Happy and tired
Now, the 2003 Copenhagen Marathon is over, and even though my eyelids seem to be glued together by now, I'll write a few words about this great experience.
I decided to follow the 4.00 hours pace group, but at about 20 km. the balloons they ran with to mark their location, were both punctured. I thought they were ahead of me, so I speeded up - only to realize a few minutes later, that I had gotten quite a bit ahead of them. I felt well at the point, so I decided to try my own pace from then on.
Last year, I had a crisis from about 36 km. and all the way to the end. I expected the same thing to happen today, so I kept a fairly slow pace. At 38 km. I was still feeling good, so I decided to give it everything it could take for the last bit. It was tough, but it worked out well. I got in at 3.53.07, which was well below the four hour limit, that I hoped to break. Last years race was 4.11, so I actually made an 18 minutes improvement! :-)
My training buddies Johannes and Mads Peter did a great job as well: They got in together at 3.57. It was Johannes' first marathon, and Mads Peter improved the time from last year's Berlin Marathon with almost 35 minutes.
Many of my friends were there to cheer, which was an immense help and a huge motivation factor. Lots of thanks and hugs to Karina, Julia, Trine, Sara, Marie, Carl, Nikolaj and Simon!
Now, I'm looking forward to running the Berlin Marathon this fall. It is supposed to be a great race, and it will give me the chance to visit my friends in Berlin again.
posted by Mikkel at 23:52 
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Tomorrow is the big day
In less than 12 hours, I'm in the middle of the marathon. Wow, although I've tried it before, I'm still quite excited and a bit nervous. The training this year has been very different than last year, the weather will be different and... you just don't know how your body will react on that particular day. I guess it'll work out, though. I hope I'll be able to sleep - not only because of the race, but because eight hours of lying awake can get very boring. :-) Right now, I'm just looking forward to standing at the starting line.
posted by Mikkel at 00:05 
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