Seville Marathon 2023 — The race
The first part of this article, the training build up to the Seville marathon, was posted here. This part will focus on the race itself, and my thoughts afterwards.
Pre race preparation
I was reasonably satisfied with my preparation but it doesn't matter how fit you are, you have to execute a good race on the day. The big city marathon was a new experience for me, which came with a few unknowns on race day.
I tried to organise the logistics so
that I could relax before the race. We arrived in Seville on the Friday morning, went straight to the Expo to pick up my number, then sorted out food and our Airbnb. It was an early start on Friday morning to get to the airport, but by 3 pm on Friday I was ready for the race.
This meant the rest of Friday and all of Saturday could be as chilled out as possible. I tried not to worry too much about the race. I just tried to relax and get into a good mental and physical place for Sunday.
I didn't have any particular pre-race diet. I ate food that I was used to. On Saturday, I ate a little more through the day - trying to stick to simpler (beige) foods. I tried to spread the food out through the day so that I was eating lots of snacks rather than huge meals.
Sunday morning was a bit different to what I'm used to. I've never done a big city marathon and didn't know how much time to leave before the start or what facilities to expect.
I woke up at 4:45, had a plain brioche (fancy) and went back to bed to lay down. At around 6:30 I got up to start getting ready. I sipped on sports drink mix.
I left to walk the ~1 mile to the start at around 7:20 (for an 8:30 start). I walked in my shorts and vest as I didn't want to mess around with the baggage drop. I should have taken a warm layer as it was a little cold but I was a little worried about not being able to find somewhere to leave it. As it turned out, the baggage drop would have been easy, plus there was an ‘elite’ area where I could have left kit (but I didn't know about that).
I did a little jogging at the start (~2 km), a couple of strides and a few relaxed drills. My legs felt pretty good and although I was a little nervous, I was mainly excited. It was a cool atmosphere with lots of spectators and other runners. There was a buzz.
The plan was to try to run at 15:50-16:00 per 5 km. That was the pace I ran in my biggest marathon session prior to the race (38 km inc. 4 x 5 km at marathon effort) and it felt like a sustainable effort at the time. Hopefully I could find a group running around that pace so that I could settle in a switch off in the first half.
The race
0-5 km: 15:54 / 5-10 km: 15:56
The first 10 km ticked by reasonably quickly and comfortably. The wind was a little stronger than I would have liked (i.e. more than zero) but there was a decent group which I managed to sit in most of the time. It wasn't hard but it also wasn't super easy; it felt sustainable.
I had one 40 g gel at ~5 km.
10-15 km: 16:10 / 15-20 km: 16:14
The second 10 km was more into the wind, and I seemed to be the one in our group who felt the best, so I spent a decent amount of time trying to keep moving along at a good pace. I knew we had slowed a little, but the effort felt pretty similar. I felt like I could have pushed harder but I was a little wary of working too hard early in the race.
I had my second 40 g gel at ~16 km. Energy levels were still good.
20-25 km: 16:10 / Halfway: 67:45 / 25-30 km: 16:11
I had hoped to run a little quicker through halfway, but I had at least run with a group (even if I spent more time than I wanted at the front of the group).
It was less windy, and the groups started to break up, but I didn’t pick up the pace. My heart rate dropped in this 10 km; from an average of 164 to 159 BPM. I don't know if this was due to fatigue or a lack of concentration. I was just running at a comfortable speed but maybe I should have pressed a little.
I had a 3rd 40 g gel at ~26 km.
30-35 km: 16:31
There was a section around 31-33 km which felt quite windy and we went through some twistier sections, but otherwise I'm not sure why this split was slower. It didn't feel slower.
My heart rate was still low and, although my legs were tired, I didn’t feel like I had to slow down. Maybe I lacked concentration. Then again, I was probably more fatigued than I recall.
I had half of a 4th 40 g gel (with caffeine) around 34 km. It was the same type, but I hadn’t tried this flavour of gel in training (stupid, I know). The taste was not a good change and I didn't finish it.
35-40 km: 17:49
A little after 35 km I got a bad stitch which came on suddenly. At the time, I felt it had to be the caffeine gel - it didn't sit right - but, whatever caused it, the damage was done.
I stopped and walked for a bit, then jogged, then walked again. Deep breaths. Stretch my side. I felt silly.
After a couple of minutes of walk / jog, the stitch started to pass and I got back into running. My watch says I ran a 6:27 then a 5:42 mile (with every other mile <5:15). Once it was gone, I was moving well again, and could pick up the pace. I set about reeling in those that passed me.
40-42.2 km: 6:58 / Finish: 2:17:53
Finish in sight and stitch gone. I managed to run quite strongly again, which is maybe unsurprising given I just had a rest. I was happy that I got myself back on track - it would have been easy to give up and use it as an excuse - but it was frustrating.
