Road running race 2:34:56 [5] 26.2 mi (5:55 / mi)
shoes: Mizuno Wave Musha 5
Berlin Marathon 2013
Damn, mission not accomplished.
I guess in the build up to this I was trying to tell myself that I had done enough and could take confidence from my performance in warm up races. That said, I also knew that I hadn't done as much mileage as I'd initially aimed for during July and August. In addition, I knew I done scant intervals, tempo or other speed sessions. Ultimately, in the run up to race day I was still scared by the idea of running 26.2 miles at 5:43 pace.
The race started reasonably well. I'd done all I could to get into an optimal start position - initially assigned a "B" start blocked on my PB on entry, I managed to pull up my VMLM 2013 result on my phone after a long delay and so could prove I should go in the sub 2:40 "A" start. Shortly after I set off found a few other 2:30-targeting runners and so I generally sought to stick with them. That said, I was also conscious of my pace per my Garmin, and if I felt the pack was quickening the pace I held back.
All seemed well until at least around half way, and (I think) somewhat after. So where did it go wrong, when did I really start to slow? Stopping for a loo break at around 14 miles didn't help - very glad I went but need to ensure I sort this out and can somehow eliminate the need. Looking at my km splits, my pace really started drifting up / slowing from around 27km, exceeding 3:40 in 7 of the last 12km. The final two were slowed by a stomach pain, although fortunately this eased in the final few hundred meters through the Brandenburg Gates to the finish, so at least I could kind of enjoy this.
So, lessons to be learnt: sort out pre-race nutrition to avoid loo breaks but above all ensure I do sufficient quantity and quality when targeting ambitious goals.