Race Report: TCS Amsterdam Marathon
## Race Information
* **Name:** TCS Amsterdam Marathon * **Date:** October 15, 2023 * **Distance:** 26.2 miles * **Location:** Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands * **Website:** [https://www.tcsamsterdammarathon.eu/](https://www.tcsamsterdammarathon.eu/)
## Goals
|Goal|Description|Completed?| |:-|:-|:-| |A|Fast-runner Tokyo\*\*\*|*Yes*| |B|Keep Hammering|*Yes*|
\*\*\*2:45 from pre-2022....when I set my goals.
(My longtime goal had been to time qualify / achieve fast runner status for all six majors. I'd hit five out of six and only Tokyo remained. When Tokyo lowered the fast-runner entry to 2:32 and capped at 25 male runners, this went out the window. But I kept my original goal of 2:45 or better.)
## Splits
|KM|Seconds off Average (+ = faster, - = slower)| |:-|:-| |5|1| |10|3| |15|2| |20|\-1| |25|\-1| |30|\-4| |35|0| |40|\-2| |42|1|
## Training
I was listening to an episode of The Morning Shakeout Podcast. Ken Rideout (controversial, I know...) was discussing mileage, and threw out the number of 100 mpw. Something in this mileage discussion clicked with me and I "gave myself permission" to be as aggressive as I could with my training mileage.
Previously, I was very conservative in ratcheting up mileage from one block to the next....maybe 5 mpw increase....maybe no increase. For this one, I just said "let's get crazy" and shoot for 100 mpw peak. I blended Pfitz 18/85 and 18/85+, and came up with a plan that had (8) 90+ mile weeks and peaked at 100 mpw, or about a 15 mpw increase.
Honestly, it wasn't too bad. I did cut out strength training - which I think was the cause of my only ever significant injury - in favor of more time running. I hit pretty much all of my key workouts (6+14MP, 24LR, 13w/7LT,) and ran a 10k PR of 34:56 four weeks out from the race.
The only blip in my training was a back spasm that caused me to lose an entire week of running. Luckily, that was early-ish in my plan, and I was able to jump right back into high mileage.
The other thing I wanted to nail was my weight. I aimed to be 140 lb the week before the race. After some "frank and open discussions" with my wife about her baking obsession (and my absolute inability to not eat every single crumb of double chocolate brownies or tollhouse cookies that are left in plain sight) - I got on track with this and was 140.0 lb the week before the race.
## Pre-race
Nothing exciting here. Just that Amsterdam is a fantastic city with amazing infrastructure, parks, public transit, pastries, pizza, bike / foot paths everywhere for running. Did my 7, 6, 5, 3 mile ez / recovery runs in the days leading up along the river.
I also discovered that I love split pea soup - which I'd never had before. I was AirBnb'ing in an area with a large immigrant population....mostly middle-eastern. So I basically set up shop in this one restaurant that served Bessara (sp?) and this fantastic Khobz bread....for 5 bucks. What a way to carb load!
## Race
I really tried to focus on execution rather than results.....for me that meant pacing, pacing, pacing and effort, effort, effort....don't let up in the second half when things start to get a little harder. I've gotten better at recognizing what my marathon pace feels like. I've learned to focus on ground contact and how poppy my foot-fall feels....and when things feel too easy or soft, start really hammering the ground.
I've also learned (through trial and error) that I can't put out constant effort and expect to remain running at constant pace.
[I'm pretty pleased with my splits](https://imgur.com/PVPPGuO). There's a little dip right after the halfway mark when we had a soaking rain and a headwind coming back along the Amstel river (no cover). But then I was able to pick the pace back up.
I'm also pretty pleased with how I raced the last 7k. There was a young kid from South Africa (I learned later) and we were basically neck and neck for the last 7k. He'd pass me, and then I'd pass him. It was good having someone to keep chasing down. (We were both passing a lot of runners at this point.) When I talked to him at the end, he said the same thing....that he kept trying to reel me in, and having that target helped. Fist bump!
All in all, fantastic race where I focused on the things that would bring success rather than just the time. And in so doing, achieved the time I wanted.
## Post-race
Fantastic sandwiches, pastries, coffees, walking around in the sun to warm up. Actually felt pretty good and not too beat up. Spent the next day on my feet (Rijksmuseum and just walking around....more pastries, more coffee) which I think helped with recovery.
10/10 would recommend the city, the race, everything.
Made with a new [race report generator](http://sfdavis.com/racereports/) created by /u/herumph.