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Cologne Marathon, 14th October 2012.
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Hi Neil, I've had a chat to the organisers and I *could* move up to the marathon if i wanted to.... it's a big temptation and i'm currently weighing up the pro's and cons' at the moment.
Pros
- Another mara under my belt
- Running in a city i love
- Great crowd support
Cons:
- It looks like it's running up and down the Rhine (no overly bad but its out and back)
- It starts at 11am
Currently it's 3/2 for the full
Hi em,
Hmmm, dilemma there, I suppose if your confident you can go the distance and have trained well enough then the mara would be ace.
Most races are out and back's so I'm not fussed about that, it's the same miles whatever the direction, and you know what the route is like in the 2nd half lol! Also, I'm happy it's a late start, I'm horrific in the morning and means can get a decent lie in instead of getting up at silly o'clock to eat breakie. See, I just put your 'cons' into 'pro's' lol!
Go on, the full, you know you want to.....
Hey All,
I thought I'd chime in as I will be going to Cologne this year as well. Having only picked up running two years ago in my late 30s, I have only one marathon under my belt (Dublin 2010) and finished it in what I fear is a very slow time by RW forum standards -- I was quite happy with the 3:59 as it was my goal to get in under 4 hrs. I am up to about 40 mls/week now with the longest run of about 21 miles last Sunday and next, and hoping to marginally improve on the showing from 2 years ago. 3:55 would be great for me, but I'll take anything under 4 again.
I had only been to Cologne once many years ago, but thought it was a place worth visiting again. I was actually quite attracted by the late start of the marathon, by the way, as I am not a morning person, though it does create a more substantial risk of high temperatures. I am hoping for about 10C with partly cloudy conditions. The one drawback was the fact that listening to an MP3 player is a cause for Disqualification, as I find it difficult to run more than about 10-12 miles without music. I am hoping the organizers have some flexibility on that one.
The back and forth along the Rhine for the first half of the run is probably more of an issue for the slowpokes such as myself, seeing the sub-3 runners miles ahead in the opposite direction and reminding us how much more training we should have done.
Otherwise, I can't wait. I might hit the Expo as early as Friday and take Saturday to check out the city and see some friends nearby. Need to find a good pasta place for Saturday, so I will check out your guys' recommendations.
Neil Mac: so sorry to hear about your friend. I lost a friend from university last year before she even turned 40 and I am still at a loss to make sense of it. Hang in there.
Hope to see more of everyone's posts. All the best in the meantime.
Hi Milos - If you think you're a slow runner - take a look at me - my marathon PB is 5.14! You'll have no issue with it!
Regarding the MP3 player - i can only go from my own experience in the half marathon. I had one ear in and they never said a word. I know that its "official" rules but i'm not sure how strictly they stick to them? To be honest - I rarely wear one in cologne as i'm absorbing the atmosphere too much. There's nothing quite like hearing "3 lions" in Germany (they saw all of us wearing union jacks and changed the music so we'd be spurred on.
I'm in discussions with the friend i'm travelling with about switching to the full. As it's later - they'd need to wait around for me for another 7 hours... and that's not really fair so i'm going to see what they say.
Regarding some good places to eat pasta/italian - I'll put the word out to my friends living there for some insider tips!
Hi Emmy,
Thanks so much for the post. From what I hear about Cologne's flatness, you might be smashing your PB this year! Thanks for the info on the earphones also. I am hoping the organizers come back with some assurance that this is a "just-in-case" kind of rule. And, let's face it, I will not be anywhere near the fast runners, so listening to a bit of music is unlikely to impede anyone's performance...
I hope you make it to the full race, btw!
Hi guys! Espesh Milos, welcome to the thread, great to have someone else on board who'se doing the race.
Good to hear I'm not the only person who'se not fond of mornings haha! Like you, I'm happy it's a later KO for the race, no having to get up at silly o'clock to eat breakie, suits me. Wouldn't worry too much about the weather, I had a peek at the forecast in Koln at the moment, it's not exactly roasting hot, think concerns are based on the freak heatwave we had in Europe in Oct last year.
Milos, there's no such thing as a slow time here on RW, or anywhere else for that matter, under 4 hours for your 1st mara is a great effort, be proud of it, you've done something most people would never achieve. Koln is meant to be nice and flat so there's a good chance of PB's all round, lets keep our fingers crossed huh! On the subject of music, I wouldn't get too hung up about that either, I don't run with music, but all the races I've done that say people shouldn't, it's never strictly enforced, it's not as if someone is going to jump out and grab all the ipods off people as they run past.
Cheers for the words re my mate Alan, sounds like you've suffered similar, like you say, it's hard to make any sense of. Certainly stopped me from whinging about injuries and missing running targets that's for sure.
I had a gander on Tripadvisor and there's plenty Italian's in town so no shortage of places to grab that pre race pasta.
As for myself, training is back on course, did the Stirling 10k on Sunday in 38.30, no PB but felt good, and things seem to be coming together just at the right time after some poor form a coupla months ago. Less than 4 weeks to go now, last long run on Saturday, 23miles, and then it's taper time, get in!
Cheers folks!
Neil
PS, Emmy, I never got that t-shirt thing sorted, my bank told me the IBAN No I was given is wrong, weird, will take my chances at the Expo now.
