I clearly did. Maybe with a clear track I might have even had a chance to squeeze under 47 minutes, but I’m not sure, since I don’t think that I had any more to give and probably didn’t lose more than ten seconds because of people. But add the fact that I possibly lost a little in order to check the time and maybe it would add up. Either way, at that point it was my best time over this distance since March.
Other than some weaving and going the long way around, whether because of people or in order to avoid some wet or too uneven parts of the lane, over the course of the first two laps I only slowed once, on sector two of lap one, because of a woman with two dogs, one of them and its leash blocking the lane. However, on lap three it suddenly got more crowded and I slowed three or four times only on its first sector, and a few more times after that as well. And then, at the start of the final sector, on the stairs, I had to go to one side and then the other, and then on the outside on the curved part. But the overcast sky definitely made it seem cooler than the reported temperature, and there was hardly any wind to speak of, so that really helped. However, that same overcast sky made it rather dark and I probably slowed a few times in order to see the time properly. But what was really important was that there were no physical problems and I could just keep going.

On the way back, I had a look in the nearby Mega Image, then finished the watermelon. I had wanted to keep a little of it until the end of the month, or at least until October 30, when I was going to run again, but it was going too soft and souring. And the pasta was also clearly going bad, so I finished that as well. Then I did the day’s squats in the bathroom, before washing, and after that I made the salad and ate dinner earlier.

0 Comments

No comments

RSS feed Comments | TrackBack URI

Write Comment

Note: Any comments that are not in English will be immediately deleted.

XHTML: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>