Cav's Place

I said that I had managed to advance a lot before the start was given, and that resulted in my best start time yet, 25 seconds, at least according to my stopwatch and also to the difference between the full and net times listed in the official results at the end, as well as at all intermediate points except the one from 6.5 km, though those same results list my start time as 26 seconds, which is also the difference at 6.5 km. So there’s probably a rounding issue somewhere, but it’s marginally better than the one from the half marathon of 2021 either way, and that’s despite initially just walking to the line, since those who were around me seemed to do the same.
The net time was 1:48:50, with an official time of 1:49:15. But I had 1:49:14 on my stopwatch, making for a net time of 1:48:49, so that’s what the times per kilometer will add up to, and those were 4:51, 4:54, 5:00, 4:52, 4:55, 5:03, 5:00, 4:56, 5:10, 5:02, 5:22, 5:23, 5:13, 5:11, 5:28, 5:36, 5:17, 5:26, then 10:56 for the next two km, then 4:46, and finally 0:28 for that final portion. I don’t have the actual times for kilometers 19 and 20 because, just as last year, I missed the sign for 19 km, my attention once again being on the last refreshment point, which is just there. On the other hand, while I saw all the other signs, at least at 6 km, 10 km, 18 km and 21 km, if not at one other point as well, possibly 16 km, I didn’t see any mark on the street, so it’s possible that the sign had been moved a little and the respective times may be a little off. At least at 10 km it did seem weird that the sign was a short distance before passing by the finish line while the timing mat was right there, so I pressed the button on the stopwatch when I passed by the sign, but the official time listed there is probably more accurate, and also makes more sense, leading to 5:11 on the tenth kilometer and 5:13 on the 11th.
Advancing so well in the starting area led to that great start time and first kilometer, but it didn’t change the fact that my chances of staying under 1:45 were basically zero all along, so when the 1:40 pacemakers passed me on that first climb, on the second kilometer, I let them go, the realistic goal being to at least stay ahead of the 1:45 ones until after 10 km and have an official time below 1:50 at the end. And when I did manage to be just ahead of the 1:45 pacemakers at 10 km I decided to push harder than it seemed safe at that point and try to at least not fall behind them by 11 km… Only to be surprised by an additional refreshment point on that kilometer and grab a cup of water without really thinking, slowing to drink it and falling behind the group that was with those pacemakers as a result. And then there was no reason to keep pushing that hard, so I allowed myself a little time to recover before returning to what was a sustainable pace at that point. But kilometers 15 and 16 were particularly bad and I was getting worried, so I tried to do a little better, and after 17 km I also drank the vial of liquid magnesium. That led to thinking that I had done just enough to give myself a chance when, after 18 km, I calculated that I needed to average no more than 5:28 per kilometer from then on, assuming 30 seconds on that final portion. So it was quite a relief that, despite the last refreshment point, I managed exactly that on kilometers 19 and 20, but it seemed that I had to really give everything all the way to the end if I wanted to be safe. So I did, but what made all the difference was the fact that the effects of the liquid magnesium finally kicked in, leading to the fastest kilometer of the day and an official time that was just two seconds slower than last year’s. Admittedly, the net time was 25 seconds slower.
At least I got a little farther before midnight this time around than in case of last year’s post, which even now remains the placeholder posted then, but only this far, so I still have a lot to add at a later time.