The race went okay in the beginning. It was a slight head wind, and we started at 8:30 on the south side of the river. I ran according to my plan, at about 2:45 projected pace. Then between 22 and 27 km was a long climb up to the bridge. It was quite hard, since this climb was 5 km long, but I still felt good and passed others. At this point, I believe I was around 5th place actually.
Then on the other side of the bridge, I was beginning to feel a bit tired, but not too bad. With 12 km left to run, we were now suddenly in direct sunlight, and that faint wind was in our back, which means there was effectively no cooling effect at all. I had to slow down, as the
heat index was getting towards 34 degrees and beyond...
From here, on it quickly got progressively worse. I had to slow to a jog, as the heat became unbearable. There was water every 4 km, but that was not enough. I needed it every 500 meters! I saw several people who had bonked and were being treated by EMS on the side of the road.
So, my hope for a good finish time was out of reach. At this point, it was all about getting to the finish without collapsing. At the end, I was not even able to jog at 5:30/km.
This was the hardest last part of a marathon I have ever done. It was just too darn hot. Tip - don't run marathons in extreme heat!
The weather had been rainy and miserable all summer, the locals said. Go figure - just my luck. They were happy for the nice weather. I'd take the rain instead of sun and heat any time when I'm running a marathon.
I am going to try a marathon again a week and a half from now, in Regina, Saskatchewan. I want that sub 2:50 marathon!
On a sad note, one person passed away this day, probably due to the extreme heat.
:AOK:
