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heja! (i did this thing)
May. 30th, 2015 07:29 pm("Heja" is roughly "hurrah". We heard it a lot from the spectators.)
Official time: 3:40:59. Gun time 3:43:29, which means that it took 2:30 just to reach the start line. Big races are like that.
And it was a big race. I'm used to scrum starts, but it usually thins out pretty quickly. Here I wasn't more than 10 feet from the nearest runner at any time during the race. When I left the stadium, the 5-hour runners were finishing, still in a continuous stream.
Anyway, call it 3:41, which is a personal best, but still 11 minutes off my goal of 3:30, and 6 minutes off my VDOT estimate of 3:36 (based on my last half marathon). The weather was...not ideal for running. 50F is a little cool, but easily manageable if there isn't rain. Which there was, on and off at first, then continuously from maybe 2pm on. It wasn't heavy, more what the Brits call "heavy mist", but more than enough to soak me to the skin. My bunkmate*, a German who's done the Stockholm Marathon 11 times, says the cold saps your energy as much as the heat. Of course, he says 3 years ago, it was 3C (38F) and windy, so truly miserable. Anyway, he also finished 10 minutes off his goal, but his goal was 3:00.
*I'm staying at the Urban Hostel Gamla Stan. The hotel I was at for business is stupidly expensive this time of year, and it doesn't feel right to bill the project for non-business-related room nights, and I can't justify paying that much for something that's not going to be reimbursed. Anyway, the hostel is cheap and centrally located, as hostels should be, but it's also clean, well-maintained, and surprisingly quiet. As in, I'm in their biggest room, with 16 beds, and there was no chatter in the room at night, and lights were out at 11pm (and most people were already in bed by then). I wonder if Saturay night is going to be a different story; I hope not, because I have to be up at 5am to get to the airport. But 2 of the girls are dressed up to go clubbing...
Anyway, Paul's big adventure in Stockholm. At least I didn't get lost. :)
Official time: 3:40:59. Gun time 3:43:29, which means that it took 2:30 just to reach the start line. Big races are like that.
And it was a big race. I'm used to scrum starts, but it usually thins out pretty quickly. Here I wasn't more than 10 feet from the nearest runner at any time during the race. When I left the stadium, the 5-hour runners were finishing, still in a continuous stream.
Anyway, call it 3:41, which is a personal best, but still 11 minutes off my goal of 3:30, and 6 minutes off my VDOT estimate of 3:36 (based on my last half marathon). The weather was...not ideal for running. 50F is a little cool, but easily manageable if there isn't rain. Which there was, on and off at first, then continuously from maybe 2pm on. It wasn't heavy, more what the Brits call "heavy mist", but more than enough to soak me to the skin. My bunkmate*, a German who's done the Stockholm Marathon 11 times, says the cold saps your energy as much as the heat. Of course, he says 3 years ago, it was 3C (38F) and windy, so truly miserable. Anyway, he also finished 10 minutes off his goal, but his goal was 3:00.
*I'm staying at the Urban Hostel Gamla Stan. The hotel I was at for business is stupidly expensive this time of year, and it doesn't feel right to bill the project for non-business-related room nights, and I can't justify paying that much for something that's not going to be reimbursed. Anyway, the hostel is cheap and centrally located, as hostels should be, but it's also clean, well-maintained, and surprisingly quiet. As in, I'm in their biggest room, with 16 beds, and there was no chatter in the room at night, and lights were out at 11pm (and most people were already in bed by then). I wonder if Saturay night is going to be a different story; I hope not, because I have to be up at 5am to get to the airport. But 2 of the girls are dressed up to go clubbing...
Anyway, Paul's big adventure in Stockholm. At least I didn't get lost. :)
