After a few 10k’s Now under the belt and a fairly slow PB of 57mins, I’ve bitten the bullet to do my first real race - the Bilbao Night Marathon as I live here and thought why not it’s local !
It has 10K, 21k and 42k races run together.
Buzzing about it, anyone out there also doing it ?
Any hints or tips ?
Which one are you doing? 🤣
Basically, assuming you’re in the 10k, you know you got the distance... the event is simply the celebration of all the hard work you did getting to that start line... they’re even going to close roads for you.
For me, at the first start line at any distance, it’s not about time, it’s about having fun, celebrating you’re there and getting to that finish line. You’re gonna be fine.
Oh... and 57 isn’t slow!!!
Yes 10k and you’re absolutely right, enjoy it and celebrate it.
I’m feeling pretty bad now saying 57 is slow, I just have high expectations and a very bad competitive streak (which I try and use to spur me on rather than get despondent). As all of my running is solo I find it hard to gauge my times and the message I’m getting is stop comparing myself 😂
I hit the big 5-0 next year so maybe less comparison to the young Spanish racing snakes I work with and more with similar to me 😂
Thanks for the great inspiration 👍
It’s a great event by all accounts, I hear it a lot at work from the ones doing the 42k !!
And then there’s a massive party in the streets afterwards - true to the Basque way of life 😂
We currently have a 42k runner who is in a league of his own... and we have many people as unfit as possible thinking of starting C25K. Both Eliud Kipchoge and our next people to face W1R1 can run the same way... both have only one person to compete with, and that’s themselves. We are not in the group of Olympians aiming for silver... we are here to live longer, and that will work. Your first 10k event is about getting to the end and setting a time, your next one is about beating that time. It doesn’t matter if you’re Mr Kipchoge or Mr Last finisher, you can be competitive and you can come to that next start line looking to beat the previous you. Point that competitive nature in the right direction and only unleash it occasionally, pros train slower than they race.
If it helps, you’re a couple of years older than me and could drink the first post run coffee before I finish 10k!
Even more words of wisdom that I think is wonderful.
Sad thing is, it won’t be a coffee, it will be a Caña as they say here, a small beer 
Unfortunately or rather fortunately I’ve adopted the local customs
Thank you so much and hopefully it’s the next step of the journey to the HM.
The dream is a full marathon but I have to temper back the “the mind is willing but the body....”
I’m so happy with the achievement so far but ..... Can always do better ha ha
But Kipchoge is a machine, I’ve actually tried to learn from him terms of minimal movement.
I went for a run with my 18 year old daughter who came to Bilbao on holiday and is doing C25k (I hope I’ve inspired her) and her words were “you levitate and don’t look like you’re moving” and how do you do it ?
One day the marathon ! 😂
I’m partial to the odd beer 🤣
Kipchoge is focused on the 1:59, last time he saw it as an experiment to see if sub 2 was possible, but this time he’s saying he will do it.
Efficient running is the goal for sure... and sounds like you’re on that.
The mind will get you over that marathon finish line, just don’t let it rush you to the start line... it will come, just build slowly and you will get there.
You sound like you’ve been there and done that. I’d like to hear.
I’ve just joined the marathon group.
My sons partners father does marathons regularly and he is 50+ and finishes just over 3 hours, another machine and an inspiration, I get so much encouragement from him. He made me think that he’s the same age as me and living life.
One other point you made was regarding wanting to live longer, and that was one of my big motivators. I have travelled a lot with work all through my working life but more recently being based in places for long periods of time : China 3 years, US 3 years and Spain 2 years as an example of the last 8 years. The US was the worst in terms of food and drink and lack of exercise, but there’s only one person to blame for that, that’s me and the person putting the food in the hole in my face !!! The I ly thing in my defence was that almost everyone else seemed to be the same, but that’s no excuse 😩
I’m on the same road as you... I’m in training now for my first HM in November. In a previous life I was a fast 3000m runner, and while the training was more speed focused, I’ve found that some of the lessons from then are very relevant. I had to learn to slow down again... and develop the ability to be annoyed at myself for running too fast on a recover run.
I lived in Texas and California for a while each, and my clothes seemed to shrink every week! Yeah, it was our fault... but we went with the flow. We’d probably make the same decisions again right? It was fun! Now we have adult children... and we want to be around to see their children grow up, so we are doing the right thing and finding out that the opposite lifestyle is also fun... and we celebrate that with the odd beer or six sometimes.
You’re the same age as that other guy... he’s close to a 3 hour marathon... that’s cool... what was his first marathon time? How old was he? You may never catch him, you may go sub-3 one day... but first time out that’s only gonna hurt! Run easy lots, work hrd when needed and let it all come in time. I got to the stage where 9 minutes was terrible for 3000m, but it took time to get there... now I know I’ll never be able to do that again, and the older me says that’s OK.
I spent the 2 years plus in the US between Michigan (Rochester Hills) and Tennessee (Chattanooga) was high was a huge contrast. But in all honesty that is as also an excuse for me to let things go ! Personal will power is what matters wherever you are
marathon moger style
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