Hi all, again! Wondered how everyone is getting on as the big day approaches. Got my final details email yesterday, so the excitement's built up that little bit more. Nice of them to give us and a supporter (in my case long suffering girlfriend/support unit Ms Mac) free travel on the day.
I did my last LSR on Saturday, took it to 23 miles and on my feet for 3hours, it's taper all the way now to Koln, though am doing the Edinburgh ½ Kilomathon (or 8.13mile race as I call it!) on Sunday as a sharpener.
Hope everybody else is doing well, and looking forward to the race.
Cheers!
Neil.
Hey Neil, great to hear from you again. I did my 2 21-milers last two weekends and began a slow taper with a 15-miler today (not mentioning the mid-week runs, which I am still pushing fairly hard and will do so for another week). I did both 21-milers in just over 3 hours (3:09 and 3:08), which, for me, is pretty satisfactory as I want to finish Cologne under 4. I ran the 15-miler at about a 8:35 pace and it felt very comfortable, which was encouraging.
Great to hear your long run was a success. I always dread the possibility that wear and tear will really show at that point. I have had minor post-run aches with the right metatarsal, but they seem to have gone now.
How has Edinburgh gone?
Finally, the big run seems close. It's been a long road.
Much health to all and keep up the morale these last two weeks. By the way, weather in Cologne seems to be heading to a perfect spot. It's been highs of 16-18 and it is supposed be a high of around 14-15 on raceday (according to historical averages, not the actual forecast, of course). I'd prefer a partly sunny with a high of about 14.
Milos
Hi Milos! Sorry for delay in getting back, been really busy and just forgot about the thread, argh! Great news on your 21milers, that'll give an excellent aerobic base for the big day, I'd say there's a very good chance you'll get under that 4 with your times from your training runs. If you can hold a pace between that 8.35 from your 15m and 9 from your 21s you're well in!
Glad that metatarsal is OK as well, and now we're well in taper mode we should be fresh for the big day, I do a 3week taper so have been reducing miles the last coupla weeks, and last longish run tomoz of 13miles. I did the Edinburgh half kilomathon, 13.1k (as I'm a bit of an old school 'miles' man I call it the 8.1m race haha) last Sunday and got round in 51.15, was happy with that, actually came 6th and was 1st in my age cat M45+ (no prize though, booo)! Never ever done that before, but there wasn't any of the fast local runners I normally see at races round these parts (I live in Edinburgh). Just wanted to keep an even 6.20mm and managed that, so was chuffed.
Anyway, it's now only over a week to go, hope you and everybody else is in good pre race health. The weather is looking good for race day, but it's a few days too early to tell, but I doubt it'll be sweltering hot. Bring it on!
Cheers all!
Hi Neil,
I'm looking forward to cologne!
ran a half yesterday and felt OK but my quad is really tight at the moment so I need to keep an eye on that. Well done on the race win!
Does anyone know when the expo closes on Saturday? Is it 4pm like last year?
Hi Emmy, Neil,
Great to hear from you guys. According to the website, the expo is open until 7 on Saturday. This is my first Cologne run, so I have no idea if this is entirely reliable, but I hope they stick to it. I plan on going as early as possible to get the logistics out of the way and enjoy the city.
Neil, Big Congrats (or "big ups" as kids would say, er, about 20 years ago) on the 8-miler. That's an unbelievable time for any age group. What time are you hoping for in Cologne?
I ran a 10m training run yesterday and clocked in at 1:21, which is in line with what I hoped for at this point in training. I also had an encouraging 6-miler earlier in the week at about a 7:45/mile pace (although with a slight net downhill). Just trying to get in under 4 in Cologne.
A bit of soreness in left knee and right metatarsal, but this week is about a couple of speedwork runs (relatively speaking, in my case) and fairly short distances, so the body can rest a bit. I feel ready.
Emmy, I hope you get some rest. It's very impressive that you ran a half just a week before the big one and it sounds like you'll be just fine.
Now, we just have to avoid getting sick. It's been a bit of a slalom doing it in London last couple of weeks as virtually everyone I know has had either a nasty stomach bug or a more mundane autumnal cold.
Good luck guys, and keep up the updates in the run-up!
Milos
Hi Milos, I'll check with some friends who are running in Cologne as well. They're normally well informed! I've had both the autumnal cold AND the stomach flu
Suprisingly it was the cold that took me out of the game (4 whole days...) but the flu just made me feel like I had nothing left in the tank.
Well done on the run! That sounds like some cracking times!
I'm just going to rest and stretch and go from there and see how I get on. I'm planning to run "as a pb" this year but after the quad incident - we'll have to see.
Hi Emmy,
I would just rest the quad and maybe play it by ear, but not do too much the rest of the week. It sounds like you have put plenty of mileage under your feet and it is probably most beneficial to make sure your body recovers. I suspect our bodies are more vulnerable to germs with all the run fatigue.
I do hope the cold and flu are fully behind you. I ran my one and only marathon two years ago on the first non-fever day after three days of fairly mild flu (not man flu, sadly) and it's just not great. Adrenaline gets you by, but being healthy is really the biggest thing.
It was cold on route and I was cheering you guys at the marathon! I ended up with a PB for the half and really loved it!