Valencia Marathon - A story of resurrection and perseverance π
This is the conclusion of my series of how I prepared for and ran the Marathon of Valencia, which took place on Dec 7th.
Read my introduction post here or check out the full series.
Week 16 (pre-race)
I wasn't able to run as I planned in the previous weeks, which got me worried. I knew there wasn't anything to gain by running this week, so I kept it easy and went for a test run on Wednesday to see how my body would respond. While my pace was ok, I noticed that my heart rate was slightly above my usual average for such a run. However, what got me really worried was the fact that my legs felt tired after finishing this 5km easy run. I even had sore legs the day after.
Was this the sign to quit and abandon my hope of running on Sunday?
More of these signs started to appear.
The extra gels and recovery I ordered to take with me, got delayed, arriving only when I would be back from my trip.
We got notified of possible staff shortage at the airport, requiring us to be early, which would mean I had to get up much earlier, adding extra pressure to my sensitive stomach.
However, there was also an upside, as my stomach pain started to decrease.
And, the test run of 3km which I did on Saturday also felt quite ok.
While visiting the city, I kept focusing on drinking and nutrition (carb loading) with the hope of starting.
I checked the racecourse, which passed our hotel around km 11, and saw that between km 21 and 25 the course was close to the start and finish point. With that in mind, I told myself to start and to see where I would get, with options to stop if necessary.
We got to our hotel in time to prepare everything for the big day, and got to bed early to by fresh when getting up.
Pre race day carb loading
Race day
My sleep was horrible. I had trouble falling asleep, and when I did, I woke up an hour (or a few) later, feeling completely awake. Likely due to stress and anticipation. I enabled a calming soundscape in the hope it would help, however, my devices told me I slept around 4h30min. My sleeping heart rate was too high, my HRV too low,...
And that's also how I felt.
Before breakfast at 6h, I already took an aspirin. But, my stomach was holding up, allowing me to eat.
We got to the starting point with thousands of others, where I noticed my phone only had 30% of charge left (likely as it got disconnected from charging when enabling those soundscapes). No way back, so I decided to run without music, making it even harder.
But, it got light and the temperature started to rise. And so did my adrenaline.
Anticipation before the start of the event
We set off at 8h45, saying see you later to my friends as I intended to run slowly to see where it would take me. I planned to run at 6min/km, but kept going at 5min35/km which felt comfortable. I focused on taking a gel every 5km and drank whenever I could.
As I didn't push too hard, I enjoyed the running, looking around, at the people, reading their signs, high-fiving little children,...
I passed the hotel with no intention to stop, and the same applied to the 21 and 25km marker. I only had one thought in mind. To finish what I started.
Of course, after km 25 came unknown territory, as I never ran that far in my preparation weeks. And it showed. Running became harder and I no longer focused on my surroundings. Only myself and how I felt. Luckily, messages from the home front kept coming in, giving me a boost from time to time.
Passing 30km+, I started to count down the distance. Looking at my watch and sign posts. 12 more to go. 11... It became harder and harder. I started to slow down, and I saw a lot of people stopping or starting to walk. But I told myself that if I did that, I would be lost. So I kept going. 5 more. 4. Finally, the finishing area came in sight. It was a tough last km, but I endured and finished.
A little over 4h. 4h3min to be exact.
But that didn't matter, as I finished something which I did not think was possible.
The finish line
The volume I lacked, the sickness I endured. And yet, I managed to complete it, even with a decent time.
Valencia is my 5th marathon I completed, but it'll be the one I'll remember and treasure most. Not only because it was abroad, but mostly as it was the toughest challenge and I pushed through.
I think I started out of stubbornness (not to miss out), yet I'm happy I did.
Training volume of the past weeks
And how am I feeling today?
Well, besides a blue toe, blisters, and sore legs, I feel pretty great. And my sickness seems to have disappeared as well. Maybe it was my stomach after all and the medication helped. Or perhaps this marathon was a much needed reset for my body to start new again.
Well that's it. I'll be taking some much needed rest, and think potential challenges for 2026.
Thanks for reading and your support.
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