Cape Town Marathon 18 Oct 2020

My third marathon and the second race of covid induced 2020 so this made for an interesting challenge. The first race was only a 12km race so that was easy enough as I have done 51 Half Marathons over the last 7 years odd. But a marathon is a different animal completely. At 30km you are at the end of the beginning and it showed ! 

Tired legs and pace that was reducing to a crawl were all symptomatic of no training program and coming out of covid lockdown like a bolt of slow lightning. Training at Anaerobic / threshold day in and day out takes its toll and regrettably I only heard about MAF (Maximum Aerobic Function) Training well into my training for the marathon.  Lesson learned. Soooooo, I went into the race knowing I was aerobically depleted and it came back to bite me in the bum from just shy of 30 km in fact. Fortunately I had David Goggins in my ear as I was listening to his audiobook, Can't Hurt Me, and this gave me the motivation I needed to keep moving forward. Recommend the book for sure so be sure to check it out! 

Bottom line is, after running 4 x 10 + km loops in the neighborhood, the job was done. Had taken my weight just before the start of the race and measured straight after. Had lost 2.3kg over the distance and time and that, after taking in two litres of fluids, 1 banana  and half an energy bar. Weather was cool and pleasant with no wind so a lot to be thankful for. 

And although no major shakes, it was a new PB for me by 10 minutes and I'll take it. Not that easy to stay motivated without crowd support but then again a marathon is really just a test against yourself. Ultimately came in at 4hrs 20min and 58 sec and I'll take it. Yes, it is rediculous slow by most standards but as a 57 year old, I'm not complaining.  

Many positives to take away from this experience as when my pace dropped due to some fatigue, my HR dropped. Usually it would stay elevated so I put this down as a positive and lack of structured training. While most, myself included, would say, this was the last one, a day later I'm already scheming how I could do better, with less fatigue and faster. Isn't that us all? 🤣   So in a nutshell, it's job done, and onwards and upwards!