Race report: Nordmarka skogsmarathon, Oslo-Norway, 12th of June

This was a new experience for me. My previous marathons have been on solid pavement with limited elevation. This one was quit the opposite. About 90 % on gravel roads, 10 % on trails and with considerable more elevation than my other marathons. I addition the conditions were demanding with heavy rain most of the time and some wind on part of the course. At the beginning of the race I could feel that this wasn't going to be a good day for me. I felt a bit worned and my fet were heavy. I didn't manage to establish a proper running pattern on this race. As a result I didn't perform well technically and had to work hard to maintain my speed. Regularly I had to walk on parts of the most demanding ascends. Not because I had a too high heart rate, but because my fet needed to reduce the workload.

The first 14 km(8,67 miles) has an elevation of 226,5m (743ft) and the next 12 km up to 26,2 km(16,26 miles) has minor ascends. After that there is an ascend from 26,2 km to 29,1 km of 81m (265ft)-thats were the highest point of the race is 444,7m(1459ft). After that the course is descending overall but with two ascends-the first after 30,8km (19,15 miles) when moving towards Kobberhaughytta-an elevation of 47,2 m(155ft), and the second after 35,3 km(21,95 miles)-an elevation of 71 m(233ft)-to 37,5 km(23,32 miles) from where the course descends rapidly to the finish line, from 370m to 188 m(1215 ft to 618ft)-a distance of 6,9 km(2,89 miles).

My aim was to finish with an average pace of 6min/km(9,6 min/miles).
I finished with an average pace of 6,17min/km(3 % slower than my target).
I came in 8th in my age group of 12 starters. My finish time was 4h 20m 23s.
That is just about the same time as the one I had in Rome Marathon in March this year(4h 18m 50s).
Rome Marathon is a street race on solid pavement with low elevation. Clearly I must have improved since then-as my performances both in Ålesund and Copenhagen shows. Yesterdays race and the ones categorized as street-marathons are not comparable. It will have to race something similar in order to compare. The next opportunity to do that is Kristins Runde next weekend.

Some technicals:

Split times:
1) 5 km:                 28m 22s
2)10 km:                58m 56s  (30m 34s)
3) 15 km:           1h 29m 58s  (31m 01s)
4) 20 km:           1h 59m 20s  (29m 22s)
5) 21,0975 km:  2h 05m 28s    (  6m 7s)
6) 25 km:           2h 30m   9s  (24m 41s)
7) 35 km:           3h 35m 44s(1h 5m 34s)
8) 40 km            4h   7m 18s  (31m 34s)
9) 42,195 km:    4h 20m 23s  (12m 54s)


Average speed:
1)  5 km:           5,67 min/km 
2)10 km:           5,89 min/km(6,11 min/km)
2) 15 km:          6,00 min/km(6,20 min/km)
3) 20 km:          5,97 min/km(5,87 min/km)
4) 21,0975 km: 5,95 min/km(5,57 min/km)
5) 25 km:          6,00 min/km(6,32 min/km)
7) 35 km:          6,16 min/km(6,56 min/km)
8) 40 km:          6,18 min/km(6,31 min/km)
9) 42,195 km:   6,17 min/km(5,88 min/km)



Average heart rate: 159(179).
1) 5 km: 163(178)       2) 10 km: 168(179)            3) 15 km: 160(173)
4) 20 km: 163(170)     5) 21,0975 km: 159(166)   6) 25 km: 153(165)
7) 35 km: 155(165)     8) 40 km: 155(165)            9) 42,195 km: 159(172)

Calories: 2.946kcal


Total elevation: 655m (2.148ft)

The log file from Garmin can be found at:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/36566269

Nutrition:
I had an intake of 2,0 l of water, 1,0 l of energy drink and 0,15 l of  dehydration. In addition I had three bananas during the race. I refilled every 10 km-except at 40 km. The rainy weather led to a decrease in intake of fluids compared to Copenhagen Marathon three weeks ago. However, during the race I felt some hunger. The race started at 11:00 and I just had some fruit and an energy bar before the start. That was to little I guess.

Equipment:
-Shoes; 
I used Montrail Masochist. They served me well and I was pretty impressed during the trail part of the run. Excellent shoes. However, I think there are better options for gravel roads-Puma Concinnity for instance. This time I needed to use them as they are pretty new in order to prepare properly for the race next Saturday.


-Clothing; 
I used my Mythos thights, a gore-tex jacket and a nit cap. In addition a singlet. I don't like running in the rain so that's the reason for wearing all those clothes. The alternative was to dress with just the singlet, short tights and a cap. I get wet anyway. I felt a bit restrained wearing all that clothing so the next time I'm using the lighter version. I'm going to buy a cap. My socks were new. A pair from Gore. They served me very well during the race.


-Drinking belt;
It served me well during all the race.


-Electronic devices:
I used my Polar S725X to monitor my heart rate as well as split times, and Garmin Forerunner 205 to monitor my course. They both worked well during all the race.

Mental part:
It was a though race. I didn't manage to establish a proper running pace. Nor did I manage to use my zen-exercises as means of help-only partly. The course is special and not like any other marathons I have runned. Gravel roads and a lot more elevation. I almost felt like this was my first marathon-that is right in a way also. However, it is what it s and I have to deal with it. I haven't trained enough under similar conditions.
Before the race I didn't worked my way mentally through the race. I have before and that is a good preparation. To set the pace in advance is a clear advantage. It makes me able to consentrate on keeping the pace at all times and monitoring it every km through the race. In that sense I'm focusing on my working tasks during the race-not the finish.It helped me to maintain my performance through the race.


Preparation:
I've had two training runs  leading up to the race. I didn't run the day before the race. During the last workout I could clearly feel the effect from the tapering. Still my feet were heavy during the race. It could be that the increased workload when it comes to running is affecting me overall. I addition I need to train under far more similar condtions in order to improve on later participations. My nutrion intake was to low before the race. I suffered a bit from that. I experienced no stomach-problems during the race. Nor did I need to go to the toilette during the race. I did before the race.



Points of improvement:
-Performance overall; I need to train under similar conditions in order to improve on my finish time.
-Muscular endurance; I need to improve on this area. My feet are the limiter-not the heart rate.
-Mental part; continue my work on establishing zen-drill as an integrated part of my running.