Once again, the Logroño Marathon presented itself as the chosen race to start October. With the option of a same-day round trip, and once again with the offer of running it at zero cost thanks to the collaboration of Sapje Renovables, it was a chance hard to miss. All this despite having had a tough week.
The Valladolid Half Marathon the previous week did not meet expectations. After a Friday and Saturday helping with bib pickup, I wanted to take advantage of not having pacer duties to try and get close to 1h45m. In the end, I didn’t achieve the goal. Positioning myself in the middle of the pack before the start, but with all the pacers (except the 2-hour one) at the front, it takes me 4 kilometers to catch the 1h55m group, and 12 to reach the 1h50m one. In the end, I finish with 1h51m, and furthermore, I catch a cold that is going to affect me in Logroño (and even a couple of weeks later).
Furthermore, the week includes two almost sleepless nights due to a lightning trip to London on Wednesday to resolve a pending matter there. Trying to rest as much as possible, and resorting to a flu medicine on Saturday as a last resort to arrive in decent shape, I have a 5:30 AM meeting with Gorriti to leave in search of marathon number 154.
We arrive, as usual, with time to spare. The temperature is pleasant, and after picking up the bibs and final preparations, we get in the starting line. Right from the start, I see that my system isn’t “firing on all cylinders”. Not a huge surprise either. Today is going to be one of those days to suffer, if we want to add another marathon to the tally.
No sign of the 3h45m group. I manage to catch up to the 4-hour pacers, but I can’t even hold on with them for long. It’s not as the “over the top” and “me, me, me” style of the aforementioned pacer suits me anyway. Reaching the half-marathon point only shy of the 2 hours threshold and seeing the finishers of that distance, the thought of stopping there crosses my mind. I know it’s not going to be easy to go through all the sections again for a second lap.
The marathon demands sacrifices, in its preparation and often in its completion. As Zatopek said: “If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon”. With my pace getting progressively slower, and already knowing that this will be probably my worst Logroño marathon, I push through the last kilometers towards the hanging bridge before heading to the final stretches through downtown Logroño.
My net time is 4:14:59, on a day where from kilometer 12 I had nothing more to give. I am 430 out of 514 finishers, in the very back of the pack.
Now, a couple of weeks to try and recover as much as possible before the Quijote Marathon and Lisbon. A marathon-filled October that I started tired, though still hopeful of achieving a good time before the expected break in November.