I don't feel I really experienced the last 10 km of the marathon. I suffered, but with a stitch rather than by pushing myself to the limit. That said, maybe the gel had nothing to do with it and the stitch was due to fatigue at the end of the race. Maybe that's exactly what the last 10 km of the marathon is: any slight weakness is exposed.
Post race reflections
I was a little disappointed with 2:17:53 as an outcome. I am not making excuses and I am not saying ‘if this didn’t happen then I’d have run XX’ or ‘I could have run XX on a different day’. I ran what I deserved with the preparation and the race execution.
I think I can run faster.
It is hard not to focus on the stitch I had near the end, since that was an obvious place I lost time but I also think I lost concentration at times during the race.
It would have felt better to execute a better race, but I'm reasonably satisfied when I look at everything together. I was fit coming into the race but probably under-prepared for the specific challenges of the marathon. When I planned my training, I said that I would rather be under-prepared than over-trained and stale. I can't be too upset when that happens.
I think I understand the challenges of the marathon a little better. The combination of concentration and patience to race 42.2 km fast is something that I hadn't experienced. Long races off-road have natural breaks and changes in focus. On the road, you get none of that.
I achieved what I set out to at the start of this block: I have a time on the board and things I can work on in the future. That was what I wanted.
Thoughts for the future
I wrote about the areas I thought I could improve on before the race (see previous post), and I think these remain worthwhile considerations. However, those thoughts probably apply across the board, not just for the marathon.
I got to the race healthy and with good fitness. I think that's a sign that my general training philosophy works for me. I don't know whether I need something different to move to the next level, but I'm confident that I understand the general principles.
What I need to think about is how to prepare for the specific challenges of a race. I don't think I gave enough weight to specific marathon preparation. I think I could have raced OK in a 5 km with the same preparation but would have been under-prepared for the challenges of that race as well. I was fit, but I lacked the sharpness required to race well. Sharpness probably comes from specificity.
I've always been more interval based - but long intervals might not be specific enough to be the cornerstone of training for the marathon. For that specificity, longer efforts at marathon pace may be better - maybe up to 10-14 miles. The 10 mile tempo used to be a key training session for some athletes back in the day.
I also think I could make use of longer races in the build up as key sessions. I didn't this time because I didn't want to travel to find a race, but maybe I should have. A half marathon race at an honest marathon effort probably has more than just physiological value.
Tempo runs and preparation races are probably more useful than intervals and slower long runs for figuring out realistic pacing and practising the skills you need on race day: concentration, patience, and fuelling.
I had a theory that many runners overdo the specific marathon sessions and burn themselves out in training. I am revaluating. There is a recovery cost to long hard runs, which needs to be balanced, but it doesn't get any more specific. Perhaps people overdo them, but I think I needed more.
However, the training block doesn't sit in isolation, it builds upon what has been done before. I may have overdone things if I had included too much specific work in this block. Hopefully I've built towards a place where I can do more specific work in the future.
I thought my fuelling was generally OK. I didn't feel low on fuel at any point and the only question was if maybe that last gel contributed to the stitch. In the marathon I had ~140 g of carbohydrates from gels. I would have preferred bottles, as that makes it easier to get fuel in more regularly, but also didn't mind not having the stress of dealing with drinks tables during the race. I think I can still improve this in the future and get in more fuel, but I coped better than I thought I might.
I will look into the possible causes of the stitch - was it fuelling, or something else? - but I also need to look at my overall approach to the race. Did I pace it right? Did I lose focus? Should I have worried less about pacing and more about racing? I think some athletes push for times they aren't ready for - but maybe there is something to be said for taking a braver approach to pacing. I don't know how a marathon is supposed to feel, so maybe I should test that limit.
I was happy with my mindset while training for this marathon. I enjoyed the exploration and the new challenge. The end result wasn't in the forefront of my mind a lot. I was quite conservative, but I think that will give me a good platform to build on in the future.
Where now?
I'll take the week after the marathon off training. I'll do a couple of jogs, but nothing planned. If I feel like doing nothing, I'll do nothing. I'll then start to build up the training volume again. I'll be a little cautious with intensity for a few weeks and focus on easy miles as I return to training.
I’m going to do another marathon at some point - maybe at the end of the year or early next. I think I can run faster with better preparation and race execution, and I want to see if I’m right. Mostly though, I found the marathon to be an interesting challenge.
Before that, I hope to race the Short Trail at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in June. The mountains probably require a slightly different approach and I’ll try to take the lessons about specificity when I plan my training for that. I’ll do shorter races on different surfaces when they fit into the calendar.
If you have enjoyed these posts, the stuff I have written on social media or have any questions/comments/thoughts - I’m happy for you to get in touch. I’m learning and I enjoy having conversations about this stuff.
