Race Information
- Name: Tokyo Marathon
- Date: March 3, 2024
- Distance: 26.2 miles
- Location: Tokyo, Japan
- Strava Link
- Time: 3:06:01 (7:06/mile | 4:25/km)
Goals
| Goal | Description | Completed? |
|---|---|---|
| A | Sub 3 / BQ | No |
| B | Don’t Walk | No |
| C | Finish / Don’t Die | Yes |
Summarized “TL;DR” Recap
Shin splint scaries from Miami Half Marathon weekend + Treadmill marathon recovery had my expectations lowered. What I thought was a conservative start was way too fast and walked several times (first time in 4 years). It was ugly but we finished marathon number 27 and Abbott World Major number 5 (London is the last one)!
Training
It feels like my training write-ups have become less and less detailed but it’s been an unfortunate series of aches and pain. Everything felt fine until it wasn’t. I could tell something was wrong on after the Miami Half Marathon. I initially thought the heat and humidity was getting to me (3 mile run on January 30th). After returning to Dallas, my entire right leg just felt sore. I shut everything down after the OCRC run until the treadmill marathon (I’ll have to do a recap for this one too). I survived the treadmill marathon and my leg started to feel better. But race day was 18 days away so back to recovery mode. Here’s a graphic of my training since the Miami Half Marathon:
Pre-Race
Not an early start compared to most races but I got up around 5:00am-5:30am so I could warm-up. I skipped the coffee and breakfast because I didn’t prioritize going to the store for some food and instant coffee. But I had my gels and figured that would be more than enough (it wasn’t but it wouldn’t have made much of a difference). I met up with a friend and took the metro to Shinjuku where the race started. Got there just before 7am so I could check my bag and go through security. The line for the bathrooms weren’t too long but there was only one a small set of toilets near the start corrals. A full recap can be found on my Instagram along with a recap of the rest of my Tokyo trip.
Race
Miles 1-7 (6:47, 6:21, 6:24, 6:29, 6:31, 6:36, 6:36)
The first 5K was a downhill and fast. I wanted to push the pace initially (no faster than 6:30/mile) and the pace back closer to 6:45-6:50. I ran with Min and the crowds were tight through the opening 1K. Nearly avoided a collision when a runner turned back to grab a gel and was running upstream (I would never recommend this because it’s extremely dangerous). The pace was pulled back but not enough and I should have backed off more.
Miles 8-16 (6:40, 6:30, 6:34, 6:41, 6:31, 6:38, 6:46, 6:43, 6:52)
I decided to keep the pace rolling in the 6:30’s and see what happens. Min and I were having fun posing for the cameras and taking it all in. All the fun was about to end. Min kept the pace going after mile 14 and I couldn’t keep up so I dropped back. I was trying to hold original target pace of 6:45/mile to 6:50/mile but I burned too much energy early. The out and back routes were starting to become tiring and the fatigue was starting to set in.
Miles 17-21 (7:13, 8:03, 7:17, 7:07, 7:00)
This was the worst I felt in a marathon in 4 years and before I took my marathon training seriously after COVID. I felt completely zapped and I thought I was going to pass out. I stopped to walk at least 3-4 times during this stretch. I don’t recall too many landmarks but this was a couple miles after the turnaround at the Red Gate. I think this is the longest section of the out and back and it felt like everyone was over taking me. I still kept the legs churning no matter what. I’m back in familiar territory as we pass Tokyo station and Ginza (where my hotel was).
Miles 22-Finish (6:54, 7:13, 7:28, 7:46, 8:40, 5:22 – 8:24/mile)
I could see the final stretch but there was 4 miles on the last out and back (just past Zojo-Ji Temple with a view of the Tokyo tower at mile 22.5 and 23.5). I thought momentum was on my side at mile 22 but that was short lived. I once again found myself slowing the pace down. I saw Sam and Izzy around mile 24-25. Did my best to smile and be positive but I felt defeated. The final 1KM sign felt deceiving – almost felt like a mile or 2KM. I once again found myself walking until some guy in a cow costume flew past me. My only motivation was to not get beat by this cow costume dude. I saw the finish line and tried to sprint but my legs cramped up and I nearly fell over the finish line. Not a pretty finish but it’s a marathon finish.
Post-Race
This was very humbling and also very rewarding. The last 3 weeks before the race was filled with so much anxiety. My shin splints didn’t seem to get better. Work was starting to pick up with a colleague announcing her retirement and my team quickly learning her tasks. No matter how hard it got, I reminded myself of the mantra I always say – I can do hard things. I’ve done this before and I will do this again. And as Aeneas famously said in the first book of the Aeneid, “Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit” or “One day, perhaps, remembering even this will be a pleasure.”
I want to be quicker at turning around race recaps but there was a lot of emotions in this race (and even more emotions with my most recent visit to Cambodia). I’m glad I waited because the shin splints haven’t made running much fun but I enjoy looking back at the memories and the moments. I’m surprised by how much I can remember and I know I won’t be able to remember all the moments and stories. But they will forever live in my blog and race recaps.
