Rome Marathon 2013

ADG - where do you actually live? if Rome could be that bad, seems you're not cut out for travel, I never saw anything untoward and would go back tomorrow.

I must say I felt totally safe in Rome, though I could just be very naive since Im A country bumpkin and about the worst "crimes" you read about here are things like "man caught driving with tax disc expired by two days"... of course it could all be going behind closed doors and in peoples cellars... mwhahahahah 

BTW, well done on your pb EKGO, nice feeling eh?

Thanks, PB was unexpected but just kept grinding out 10 min miles. When I found an extra half mile at the end I wasn't best pleased but it means I can go for more. The marathon distance came in around 4:25 so I know where to aim next weekend at Blackpool.

I know I'm teaching grandma to suck eggs, but if you want my advice it's all pace, pace, pace, consistant miles, same pace all the way. I always go out with a conservative pace and see how I feel at 20. Having said that, my slowest mile in Rome was mile 4 at 10:04 (I think due to my hamstring scare) and my fastest was mile 24 at 8:23, terrible pacing all the way through up and down like a yoyo!  

Average pace 9:03

No, pace is still a learning exercise for me, I always thought I'd simply start out hard and die off slowly as it seemed the only way. I'm now going out slower, and finishing better, seems the more relaxed I run at the start I'm left with more towards the second half. The old saying a second gained in the first half is 2 seconds lost in the second is accurate. Maybe towards Sept when I've had a marathon break for a month I might look at trying a quicker one. 

Ok, well I can tell you at Rome I ran the first 20 miles at an average of 9:08 m/m, and the last, ahem, 6.7 miles! at 8:46 m/m. Similar on my pb, though that was 4 years ago now, first 20, 8:30 m/m last 6 8:14, both races felt really good energy wise and cardio wise. Previous to Rome I did Luton last year, I went a little crazy at 13 miles ran the first half at 9:05, second half at 8:43, which I paid for with calf cramps by 20 miles. 

Definitely do not go out like a rocket. Either keep to those 10 m/m or shave some off but I wouldn't recommend shaving off more tha 10-15 seconds a mile, unless you've really trained for that pace or the last race pace felt easy. 

I can honestly say I was held back in Rome by my hamstring, my cardio felt really easy the whole way round except maybe the last couple of miles. But my hamstring may have been my saving grace, had my legs felt fine I may gone off too hard and struggled in the latter stages.

A big congratulation to all who made it through Rome on the 17th. It was my 14th marathon (just one a year), but definitely the toughest of runs ever, by far. I had no training for this one, which explains my experience. But, having run Stockholm, Paris and now Rome, I continue to think that Stockholm is still one of the best. I thought there was way too little spectator support outside of the city center, too little live music/bands playing, and a general lack of interest for the runners, but maybe that was because I was extremely slow this year, and because the center of Rome is just so beautiful that there are more interesting sites to look at then sweaty runners in poor shape! Rome is a fantastic city that I'll continue to return to for the food, culture and historic beauty, but lacks something in terms of marathon ambience, in my humble opinion. I need to find a new run, with more music and bands and better solidarity between runners and spectators, and where the cheering and support happens even in the more remote places outside the city center.

Personally I don't like marathons with loud music, one of the reasons why I didn't enjoy either of the two times I've got into London. From a noise perspective Rome was acceptable for me, I much prefer the peace of a country race.