Rotterdam marathon 2023 Race report

Goal:

Goal A: Sub3:10

Goal B: Sub3:15
Goal C: 3:30

Backstory.

I haven’t run a marathon in the last three years. Three years ago, I would have easily smashed sub-3:10. During COVID, I tried hard to have a consistent training block. But because of jumping cities, jobs, and personal reasons, it never happened. There were moments when I thought I should quit running because I would never go sub-3 again. Every year, my pace was dropping significantly. In 2020, I was trying so hard to run 5:00–5:30, which used to be my recovery pace before the Vadodara marathon. My pace had slowed even more by the end of 2021. I was fighting hard to break a sub-2 HM. During my training block in 2019, I ran a 1:50 HM after running a 1:35 HM the previous day. But now it was so hard to maintain a (2:05 HM) 6:00 min/km pace for a single HM.

2022: I decided to run a self-supported full marathon on my birthday in March 2022. I gave my 100% to finish the race. I hardly broke a sub-4 HM. I would have laughed so hard if someone had told me before COVID that I would be fighting to run sub-4 HM. This was a wake-up call for me. At this point, I decided to change the way I train. I went back to my coach to discuss my shortcomings. If I don’t learn from my past failures and go for the race, I will get the same result. I had a long call with him about the training, and we decided it doesn’t matter how slow I get; I need to put in the mileage. I started with 60km as my average weekly mileage. By 2022 end, even though I didn’t run a single HM or FM, I was able to run at a 5:45 min/km pace for my long runs.

In 2022, I will have put in some good mileage. I ran the Dam2Dam loop of 16 kilometers at a pace of 4:30, with little speed work. At that moment, I knew I still had some more PBs in my leg. I registered for the Valencia Marathon in December 2022, but because of some personal issues, I missed 3 weeks of the training block, so I decided it was best to skip Valencia Marathon. But I kept on putting in 50 to 60 kilometers of weekly mileage for the next 2 months. The plan was to start an 18-week training block on December 13 and run the Rotterdam Marathon in mid-April.

Course
The Rotterdam Marathon is one of the flattest marathons in the world. In the last 4 decades, the marathon world record has been broken in only 4 cities: Berlin, London, Chicago, and Rotterdam. It’s the 7th fastest marathon course in the world. The Netherlands has perfect weather in April. The temperature is around 8–10 degrees, and the dew point is 2-4 degrees, which is ideal for running marathons. Also, Rotterdam is a 45-minute train ride from my home. So I don’t have to acclimatize to the weather. I can’t blame the route or the weather now. It’s completely on the training.

Training
My weekly mileage was around 50–60 km at the start of my training. I was doing my easy runs at 5:40–6:00 before the start of the training block. I usually prefer running slowly before starting the block and try to reduce the pace by 30 seconds at the end of the training block. I had an accident in January 2021 and still have issues running fast because of that. So, I decided not to be overly ambitious with the goal. The first week of training gave me a big boost. Ran the tempo run at 4:26 min/km and a weekly mileage of 56km. In the second week of training, I had a slight fever but went for a 16-kilometer medium-long run. The next day I tested COVID-positive. Running 16km with covid in 0-degree weather crushed my body. I really thought I wouldn’t be able to run the Rotterdam Marathon. I gave my body 14 days of rest. In India, it was so easy for me to train and not think about anything else. Training in Amsterdam is really hard. There were days when I ran in -6 degrees. My hands were so numb after the workout that I was not even able to stop my Garmin. On weekends, I need to clean my house, so I still have to do some work before my Sunday long run. Most of the time, my body used to be tired in the long run. And running in 0 degrees doesn’t motivate me. And when you come back after running for 2 hours, all you want is some food and rest. But here, I have to come back home, cook food for myself, and do the dishes. There were days I thought about skipping dinner, but that would just make me weaker and more injury-prone. So instead of crying, I had to accept that this is what life is. Because of COVID, I tweaked my training block from 18 weeks to 15 weeks now. I didn’t put any number to the finishing time. I wanted to do some quality workouts, and the rest of the workouts were junk mileage. Someone asked me how I could chase a sub-3:20 (4:40 min/km) while running at a 6:00–6:30 pace. Over the years, I have trusted my body. Somedays I feel like running at a 6:30 pace, and I just do it. I usually don’t plan my timing during the training periods (though I know a range), but I usually decide my finishing time during the tapering phase. I trust my training process. On race day, nothing magical happens. It’s just the execution of the training period. I have seen people who run 3:20–3:30 FM and never run at a pace of 6:00. I still don’t know how people do all their workouts at the same pace. My training paces fluctuate from 4:00 to  6:30. The greatest joy of doing workouts is being fully in control of paces.

I decided to take the decision based on the five milestones I will hit.

M1:
Expectations: Rome Half Marathon at 4:20 min/km pace (1:32-1:33 HM)

Result: 1:29:27 (4:14 mins/km).

