One of the things that I was worried about, after the Berlin Marathon started, was hydration and salt. Due to fatigue (I think), when I ran my paces in Berlin, I would sweat like I was standing in the shower. Every water stop was giving us full water glasses with about 7 ozs of water, which might be closer to what you should be drinking. I knew I had to drink a lot, based on how much I was sweating, and also needed to avoid sloshy stomach.
I was also taking salt capsules with somethink like 600 mg of sodium in each, taking one every 8 k (so at 8, 16 24, 32). This was the first race that I would be taking salt, and I would find out this race how my body reacted. And as it turned out, I think it reacted very well.
I had several times where I was getting sloshy stomach, and it was most noticeable at the 24 and 32k marks, because when I took a salt cap, it went away.
Do salt caps cure sloshy stomach? based on Berlin, I would vote yes. But more reaearch is required.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Berlin Marathon race report
Here are the things that I remember about the berlin marathon. I ran a 4:01:01, which is not my best run, but certainly not my worst one either. The weather was perfect, 9 degrees at the start, about 14-15 at the finish, some cloud so not too sunny.
Did my saturday run from the hotel to the start area, so I could explore where the bag drop-off was, and where my coral was. This really helped settle me, as I was somewhat familiar with the area, I had run around it in previous years.
Watched the in-line skating marathon on the saturday. really kewl, those guys fly. They do close to the same course as the Marathon, but the leaders finish it in an hour.
Got killed by jet-lag. No matter what I did, including taking sleeping pills, would make me fall asleep before 4 am. I seemed to be able to operate on only 2 hours of sleep, but I think I was a little dopey for a few days. 2 hours of sleep is not a good way to prepare to race.
Schedule that I had, based on Rob's really helped. Had everything set out and ready, bag packed, so I could get ready on autopilot. got to start area at about 7:15. Not too many runners about.
Met a new yorker named Jacqui at the start area when I got there, so I showed her the start/finish area. She mentioned for the New York marathon that there are not enough port-a-potties at the start area. "its OK for the guys, they just go off the (verazzano narrows) bridge, not so for the girls." Her advice was to take the upper level of the bridge for the start.
I took a small camera around the race course, but was not thinking about it too much, as I only shot pictures at the start and the finish of the race. This is the start area before it starts to fill up. I am in corral E, and I will get to go out with the first wave.
Saw Haile Gebraselassie warming up in the tiergarten, same area where I was. I actually got a picture of him.
More of his entourage. This group flew by me doing way more than my marathon pace, and it looked effortless when they did it.
Note the yellow bags everyone is wearing. I bought a cheap, 5 euro touristy shirt the day before, intending to chuck the shirt right before the race. When I got the bag drop-off tent that I was assigned to, they had these yellow plastic bags for you to where, so I kept the shirt and wore the bag. They actually kept you fairly warm. The covering you get at the finish line is a sheet of the same thin plastic.
The fall colours where very nice. Not many leaves on the course, so no danger of being slippery.
You can see the victory column, AKA siegessaeule, in the distance. There is a traffic circle there, and the runners split around both sides, and join up again on the far side. You can also see the start line, and I am between 60 and 90 running strides from the start (I measured it on saturday), or about 2 minutes between gun time and chip time.
The gun goes off, and everyone holding a balloon lets it go. It did look really cool actually. Weird thing about my start is that there was never really the rush as the gun went off, and I don't think I actually heared the gun go off. To relax I kinda bopped to an internal rhythm as we moved towards the start line.
Here is the race route. First k was 5:15, second was 5:09. Crowd finally thinned a bit, and I hit my paces (4:40-5:02) until we get to the 13k mark. Round about this time, I am deciding that I need to change my race strategy to be finishing the race. When I was running at a 5:00/km pace, I was sweating like I was standing in the shower. Drank from my e-load every time my Garmin signalled another K goes down. I finished the e-load at about the 10k mark. I was taking gels every 7km and taking a salt cap every 8.
It seems that the salt caps actually help with sloshy stomache, for me at least. I had the slossies a few times, and it seemed that when I took a salt cap, in about 5 minutes, the sloshy feeling had passed. I drank a lot of water. The cups they served in were 6 or 7 oz glasses that were right full. They had what looked like plastic baby tubs with garden hoses running into them on the tables, and they were filling glasses by scoop and place. It took 4 swallows to drain one of these. No wonder I got sloshy, but I was well hydrated.
I am thinking that you get sloshy stomach, as your body tries to protect you from overhydrating. If you are running low on salt, your body doesn't absorb the water, and avoids thinning the electrolytes too much. Add some salt, and it can be absorbed.
The noise at the first water station was incredible. They were using the 7 oz glasses, and everyone drinks and drops the cups. There were perhaps 8,000 cups on the ground already when I went by, and made a nice cruching noise when stepped on by the 500 people around me. It was so incredibly noisy!
