The alarm clock was triggered at 04:15, because the tram and train connections were highly unsuitable for an early Sunday. On days like that one surely feels a bit demotivated because there is no car available.
After having a quick breakfast, I took a tram to the train station and after a wait of 45 minutes I could finally step to the train with the weekend party people that were heading home after the eventful night.
During the train journey I had to clarify the day’s agenda. Lately it has been increasingly like this; previously when a marathon was coming up, I always find out the details so early and thoroughly as possible. The stress at work and days full of events take their toll… Fortunately the starting place was only one kilometer away from the Oldenburg train station. I fetched my race number from the race office, rushed to the shuttle bus that was supposed to bring us to Bad Zwischenahn where the start of the marathon took place.
This marathon route was used for the first time, if I’ve understood it correctly so there were some issues that could have been a bit better, but all in all there were not any bigger issues to complain. Because I arrived early in Oldenburg, there was plenty of time in Bad Zwischenahn before the start – about an hour. I tried to use the time to keep warm and excited. Fortunately the weather was really warm with regards to the date, in the morning it was about +12°C and during the race the temperature rose to about +18°C.
The start shot was released at 09:06, because the route was not declared as ready for the race before that. Well, in any case this did not matter, as the time measurement was the same for all. I tried to seek a group of runners where the pace was about 05:00 – 05:30 minutes per kilometer. Naturally there were deviations in the pace, because the first part of the marathon followed sand and gravel covered roads beside the lake and in the countryside. I still was fairly confident that I could keep up with the pace. Altogether there were about 450 runners taking part in the marathon which was a suitable number – not too many people at the drinking spots and it was pretty easy to find running company if one wanted. I tried to have a glass or two of sports drink and water whenever it was possible. With the support by glucose tablets I was able to gain the energy during the race. It’s hard to say whether this was enough, but in the end I think this was not a decisive factor for the outcome of the race.
I was able to keep up the pace until the 30 km, but after that the race became a big struggle, the legs felt weak and I had a couple of minor cramps. At that point we reached the Oldenburg city center so that my lousy striding for sure looked like funny to the others. I don’t whether it was the previous marathon at Otterndorf that made this happen, lacking marathon fitness or what – probably both of them.
Despite my kilometer pace got by about 30 to 45 seconds worse than at the beginning, I was able to reach the finish after 03:48:xx. The shear feeling of finishing made me happy once again, even though I felt a bit dizzy. All in all the marathon event gets a positive evaluation from me – some things could be improved like to find a place for the showers not that far away from the finish line. Mostly I’m happy to have reached another marathon for this year. The next one will probably not happen before the next spring, so there’s plenty of time to get prepared for new best times and the new better me.