BT: Well done on another solid marathon time & 2nd place in the Kobe Marathon – tell us about the race.
LA: I’m a bit disappointed with that result. I felt aerobically good throughout the whole race. My heart rate only got to a max of 179. I was reeling in the leaders quite nicely coming back into the wind. I knew they’d end up paying the toll for their earlier surges and the pace I was hitting would catch them. Unfortunately, I got some cramping issues that came on with no signs of fatigue.
I restricted my pace a little so that it didn’t get any worse but a nice little blister started to develop. The blister may have developed because I changed my running gait a little to protect myself from further issues of cramping.
The blister annoyed me with each step and as the race went on, the blister got worse and the limp got heavier. It was definitely a slow slog to that finish line and lots of time was bled in those later stages. I’m very happy with the tactics I employed with letting most of the surges go, but it just didn’t pan out the way I would have liked today. That’s marathon running for ya!
One of my issues was self-inflicted. I’ve definitely neglected treatments these last few months, being reactive instead of proactive. So when my back seized up in an awkward position on Monday, I was definitely going to struggle to get rid of it with flights, long bus rides and foreign beds.
BT: Any ideas how the blisters and foot issues are coming on?
LA: With the blister, it might have also been a little self-inflicted. I did a plate re-adjustment to stop an excessive pronation on the right foot, and where I adjusted the plate was where the blister came on. I had no issues in the shoes at all in my 34km and 24km solid session two weeks ago and a week and a half ago respectively so I wasn’t expecting something like that to happen. It’s another frustrating result on what’s been a bit of a disappointing year, but with how good I’m feeling after this race (apart from this blister), I know for a fact the race didn’t take much out of me and a big PB is there in the waiting.
BT: What’s next?
LA: It feels like I haven’t raced a marathon today so as soon as the blister has healed I’ll be right back into the swing of training. Not sure what direction I’m taking over the next few months but Zatopek could be quite a big possibility!
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