From 13k to 18k, my mantra became "so very tired, I'm so very tired..." I was really feeling the jetlag now, and running a 5:30 to 5:45 pace (and occaisonally slower).
My friend Konni cheered for me at the 18K mark, and ran some 500 metres with me. This gave me a real boost. She commented that I must have found it too warm to run, as I was sweating like crazy. Started to feel better about running, but certainly not going any faster.
I put two Canada flag tattoos on before the race, one on my arm, and one on my calf. No one ever commented on them. The one time I met a canadian in the race, he overheard me say something, and right away said "Your from canada too". Must be the accent.
kept my sponge in my sleeve, which actually worked really good. Dunked it every waterstop, cause I needed it. I ran with another, thinner sponge that I kept under my hat the whole race, but never moved my hat, so it was not a problem. Dont know if that helped though.
The wrist band that I asked my Mom to modify before the race worked out well. We took an old sweatband, cut it in half, and serged. As I get skinnier, my Garmin chafs the bone that pokes out of your wrist. The wristband keeps it away from the bone, without being annoying. Must have worked well, because I never thought about the wristband all race.
My last 10 k felt like the best one I had sone so far, I took very few walking breaks, they were short (like to drink water at the station, or take a salt cap, and I did not stop at all for the last 3. This was a huge improvement. I am blaming it on both the intervals, and the long runs of 34 and 38k in the weeks before the race.
At the 25, 30, and 35K marks, there were massage therapist with their portable beds, giving massages at the side of the road. I guess if you were cramping up, this would be a great way to work it out.
my heart rate never went over 160, and spent a large portion between 135 and 145. Have to look up what real effect elevation has on your running. Do you reach lactic acid threshold sooner? at a lower heart rate? Are you really able to absorb more oxygen, and thus get a higher V02 max?
Loved my shoes. Saucony Fastwitch 3's, 7.4 oz, around 210 grams (when talking to the europeans at the start line). My feet felt light all race. There was a section of cobblestone near the end, and I felt them through the shoe. They were nice to race in, and shed water quickly too.
Greasing up the toes with vaseline helped. I still have all 10 toenails, and they are all still attached to my feet:-).
Didn't drink any of the sports drink on the course, and glad I didn't. I had two glasses of the stuff at the finish area, and it was disgusting. They mixed it up from powder in the baby tubs, and never let it disolve, so the strength was very different from glass to glass. Not gatorade at all. I drank 24 oz' because I was dry. 24 oz's of water as well. And I was still thirsty.
Goodie bags were nice. bottle of flavoured water (mine was peach), Melt in your mouth cakes with chocolate chips, cookies, banana, and dextrose tablets.
Coming to the finish line, you can see the brandenburg get getting bigger, you are within the last kilometer at this point.
You go through the gates, and you are 400 meters from the finish line, complete with granstands and video screens.
It was a cool race, and I would definately do it again. There were so many spectators, and in some places it was like the tour de france, where they crowd into the road, and you have to squeeze through a chute.
After a good dinner of pasta (third night in a row) I had no problem falling asleep.
Did my saturday run from the hotel to the start area, so I could explore where the bag drop-off was, and where my coral was. This really helped settle me, as I was somewhat familiar with the area, I had run around it in previous years.
Watched the in-line skating marathon on the saturday. really kewl, those guys fly. They do close to the same course as the Marathon, but the leaders finish it in an hour.
Got killed by jet-lag. No matter what I did, including taking sleeping pills, would make me fall asleep before 4 am. I seemed to be able to operate on only 2 hours of sleep, but I think I was a little dopey for a few days. 2 hours of sleep is not a good way to prepare to race.
Schedule that I had, based on Rob's really helped. Had everything set out and ready, bag packed, so I could get ready on autopilot. got to start area at about 7:15. Not too many runners about.
Met a new yorker named Jacqui at the start area when I got there, so I showed her the start/finish area. She mentioned for the New York marathon that there are not enough port-a-potties at the start area. "its OK for the guys, they just go off the (verazzano narrows) bridge, not so for the girls." Her advice was to take the upper level of the bridge for the start.
I took a small camera around the race course, but was not thinking about it too much, as I only shot pictures at the start and the finish of the race. This is the start area before it starts to fill up. I am in corral E, and I will get to go out with the first wave.
Saw Haile Gebraselassie warming up in the tiergarten, same area where I was. I actually got a picture of him.
More of his entourage. This group flew by me doing way more than my marathon pace, and it looked effortless when they did it.
Note the yellow bags everyone is wearing. I bought a cheap, 5 euro touristy shirt the day before, intending to chuck the shirt right before the race. When I got the bag drop-off tent that I was assigned to, they had these yellow plastic bags for you to where, so I kept the shirt and wore the bag. They actually kept you fairly warm. The covering you get at the finish line is a sheet of the same thin plastic.
The fall colours where very nice. Not many leaves on the course, so no danger of being slippery.
