Sunday 17th November saw me compete in the Istanbul marathon.
After running a 2 hour 6 minute half marathon in October in the Royal Parks, I decided to take this race on with a weighted back pack carrying 8 kg, lightening to 6kg after half way to ‘part’ simulate MDS race conditions. I was aiming for anything below 4 hrs 45 mins, and had hoped I’d be able to get close to 4 hrs 30 mins, but this turned out to be far too ambitious.
Little did I know that Istanbul is famous for having been built on 7 hills, and the combination of this undulating terrain and the added weight sapped the energy out of my thighs, no more so than the last 4 km up a steep hill towards Aya Sophia and the finish. That being said, I jogged the whole way and didn’t have to walk at all.
My final time was 5 hrs 5 minutes, but I’ve learnt a lot this weekend. The weight that we will be carrying at the start of the MDS will most likely be between 10 and 12 kg… I didn’t really appreciate the effect that this would have on my legs. Carrying 8 kg was a truly humbling experience, and at this stage, that is probably what I need, had it not been for a very costly queue for a loo stop (single port-a-loo’s every 5k!) I would have been comfortably under 5 hrs, but in the end i’m happy to have got through it.
Looking forward, the prospect of running an ultra marathon in December through the Brecon Beacons, and 250 km through the desert is a daunting one.
After running a 2 hour 6 minute half marathon in October in the Royal Parks, I decided to take this race on with a weighted back pack carrying 8 kg, lightening to 6kg after half way to ‘part’ simulate MDS race conditions. I was aiming for anything below 4 hrs 45 mins, and had hoped I’d be able to get close to 4 hrs 30 mins, but this turned out to be far too ambitious.
Little did I know that Istanbul is famous for having been built on 7 hills, and the combination of this undulating terrain and the added weight sapped the energy out of my thighs, no more so than the last 4 km up a steep hill towards Aya Sophia and the finish. That being said, I jogged the whole way and didn’t have to walk at all.
My final time was 5 hrs 5 minutes, but I’ve learnt a lot this weekend. The weight that we will be carrying at the start of the MDS will most likely be between 10 and 12 kg… I didn’t really appreciate the effect that this would have on my legs. Carrying 8 kg was a truly humbling experience, and at this stage, that is probably what I need, had it not been for a very costly queue for a loo stop (single port-a-loo’s every 5k!) I would have been comfortably under 5 hrs, but in the end i’m happy to have got through it.
Looking forward, the prospect of running an ultra marathon in December through the Brecon Beacons, and 250 km through the desert is a daunting one.