Today, I feel great. I am still slightly dehydrated, and there are sores from friction, but that is it.
I may so some gardening later and enjoy the sun.
Joan Benoit Samuelson has stressed that even those who compete individually depend on their group of people. I knew it before but thought a lot about it yesterday: YOU are my group of people. Thank you so much for the support, advice, and inspiration. You know who you are. I owe you.
21/21
How did I do with what I set out to do?
My goal: cross the starting line + enjoy it ✅
My hope: finish ✅
My pipe-dream: finish in 4:15 or less (PR: 4:38:25) ❌
Two out of three ain't bad. It is, after all, only the first two that really matter.
I gave all I had and then a lot (if in doubt, check the before and after pictures), and I am very, very happy with finishing, with the achievement, and with the result.
20/x
The moment I crossed the finish line was a moment of pure satistaction and pride. Of victory and of having achieved something. I struggled and suffered, but I conquered the marathon and finished what I set out to do.
And I knew already in that moment that I would do the 42.2 km again.
19/x
The last part was beautiful, indeed. There was a castle and the sea. There were big trees (shadow), and it was downhill. I was in a mental and physical state where I could enjoy that.
From around 40 km, we ran just by the beach. Beautiful, again, but now, the heat was back with a vengance because of the sun and the sand. Somehow I pushed through. I even managed to sprint for the last few hundred meters.
Exhausted, I finished in 4:45:35.
18/x
Things started to get better. I could run for longer stretches (still walking in between), visualizing the shorter and shorter distance to goal.
14 kilometers to go - I have done that distance many times. 12. 10. Then single-digit distances. Mentally, I was back, and my body had recovered somewhat as well. We ran downhill now, and I remembered @recollir mentioned how the last kilometers would be beautiful. I had that to look forward to.
17/x
I mentioned people with water hoses. They were lifesavers. Initially, they would just spray us with water as we passed; later, they would soak us. Runners did stop and wait in line for these cold showers. This made a huge difference for me at critical moments.
At energy stations I would take three cups of water: one I drank, one I poured down my back, one I poured into my cap to cool my head. It would help for around 300 meters...
16/x
It just went on.
Apparently endlessly.
The sun and the heat.
I felt I was on Arrakis.
No end in sight.
How did I get here?
15/x
I do not know how I managed the next kilometers. From 24 to 28-ish is a blur for me.
Physically, I was knocked-out. It was now a mix of running and walking. Mentally, I was struggling. I knew I would finish, but I had no idea how to make it happen. Everybody has a plan until they are punched in the mouth. I tried to stick to mine: one stride at a time, food and fluids whenever possible, seek the shadow.
Everyone around me suffered.
14/x
At 24 km, I hit the wall. I had known, of course, that it would happen. I had not expected it to happen so soon.
Living in Denmark and usually #running in the mornings, I typically train at around 14-18 degrees celcius. Yesterday, temperatures reached 27.
So it was warm. Brutal. We were now running on broad city streets where the asphalt had really absorbed the heat from the sun, and where there was no shadow, and it killed me.
13/x
The first 20 kilometers were not very eventful. One foot in front of the other, steady pace, steady intake, stick to the plan, trust the process.
But I could feel the heat get to me. It was now around noon, and I did not feel strong anymore. I could see my pace slipping ever so slightly. I would take longer breaks at the energy station and drink more. The 4:15 pacers, which had been around 100 meters in front if me, disappeared.
12/x
At around 10 km, things started to heat up. Literally. It was warm, and now it was also uphill. But I felt good, kept the pace and the plan.
The course was a mix of streets and trails in the woods. This meant both a nice change in scenery and occasional much-welcome drops in temperature because of the shadows from the trees.
In the streets, people would cheer, and some had even brought their water hoses. I will get back to that later.
11/x
The race started with a countdown, cheers, and fireworks. The atmosphere was wonderful.
The first few kilometers were tense as we all tried to find the right pace and place in the group. It helped as we soon got to bigger roads.
I felt strong and ran disciplined at exactly the pace I had planned for. Water at every energy station, a banana when they had it, a gel every 30 minutes.
All was well and according to plan.
10/x
Yesterday, I did the Helsingborg Marathon.
Now, I have had a good night's sleep. This is a short race report.
(You can block the hashtags below to opt out.)
9/x
I DID IT!! I did the Helsingborg Marathon.
(Then my phone battery died, so I couldn't post until now.)
It was brutally warm, much to warm for me, and I struggled. A lot. But I finished, and I am very happy and proud of it.
There will be a full report later. Now I need to shower and eat.
Helsingborg Marathon in T minus 20 minutes.
This is it.
Music is exceptionally important in my life - and when I run. So there is a plan for that as well.
For the four races-within-the-race, I have four one-hour (give or take) sections of my playlist. Each of these is carried by artists with a track-record of helping me through long runs - respectively, #BruceSpringsteen, #TaylorSwift, #TheWarOnDrugs (my favorite band), and #CatPower.
This is my jam: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/550Hk56rF9D7WYxKzltY0x?si=5fcadf7925ac412c
6/x
I will use my normal gear for the Helsingborg Marathon. Do not change a winning concept.
Shoes: black Mizuno Wave Inspire XX, which have gone 582 km.
Clothing: worn-out shorts, old tank top, and a cap (H&M), running socks (brand unknown), and a wristband and a thing to hold my phone on my arm (Nike).
Tech: I use my old Casio F-91W watch (+ phone) for time-keeping. In my ears, I will have my Sportsbuddy headphones. There will be music.
5/x
My strategy for fluids and nutrition: I will drink at each of the 14 energy stations. I will have a gel around every half hour - unless there is fruit or the like at the stations (gels are effective but taste rather horrible, so I much prefer real food).
It will be too warm in Helsingborg for my taste. Hydration will be much more important than usual. This is the major known unknown in my race plan.
4/x
My strategy for #running the Helsingborg Marathon is to mentally split it in four, so I run four races of 10-11 km. I know I can do 10 km, so this should make the distance(s) easier to cope with.
I used the same strategy at Copenhagen Marathon in May. It worked all right back then and will hopefully do so again tomorrow.
For the first 30 km, I aim at a pace of 6 minutes per km. After that, I will improvise in accordance with how I feel.
3/x