M2:
Expectations: 6 weeks of 50 mpw/80+ km per week mileage.

Result: 86, 90, 57, 86, 85, 82 (Missed a week of hard training because of plantar issues)

M3:
Expectation: 21km with 3x5 km at 4:25 min/km pace

Result: Sets: 4:28mins/km, 4:25mins/km, 4:22mins/km

M4:
Expectations: 21km with 15 km at a 4:25 min/km pace.

Result: 21km with 15 km at 4:24 min/km pace

M5:
Expectations: All interval sessions at sub-4:00 min/km

Result: average intervals set at 3:50 min/km

M6:
Expectations: 28km with 21.1 km at 4:25 min/km

Result: 28km at 21.1 km at 4:20 min/km. (28km at 4:30 min/km)

I drastically changed my non-running workout. I blindly trusted my coach to remain injury-free. I started going to the gym 1xweek, biking 2xweek, and cross-training 2xweek.  I knew I needed to start doing these regularly to break my sub-3 PR in the future. I joined Dam Runners for Wednesday's 100-meter strides and some cross-fit workouts which helped me to activate my glutes and open up my strides. I was able to hold my tempo and MP runs because of my heavy gym sessions. I stopped eating junk and said a strict no to cold drinks (which I love so much). Always had fruits in the house. So if I feel hungry, I eat only fruits. I started cooking at home and eating breakfast, which I never used to have in the past.

Thanks to my friend Gagan, who gifted me AirPods when I moved to Amsterdam. The only reason I was able to hit fast splits during training was because of my running playlist.

Race Day Plan:
I knew my training had gone well. Rotterdam has pacers for both 3 hours and 3:10. Since I was 99% sure of running at 3:10 (4:30 min/km), I decided to rely on fellow runners to maintain the pace of 4:25-4:30 min/km. I checked the previous marathon results and found out there were plenty of runners around that time. So I will easily have the company. I needed to hit 22:30 minutes every 5 kilometers. This will position me around 3:09:XX. I can try to sprint at the end to go sub-3:09 if I have the energy. I didn’t go all out in my first marathon since I only wanted a sub-3 at that time, but for a sub-3:05 in Rotterdam, I needed to go all out from the gun. There were high chances of hitting the wall. I decided on 4 gel shots at 5, 15, 25, and 35 and salt capsules at 10, 20, 30, and 40. I hope not to vomit this time. (since the water station is every 5 km).

European marathons are tough to deal with since the race starts around 10 a.m. It’s hard to digest food. I got plenty of sleep. I ate peanut butter with bread and a banana. I usually eat this before my big workouts.

I took the train to Rotterdam. My friend told me she would be cheering with her friends. I told her to estimate my arrival time at 10 a.m. + km marker*4.5mins/km (the distance she will be standing). Nothing compared to some cheers on the course from your friends!

Race:
Distance: Planned | Result

5k: 22:30 | 22:05: This felt hard from the start. My first 5k was a cakewalk. Took out the first gel. There was a Dutch guy who tagged along and we decided to run side by side.

10k: 45:00 | 44:15; I think at this point I decided to go all out in the race and give it all. Took the salt capsule. The crowd was insanely cheering on the side

15k: 1:07:30 | 1:06:30 Took out the second gel. I was almost a minute ahead of my planned split. Still feeling good. But somehow 3:10 bus overtook me??? The Dutch guy also went ahead. I was all alone at this stretch

20k: 1:30:00 | 1:28:50. I was hurting at this point. In my first FM, my legs were not even heavy till the 28th km.

Halfway split: 1:33:08. I had no idea if I should accelerate or decelerate at this point. Just keep on going I guess. Legs are still heavy.

25K: 1:52:30 | 1:51:15 Took out the 3rd gel. I was slowing down, I realized I might have hit the wall, pace was dropping to 4:35.

30k: 2:15:00 | 2:12:45: this was my fastest 5k section. The crowd was completely wild in this section, I was dropping a 4:15 pace (even dropped a 4;05 in FM. Lol). All my salt capsules got dissolved. So I had nothing to hydrate.

35k: 2:37:30 | 2:34:45. Took the last gel and I can feel my bad ankle at this point. I thought of stopping at this point. I knew I won’t be getting sub3:05. Just slow down and don’t miss sub3:10

40k: 3:00:00 | 3:57:20: This was the slowest 5k section. Every minute felt like a kilometer. 5k almost felt like an HM. There was no crowd in this section. But I kept my form. 

42.2k: 3:09:54 | 3:07:15: I tried as hard as possible to finish the race. The crowd was roaring in this section. Definitely helped me finish the race as fast as possible.

I could have gone faster, but Sub3:05 is way too hard at this point. I think I have all in this race, which I didn’t do even in my sub3 marathon. This race is much needed to get back in shape. I will take a break from running to recover my muscles. Then I have to start training for another marathon in October-November. I hope to break sub-3 in the next race.