It is said that one needs to run at least 5 marathons for establishing the fastest Personal Best on this distance. After running my fifth in 3h20m43s and certainly not running my best marathon I still do feel there is a lot of truth in that. This time running 42km was not that long anymore and maybe with better weather and smoother refueling it could have been my fastest.
This time I managed to start at a slower pace than the past years. Until the 15k mark I ran at a steady 4m10 pace and from that point the warm weather started to take its toll. The half marathon was just inside 1h30m, and running under 3h was impossible for sure. So, apart from a few "low" moments, I just enjoyed running through Barcelona amidst so many people and others on the sidewalks cheering them on. Up to the 40k mark at the beginning of Avinguda Parallel I felt fine, and only those last 2 kilometers uphill to the finish I kind of dragged myself along. My family was waiting for me just before the last turn and my son wanted to cross the finish line with me, so we ran hand in hand the last 200m. I am happy to have completed yet another race, without provoking injuries, just being very very tired :) .
