Introduction
The Buenos Aires Marathon Route (see Figure 1 below) includes very few hills and those few that there are, are not long nor steep. The Race is at sea level. But why this marathon is not the fastest possible is because the air in Buenos Aires is sometimes very humid. The Race is set to run in the Spring (in Octobre), temperatures typically at the start (7:30 am) about 15 to 17 C and during the Race rising over 20 C. It is a nice Route to tackle if you are a Tourist. The Route takes you to many of the most famous sights in this city. And for once the streets are closed and you can enjoy the city without the chaotic traffic. You will see how the rich and the poor are living in this city: the inequality gap and contrast is huge for me (I'm from Finland, one of the countries with the most equality in the World). I think running this marathon is a better way to explore the city than any sightseeing bus, and probably takes less time and effort!
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| Figure 1: The Route of Marathon of Buenos Aires 2013. |
Pacing Plan
Five weeks before the Buenos Aires Marathon (Main Event of the season) I run Arnet 21K Buenos Aires as a very hard practice racing almost all-out. I considered this run as a Very Hard Long Run. My initial plan was to run with an average pace of 4:05 min/km. Instead I started out fast and my plans were thrown out of window. I decided after the first kilometers to just let my subconscious ("Central Governor") do the pacing for me. It worked out very well. I run the whole distance strong, managed to pick up even more pace after 10K mark, and only faded just a little bit in the last 2 to 3 kms. My time (1.23:17) was 3 minutes faster than what I had planned. Average pace was 3:56 min/km. And this race was in the midst of the hardest part of the training. I felt really confident after the 21K race that I could run even faster the marathon than what I had planned in 5 weeks after tapering.
I use Greg McMillan's pace calculators for reference when I try to figure out my practice and racing paces. So far I think the paces in training I have been using have been pretty close to my ability. According to McMillan if you run 21K in 1.23:17 (3:56 min/km), you can expect to run the 42K in 2.55:16 (4:09 min/km), and vice versa. There are a lot of things that the pace calculator obviously can't take into account. I am learning now by trial and error. But my 21K Race 5 weeks before gave me confidence to make a Pacing Plan of 2.55:00 Marathon.
The plan was to start out just a bit slower the first 8 km, running a pace of 4:15 min/km. After 8 km mark the plan was to go for my marathon cruising speed, 4:07 min/km, and hold on until 32 km mark. And then Green Flag for the last 10 kilometers. The average pace of the Race would then be 4:09 min/km in about 2.55 total race time.
Energy Plan
My muscles and liver were charged with glycogen from loading carbohydrates 4 days in to the race. I planned on taking three energy gels with water during the race. 15K, 25K and 35K at the water aid stations. In between the water stations there are Gatorade sports drink aid stations, a total of 7 of those stations.
The Race
The Race day morning was cloudy, temperature at 17 C and very humid 90%. The air was quite heavy to breathe and it would only get worse as the day goes on. But overall the weather and the Route was pretty alright for making a good time.
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| Figure 2: Waiting for the Bang |
Second kilometer 4:08 min/km, third kilometer 4:08 min/km. Still banking time, and running feels so light and easy. "Maybe if I just keep on this pace until 32 km I will be alright?" I ended up running the first 8 km with an average pace of 4:09 min/km. My 10K split was 41:30. I was running strong, without nuisances, still feeling optimistic about my chances. Sandra was cheering for me at 11K. I felt great. From 10K to 15K I run couple of kilometers too fast. Kilometer 14 was 3:58. In my original plan my pace was 4:07 min/km until 32K. I did not run another kilometer in the Race under 4:10 min/km after 15K mark. At about kilometer 19 I started to feel it in my guts that I had gone out too fast. My 21K split was 1.27:39, average pace so far 4:09 min/km. I was right on time to run a 2.55 marathon. But my legs were quickly becoming really heavy. "This is how you are supposed to feel at 35K, not 22K." I would have to put in more effort to maintain my pace. And I was very far away from the Finish Line. I had to drop down pace or I would crash in no time.
I set out that morning to break the 3-hours. My legs gave in at about 21K mark and soon after the half way mark I was running 4:25 min/km pace and slowing down constantly and inevitably. There was nothing wrong with my energy levels or hydration, there was nothing that I could try to fix. I just plain and simple had gone out too fast and trashed my legs during the first part of the Race. The last two kilometers before I retired from the Race were 4:30 min/km and 4:40 min/km, over 30 seconds slower than what I had intended. I pulled out of the Race at 26.5 km. I felt a bit angry and disappointed at myself, but there was nothing to do to pick up the pace anymore. I decided not to try to jog to the Finish Line. This Race was not a once in a lifetime opportunity. Just one tough day in a Runner's life. A regular Sunday.
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| Figure 3: Heart Rate (Red Line), Running Speed (Grey Line) |
My Polar Race Data from the Race is presented in Figure 3. The static in the grey line is caused by distractions to the GPS by the tall buildings in the center of the city.
Result: DNF, withdrew from race at 26.5 km after running 1.53.
The Lesson
It is NOT invaluable to race and have to pull out. On the contrary, I obtained good data for my Polar. You have to run too fast in a Race to learn about your limits and restrictions. You can learn a lot about your capabilities when you exceed them. Sometimes you run (like my first Marathon) a "perfect" race without actually knowing how you did it. It might feel that you executed everything brilliantly and achieved the best possible result. How would you know that it was a perfect race if you don't have something that really has gone over the limit to compare to? That "perfect" race that you did might not be that perfect if you only knew better your capabilities. Once you find out how to run a perfect race by testing and investigating your running, all you have to do is try to repeat it. Until then, experiment! Don't run around brainlessly. In shorter distance racing testing your capability by running different strategies is easier because you can run them more often. But marathon is special in a way, that if you aim to run the best possible time and result at your current fitness level, you don't have much CONFIRMED information about your marathon capability at your disposal. You can try to estimate your current marathon running capability but you really learn about the limits and capabilities by trial and error.
This week I confirmed myself that I have more fast twitch muscle fibers than what I expected when I decided on my marathon pacing. I run faster shorter distances (5K, 10K, 21K) than what I am capable of running the full 42K marathon according to many tables that try to estimate marathon finishing times. I have to take this in to account when I plan my pacing for the next marathon. Five days prior to the race I run 4 x 400 m intervals: the imaginary typical 2.55-marathon runner's 400 m interval pace was very easy for me. That, my recent marathon performance, and knowing that my marathon training was in balance convinced me that I have more fast twitch muscle fibers (and other characteristics that make me relatively faster at shorter distances) than the imaginary runner in the McMillan Pace Calculation Tables. In the future I have to adjust the paces accordingly.
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