English
3 things that Luxembourg is famous for
1 The financial centre
2 The radio station
3 The radio station
I cannot say that I would have ever have visited the Grand Duchy had it not been for an invite to take part in the ING Marathon through my employer. With race fees being so expensive these days, the opportunity to “run for free” was simply too good to turn down.
I had been running pretty solidly since recovering from the Flora London marathon. My hamstring difficulties seemed to benefit from the extended rest period post London and my last training run pre Luxembourg was a 10 miler the weekend before in the hills and along the seafront of Benidorm (I was there for a bachelor party, but that story is for another time).
Whether my body had become weakened by the stresses of “The Dorm” is the subject of much debate at home. I am convinced that I would have come down with the bug in any case; Mrs G is convinced it was all of my own doing and has no sympathy whatsoever (despite the fact that she is suffering with the same thing now).
The general rule of thumb when suffering from any kind of cold / flu symptoms is to run only if these are above the neck. I toyed with this notion and considered that the congestion in my chest was not that far from the very bottom of my neck and so I was probably ok to run.
I went to Luxembourg with the goal of simply finishing the marathon so I could tick it off the list. If anyone asked what time I was hoping for, my response was to finish the marathon the same day; Not as silly as it sounds as the Luxembourg marathon is one of the few that has a evening start (6pm) and a 6 hour cut off time.
All this said and despite my illness induced confidence crisis, I woke up on the morning of the run in high spirits and completely up for it. The prospect of running an evening marathon in a new and different country had me bouncing of the walls and I couldn’t wait to get things underway.
The first thing that struck me as the plane came into Findel airport was the number of trees. I imagine that this is how merry England looked in the times of Robin Hood, before the evil Sherriff cut them all down in his efforts to find the hooded man.
I was hooking up with my London colleagues Mat, James and Natalie as well as 160 other Ernst & Young runners, some of whom were taking part in the team and half marathon events which are run at the same time on the same course. As I chatted with colleagues from far afield, I got caught up in the moment and went as far to suggest that I was hoping for a marathon P.B here, perhaps a sub 3:30 (whatever was I thinking?)
Ten miles or so into the run I was tasting reality pie and I knew I was in for a tough couple of hours. Despite the lightness of my Pearl Izumi Streak SL’s (only 282g and perfect for a fast race), my legs felt heavy and my breathing laboured. The Luxembourg course is by no means flat and there are a number of long and deceptively steep drags to sap your strength.
What ensured over the course of the next 14 miles was not particularly pretty. It was a slugfest between me and the Luxembourg tarmac and I was taking a pasting. The combination of the warm weather (c26 degrees, even at this time of night), the course and my general health was taking it’s toll.
At around kilometre 38 things started to pick up as the route took us through the winding streets of the town centre. The squares were filled with an excited and noisy crowd who were the perfect antidote to a forlorn and dejected runner. I responded to the cries of “Allez Allez” and pushed on with renewed vigour towards this finish line.
The finish itself was in the Coque National Stadium, the entry road into which was lined with candles that gave the night a calm and serene feel. This was soon blown away by the disco and strobe lighting that hits you inside the stadium at one of the most bizarre finish lines I have ever crossed. Dazed and confused by the bright lights and blaring music, I crossed the finish line in 4:27:59, as spent as a politician’s expense allowance.
One of the things I love about the marathon distance is the honesty of the results. You can blag your way around a 10k on little or no training and still rack up a decent time. A marathon however, will find out your weaknesses and strip you down to your very soul. I have seen some very good runners that run very well when things are going very well, but fall apart and give up when things are going against them.
For the record, my split times were:
10km 00:47:25
Half 1:44:44
Full 4:27:59
Although disappointed at the time, looking back I am pleased with how I performed relative to how I felt. This was never going to be my fastest ever marathon and I was glad to have simply bagged another marathon finish.
I am off to France this weekend for a week with the family and will squeeze in a few early morning runs before everyone wakes up. The day after we get back I am running the fun run at the Eltham Park 5 with Alfie. After that, I am doing the North Downs 30K on Sunday 14th July; maybe I will see you at the start line