Tallinn Marathon report

[Lordi]

Tallinn Marathon - A tale of two different types of trip

Well I survived to tell the tale and was very surprised that I managed to get under 5 hours (very). I'd sort of tucked that milestone away for attempting in 2019!

As predicted, my "supporters" (injured running buddies who had to pull out of competing but decided to come along anyway for a fun weekend break) took full advantage of the amenities onboard the Helsinki-Tallinn ferry Saturday night and duely wined/dined/danced until 03:30 then finally slept like snoring pigs from 04:00 onwards. So I got about 4 hours of sleep in the end! Love 'em!

The organisation and amenities at the start area were first rate so I had no problems picking up my bib and access to changing and toilets etc. Quite a good expo area as well. The weather was ideal at about 17 warming to 22/23 later, at least it felt quite fresh at the off.

So after chaperoning a couple of hungover "buddies" (no sympathy given) I finally found myself in the starting pen and we were off! I tried my very hardest to run superslow for the first couple of kilometres but the general pack speed felt ok so I went with that. There were drink stations every 3-4km so that was great. My fuelling strategy went a bit haywire because I was in such a trance sometimes that I missed (or ignored/didn't clock) my feed distances (addled brain). I'd also made a bottle of my own glucose syrup + hydration tablet goo to drink but that was a big failure as the bottle leaked and I ended up with a sticky goo all over my lower back/legs etc. (I think the high density of the mixture more easily lifted the bottle lid with all the sloshing about). So that diy mixture got tossed at about 10k. Luckily I had some gels too and there were gel stations later on in the race...phew!

So all was going well and I realised I was easily maintaining about 06:30, I passed the half marathon point only 10 minutes slower than my PM half marathon time! I knew I was way above the 7:00 pace I'd envisaged following but I felt really great (I might even have thought "This marathon game ain't half as bad as I imagined" right up to around 29/30k). Ha, ha, the marathon distance sure does kick your butt later on though! After 30k my pace was slowing all the time with I'd guess my point(s) of dispair being about 37 and 39k where any slight incline bashed 30s off my pace and down to 8:00 at one point. The lump hammers bashing away at my thighs were relentless from then onwards. The last 2k flew by though (crowds cheering and the finish in sight) and I found some energy to finish strong even though it was on a rough cobbled street and an uphill finish! Grrr!

Overall I'd planned to try to run to 135 bpm heart rate at 7:00 pace, but with all the excitement it ended up around 140 bpm 6:30 for 2/3rds of race and then slower last 10k pace. My ave heart rate went up to 150bpm though even as the pace slowed (cardiac drift= knackered).

One thing I didn't like was that the half marathoners joined us marathoners at about 25km after they had run only a few kms so there was quite a bit of traffic and the fresh runners were still blasting along looking for their cruising pace - not a great feeling being passed by hundreds of fresh-legged smiling half marathoners!

The old town in Tallinn is magical with all the Hansa period medieval stone buildings and castle turrets still forming the core of the city. The cobbled steets with terrace bars/dining areas meant that there was great support running in on the last 600m or so. Support all round the course was also first rate with lots of music points, cheerleaders and from the general public - even way out in the sticks) I'd recommend it for and excellent running sightseeing weekend break in 2019 (as I would any of the Helsinki city runs and marathons too).

I managed 04:51:23 in the end which was a great surprise to me after fading at the end etc.

Results and youtube Finnish line video here -

jooks.ee/en/tallinn-marathon/

Next up will be a local HM in October to finish the season and try to get closer to or under 2hrs.

Edit - Forgot to add relive link relive.cc/view/1830551191

[roseabi Ultramarathon]

Sounds like a beautiful marathon! Well done, you amazing person!!!!! Love that medal. Friends, huh!?!

[Lordi Marathon in reply to roseabi]

Thank Abi! They were not that bad in reality. Great to have the cheering(jeering) though.

[SaskAlliecat Half Marathon]

Wow Lordi! You've come a long way, from running C25k in your underground parkade to a sub 5hour marathon! Hats off to you! Are you heading back to your parkade this winter or braving the wintery snowy paths?

[Lordi Marathon in reply to SaskAlliecat]

Cheers SaskAllie! I can hardly believe it myself tbh, in fact all of us on these forums have too!. The "Run 1 minute!" command from the c25k app was actually the "hardest" step in reality (yes, even harder than a marathon). Yep, as a dweller near the Arctic Circle I shall be doing a lot of my hibernation runs down in the "batcave" parking hall when minus silly degrees outside.

[Macmac Marathon]

Congratulations Lordi! A brilliant result. Glad the cold earlier in the week and lack of sleep didn’t hold you back! A real achievement- well done 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻😊

[Lordi Marathon in reply to Macmac]

Cheers Macmac. The cold was not too bad in the end and stayed off my chest so I sort of got away with it!

[mrrun Ultramarathon]

Top job, man, congratulations! No mean feat that, massive respect!, enjoy the feeling! I'm doing whatever people like me do when they want to crack the big one non-stop. I run a lot at the moment.

[roseabi Ultramarathon]

btw, have a Marathon badge 😊

[Lordi Marathon in reply to roseabi]

Thank you! I shall treasure it!

[AnnieW55]

Congratulations. Really enjoyed your report.

[Tbae Metric Marathon]

Wow Lordi you are an inspiration.

Lovely read and an account.

What a performance from a mountaineer.

You are awesome.💥🏃‍♂️💥👏👏👍

[Lorijay]

What an epic achievement, absolutely brilliant and inspiring. Huge congrats Lordi!!

[ancientrunner Half Marathon]

Congratulations. Great time - and a really stunning bit of bling.

You'll know to book your own cabin another time.

[Lordi Marathon in reply to ancientrunner]

For sure!

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

Wow. Amazing time, amazing achievement. Sounds like a wonderful place to run too. Hope you're resting well now 😀

[aliboo70 Half Marathon]

Sounds like a triumph to me!well done Lordi!😊

[Sqkr Half Marathon]

Oo I don't fancy running on cobbles much! Sounds amazing though, especially with/despite (delete as applicable!) the added support from your injured friends!

[Langley-Loper Half Marathon]

Fantastic run and race report. I love reading race reports on here. There is always an interesting twist to them, in your case your mates atttendance! Just think what you could do on a decent nights sleep.

[Lordi Marathon]

It's been a week since my marathon on Sunday 9th Sept and I still have not taken a shake-out run. What is the consensus on when to get back to training post- marathon? My calves were ache-free but I had quite sore thighs until Tuesday. I managed a couple of 100m jogettes Tuesday just to see how it felt (sore). I could walk normally and go down stairs easily from Wed though but deep squats/lunges have been out of the question until today. Played cricket on Saturday (short fieldin sprints hurt like hell) and did a 6km walk yesterday and a some shallow lunges today.

What would you old hands suggest for a first jog/run and when? Some say there's no rush to get back to running since fitness is pretty sticky and takes time to fall off etc? A jogette 5k super slow? After 10 days maybe? Or just suck it and see?

Edit - Forgot to add Relive link to original race report relive.cc/view/1830551191