I went into
this race without any big expectations. The last two weeks my training was
sporadic and in the last month I didn’t put enough miles, slow or fast, in
order to expect big things from this run. I thought it would be a good excuse
to do a long run. The race it is just one hour driving from my house, it is
supposed to be fast because it starts in the small town of Ferentillo 150 m
higher than the finish place in Terni, but I will get to that later with more
details.
This
morning at 7am I left my house and drove to Terni, I got there at 8 and by 8:20 I was
riding the bus to the start. Temperatures were about 41-50 F, but the thick
cloud cover was announcing rain sooner or later in the morning. We started on
time at 9am and with a couple of friends we decided to do a good run keeping a
8:00/mile pace until was possible. The first half is the fastest part because
we loose 150 meters over 21k, but it is just a continuous up and down until km
17 when we entered Terni.
At km 19 we said goodbye to the half marathoners and we left the town of Terni to do a long loop of
21k in the industrial area before returning to the finish line. As soon as we
left Terni
heading south heavy rain started with a strong cross wind. I kept my pace with
this other friend until km 29 when we entered 2km of unpaved roads, at that
point full of mud. At km 31 we were back on black top but my energies at that
point were gone and my friend kept moving at his pace (he finished in 3:27,
going faster each km). The last 10k was just a survival run I wanted to finish
in decent conditions. I was at km32 in 2:39 and then I finished in 3:38, it
means I was really done during the last km.
I wish I
had enough energies to finish in 3:30 (along with my friend), but it didn’t
happen, I was sore after the race like after any other good marathon, it wasn’t
a training run. It means I have to start piling up more miles and more speed. Rome marathon in one
month it will be another “training run” I don’t have any chance to hit 3:20 or
better on a much more difficult course, at least it will keep me motivated to
start a good training cycle for a fall marathon.
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