You can see the victory column, AKA siegessaeule, in the distance. There is a traffic circle there, and the runners split around both sides, and join up again on the far side. You can also see the start line, and I am between 60 and 90 running strides from the start (I measured it on saturday), or about 2 minutes between gun time and chip time.
The gun goes off, and everyone holding a balloon lets it go. It did look really cool actually. Weird thing about my start is that there was never really the rush as the gun went off, and I don't think I actually heared the gun go off. To relax I kinda bopped to an internal rhythm as we moved towards the start line.
Here is the race route. First k was 5:15, second was 5:09. Crowd finally thinned a bit, and I hit my paces (4:40-5:02) until we get to the 13k mark. Round about this time, I am deciding that I need to change my race strategy to be finishing the race. When I was running at a 5:00/km pace, I was sweating like I was standing in the shower. Drank from my e-load every time my Garmin signalled another K goes down. I finished the e-load at about the 10k mark. I was taking gels every 7km and taking a salt cap every 8.It seems that the salt caps actually help with sloshy stomache, for me at least. I had the slossies a few times, and it seemed that when I took a salt cap, in about 5 minutes, the sloshy feeling had passed. I drank a lot of water. The cups they served in were 6 or 7 oz glasses that were right full. They had what looked like plastic baby tubs with garden hoses running into them on the tables, and they were filling glasses by scoop and place. It took 4 swallows to drain one of these. No wonder I got sloshy, but I was well hydrated.
I am thinking that you get sloshy stomach, as your body tries to protect you from overhydrating. If you are running low on salt, your body doesn't absorb the water, and avoids thinning the electrolytes too much. Add some salt, and it can be absorbed.
The noise at the first water station was incredible. They were using the 7 oz glasses, and everyone drinks and drops the cups. There were perhaps 8,000 cups on the ground already when I went by, and made a nice cruching noise when stepped on by the 500 people around me. It was so incredibly noisy!
From 13k to 18k, my mantra became "so very tired, I'm so very tired..." I was really feeling the jetlag now, and running a 5:30 to 5:45 pace (and occaisonally slower).
My friend Konni cheered for me at the 18K mark, and ran some 500 metres with me. This gave me a real boost. She commented that I must have found it too warm to run, as I was sweating like crazy. Started to feel better about running, but certainly not going any faster.
I put two Canada flag tattoos on before the race, one on my arm, and one on my calf. No one ever commented on them. The one time I met a canadian in the race, he overheard me say something, and right away said "Your from canada too". Must be the accent.
kept my sponge in my sleeve, which actually worked really good. Dunked it every waterstop, cause I needed it. I ran with another, thinner sponge that I kept under my hat the whole race, but never moved my hat, so it was not a problem. Dont know if that helped though.
The wrist band that I asked my Mom to modify before the race worked out well. We took an old sweatband, cut it in half, and serged. As I get skinnier, my Garmin chafs the bone that pokes out of your wrist. The wristband keeps it away from the bone, without being annoying. Must have worked well, because I never thought about the wristband all race.
My last 10 k felt like the best one I had sone so far, I took very few walking breaks, they were short (like to drink water at the station, or take a salt cap, and I did not stop at all for the last 3. This was a huge improvement. I am blaming it on both the intervals, and the long runs of 34 and 38k in the weeks before the race.
At the 25, 30, and 35K marks, there were massage therapist with their portable beds, giving massages at the side of the road. I guess if you were cramping up, this would be a great way to work it out.
my heart rate never went over 160, and spent a large portion between 135 and 145. Have to look up what real effect elevation has on your running. Do you reach lactic acid threshold sooner? at a lower heart rate? Are you really able to absorb more oxygen, and thus get a higher V02 max?
Loved my shoes. Saucony Fastwitch 3's, 7.4 oz, around 210 grams (when talking to the europeans at the start line). My feet felt light all race. There was a section of cobblestone near the end, and I felt them through the shoe. They were nice to race in, and shed water quickly too.
Greasing up the toes with vaseline helped. I still have all 10 toenails, and they are all still attached to my feet:-).
Didn't drink any of the sports drink on the course, and glad I didn't. I had two glasses of the stuff at the finish area, and it was disgusting. They mixed it up from powder in the baby tubs, and never let it disolve, so the strength was very different from glass to glass. Not gatorade at all. I drank 24 oz' because I was dry. 24 oz's of water as well. And I was still thirsty.
Goodie bags were nice. bottle of flavoured water (mine was peach), Melt in your mouth cakes with chocolate chips, cookies, banana, and dextrose tablets.
Coming to the finish line, you can see the brandenburg get getting bigger, you are within the last kilometer at this point.
You go through the gates, and you are 400 meters from the finish line, complete with granstands and video screens.
It was a cool race, and I would definately do it again. There were so many spectators, and in some places it was like the tour de france, where they crowd into the road, and you have to squeeze through a chute.
After a good dinner of pasta (third night in a row) I had no problem falling asleep.
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