Race-Ålesund Marathon, Norway, 8th of May

New personal best: 3h 52m 9s. My fourth marathon was finished in Ålesund today. It's a small race with around 100 participants-most of them running half-marathon. It was a rainy day, light breeze and somewhat cold (6 degrees celcius). The course was levelled, but only to a minor degree.

Some technical data:

Split times:
1)10 km:              54m 33s
2) 21,0975km: 1h 54m 23s (59m 50s)
3)31,0975 km: 2h 50m 40s (56m 16s)
4) 42,195 km: 3h 52m 9s    (1h 1m 28s).

Average speed:
1) 10km:           5,46 min/km
2) 21,0975 km:  5,42 min/km(5,39 min/km)
3) 31,0975:        5,49 min/km(5,63 min/km)
4)  42,195 km:   5,55 min/km(5,54 min/km)

Average heart rate: 162
1) 10km: 162(Max: 171) /2) 21,0975 km: 161(173) /
3) 31,0975: 161(173)     /4)  42,195 km:   162(171)

Nutrition:
I drank 1,2 l of water, 0,6 l of energy drink and 0,15 l of electrolytes.
In addition I ate one banana.

Overall it went exceptionally well. I'm very satsified with the outcome. I didn't just get a personal best by a small margin-I smashed the old record entirly. I ran 26m 41s faster-an improvement of 9 %.
The speed is very even. The maximum gap is only by 4,5 %. In addition the speed is fast. My first goal was to perform better than last time and second to finish below 4h. I managed both.
I think my strategy paid off well. My plan was to consentrate on technique, keep a steady, preset pace and a steady heart rate below treshold. I think it is crusial to establish a strategy in advance-especially when it comes to speed.
When it comes to nutrition I think the intake of energy drink and electrolytes was successfull. I felt strong almost all the times during the race. One minor low was at the beginning of the fourth leg, but it got sorted out after I had some energydrink. I suspect I'm low on my intake of fluids. I need to check that out in the time to come. Further on I need to work more on developing my routines when it comes to nutrition.
Mentally I felt strong most of the time, but I needed to work on myself on the fourth lap. I was consentrating on my tasks as decided in advance and to reach the next distance mark(km). It worked out well. Before I imagined the finish line was within reach.