Yesterday, March 21, I ran my 3rd marathon of the year. The Jerusalem Marathon is said to be one of the most breathtaking (no pun intended!), yet hardest marathons in the world.
It takes you 26.2 miles throughout a hilly course, going over some of the most emblematic and historical places of this city.
The day was fantastic. The race started at 7 am, and the weather was cold and sunny. After the sun came out it started to get warmer, but even so, the temperature was still quite pleasant.
The last two days before the race I hadn't run at all, because I was having some discomfort in my left knee, and I thought it was wiser to rest in order to get as fresh as I could to the starting line.
I must say that although I had been training hard (running about 50-55 miles a week), I was a bit intimidated by this marathon, due to its elevation and reputation of being one of the hardest.
Anyways, since I knew that I definitely couldn't go for a PR on this race, I had planned to go for the enjoyment and refrain from going for a specific time goal (although I had a sub 4:30 goal in the back of my mind)
I got to the race in a fasted state (as usual!), and only brought 8 dates in my belt. I didn't know how many I was going to use exactly, but I thought that would be enough (in the worst case, I knew there were going to be two aid stations where they had fruit to offer).
The gun went off on time and after the first couple of kilometers my knee started to bother me a little, but not as bad as to make me stop running.
Aside from that, I was feeling strong and even though I had planned to walk most of the uphills, I found myself running them without much trouble.
It always happens to me that even if I say prior to the race that I will NOT take it seriously and push myself too hard, I ALWAYS end up doing so! It's like being surrounded by all the other runners and the excitement of being there pump up my adrenaline and I can't stop or slow down.
The water stations were abundant and handed out small bottles every 3-4 km, which were welcomed almost every time from kilometer 10 or so onwards.
I don't tend to drink too much water during races (unless it's REALLY hot), so I just sip a little bit every now and then and spill some more water on my head to cool down.
The first 10 km went by really fast and easy.
The first 10 km went by really fast and easy.
At km 16 I ate my first two dates. I didn't really feel the need to do so, but I didn't want to wait till that happened, so I started to fuel beforehand. I was feeling really good at this point.
I passed the 20 km mark in 1:47:31 and I knew that if I continued running at that pace I could even finish it in under 4 hours, so I felt motivated to keep going with that goal in mind.
At km 23 I ate two more dates. I was still feeling strong despite of having a discomfort in my knee that was bothering me on every downhill. I didn't want that to ruin my race, so I tried not to think about it and have positive thoughts, like all the fruit that was going to be awaiting me at the finish line, lol!
At km 32 I ate two more dates. To my surprise, I was still running! At this point, the sun was getting stronger, so I was cautious to drink enough water at the water stations.
I passed km 33 in 3:00:34. I was confident that I could definitely get a sub 4 hours finish time, but...
Km 38-39, a HUGE, STEEP hill appears in front of me. I didn't have enough energy left to run it, so I "power-walked" it.
After I climbed it, I started to run again, although my pace had slowed down quite a bit.
I managed to keep running until km 41, where there was another hill (although not as steep as the previous one). I looked at my watch and I knew I was going to finish in under 4 hours, so I didn't mind "power-walking" this hill too.
The last kilometer was very hard but knowing that it was almost over, with the last energy that I had left I started running again to cross the finish line in 3 hours 55 minutes 31 seconds!
For my good luck, there was a tent full of post-race snacks, and while everyone was eating their popsicles and pretzels I feasted on the sliced, sweet and juicy oranges! :)
With this marathon I completed the 3 biggest marathons of the country, running them all in less than 3 months!
Congratulations!
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