EU 2013: Marató de Barcelona

I had registered for the marathon way back in August of last year - a good 6 months ahead of time.  Before I made up my mind to run the Rome Marathon 2 years ago, I had actually considered taking part in the Barcelona Marathon.  However it was held in the first weekend of March, so I thought it'd be too cold for a guy from the tropics to participate.  The 2013's edition would be held on the 3rd Sunday of the month, so it was a much better prospective.  So I planned my vacation around it; the marathon would kick off my holidays.

It's been 2 years since my last marathon. 2 weeks since my last run. I faced a bit of setback in my training because of a twinge in my hamstring a month ago when I was doing my LSD (Long Slow Distance) run. Over the years, me and running, or training for that matter, have developed a love-hate relationship.  Thus, (yet again) I didn't bother to tell people that I was participating in a marathon. Not even my family. DNS (Did-Not-start) or DNF (Did-Not-Finish) were possibilities that I would feel very dejected. To come so far but to come up empty would be hard to digest. Sure there was always the rest of the vacation to look forward to but the marathon would definitely be the highlight of the trip.

Race kit collection at Fira Barcelona (near Montjuïc) was done on Friday itself, upon reaching the city.

The entrance to the Race Expo

Bib collection area.

Warm-up vest and bag collection areas

It states "You got it. You get here.  Just 42.192km more".  If not you can blame Google Translate :D

The ASICS section

Yes, what is my strong?

The night before marathon, lights out were at 22:00 and I dozed myself to sleep by counting the butterflies in my stomach.

It was reported that 18000 or so people ran the streets of Barcelona.  That's a lot of runners! The biggest one yet for me. The 2011's edition of Maratona di Roma attracted 16000 or so people.

We didn't look like marathon runners with the warm clothing

The elite runners

Still early

It was cool that they turned on the fountains

You should have seen the warm up area. Their warm up pace was that of my race. Lol

Some of the 'wheelchair' participants getting ready as well

The warm-up area

Although the cut off time was set for 6 hours, the last starting block was for the "4+ hour runners". And the last set of pacemakers was for the 4:30 mark. Talk about a very steep level of competition or expectation.  I'd just be happy to finish it.

So here's the +4h pen

I'm in the imaginary 6hr-pen

 

Nervously waiting for the start

Inching our way towards the Start line

Baju bundle -- used clothes anyone?

Almost there!

Passing the Start Line...

The marathon route

The race started at Plaça Espanya, with the Palau Nacional on Monjuic looking majestic at the background.  A few notable landmarks along the route were:
- Camp Nou (KM 6)

Camp Nou - home of the FC Barcelona

- Casa Batlló and La Pedrera (KM 14)

Casa Batlló

La Pedrera

- Sagrada Familia (KM 16)

Passing by Sagrada Familia

- Arc de Triomf (KM 36)

Arc de Triomf up ahead

Overall, the route was relatively flat.  IMHO, there were 3 separate 'psycho' stretches.

• The 2-km stretch before you reach KM20 and you make a u-turn.  You see runners runners on the other lane running the opposite way who had made the u-turn.

• Another 2-km stretch going towards Torre Agbar before making another u-turn.

• And the last 2-km incline towards the finishing line.  My thighs were cramping up and on fire. The climb wasn't steep but I could really do without it. For the first time I could feel the ACLs at the back of my legs were tensing up.

The support from the crowd was just amazing. Just when you were feeling down and hurting, their "Vinga! Vinga!" chants (with the "V" pronounced as "B", and literally means "Come! Come!" ) were the sort of the pick-me-uppers that you needed at the time, that'd push you for the next few hundred meters.  And in a marathon, that counts for something.

Some of the entertainers, crowd and volunteers

On this one balcony somewhere near the KM12-mark on Gran Via, a grandma was waving her Catalan flag madly in one hand while holding her dog in the other. Cayalah nek! Without doubts and hesitation, that drew claps from us runners.

That's the granny.  This picture didn't do justice

Weather-wise, it was cold when I left the hotel around 7am.  But during the marathon, the temperature was in the mid teens so it was quite cooling.  It also drizzled lightly before the start, when we reached back at Plaça Espanya and if I could remember correctly near Port Olimpic.

I didn't bump into a lot of the more interesting runners.  There were Batman & Robin and a guy who dribbled a basketball for the entire distance.  They were fast too.

He also fed his kid milk before the race

Sorry it's a bit blurry, but that's the basketball dribbler in the colored stripes vest

I forgot to bring any sort of watch to the race so I could only guestimate from the clocks on the streets.  You'd be surprise if you couldn't do simple maths during a marathon :D  The official time indications where at the half-marathon and 30km marks, as well as the finish line.  My HM time was close to the 2:30 that I knew instantly that a sub-5 would be a real challenge.  Nevertheless, that wasn't the ultimate goal of the day.

10KM mark. The French guy on the left painted himself dark :D

Half distance.  Check out the 2 guys posing and taking picture :)

25KM

30KM mark.  It was getting lonely

Just like in the case of Rome Marathon, my camera battery was giving up on me at the 25km mark, so I had to save up for those last few pictures at the end.  I had a backup battery in my Spibelt but I couldn't have changed the battery because I was soaked and sticky from the sports drinks :)

And once I made that 9 o'clock turn at the roundabout at Plaça Espanya, the finish line was insight! Alhamdulillah! Thank God I completed it in one piece. The sub-5 is still elusive.  And I lost out to my Rome marathon by 51 seconds :P :D  Don't worry guys.  I won't go into a bout of questioning - What if I left my camera in the hotel? What if I didn't take the time to untangle my hydration belt and Spibelt at KM20?  I was (and still am) very ecstatic.  I'd take it any time.  I was struggling to complete 5K today after a 3 week absence from running since the marathon.

I may not even beat it (the sub-5 or my PB) but I seriously hope I could still continue running for years to come.  InsyaAllah.

I was so happy when I saw this.  Azab dah nak habis dah

The Finish line. Woohoo!!!

I really like this picture.  The joy of reaching the finishing line.  Kudos to the photographer!

Aku amik gambar kau. Kau amik gambar aku.

The last push to save those extra seconds :D

The finisher's medal y'all!  Please excuse the stain on the shirt from the sports drink (tu la, minum tak nak duduk)

I whatsapp'ed my siblings soon after. One brother responded "Dah agak dah" (my hunch was correct) and the other quipped "Dia buat lagi" (He's at it again). I guess it [the trick of not telling them] won't work again next time.
(When my sisters picked me up at the airport upon my return, I learned of my mom's response when she was told of my marathon participation - "Nakal ye" (So naughty).  ROFL!)


I had initially planned to Camp Nou later that night because they were hosting Rayo Vallecano.  Not to watch the game but to check out the atmosphere. But the whole body was all sored up that I was limited to my room.  Lol.