[Sunk] 2023 Arakawa Riverbed Marathon

How is this a 'City' marathon?

Of course, there is no race actually called the 'Arakawa Riverbed Marathon'; it is really the 'Itabashi City Marathon.' However, no matter how you look at it, it can only be described as the 'Arakawa Riverbed Marathon' (lol), so I have written it as such. The main point of this race is that it is 'JAAF-certified.' I want to at least secure a sub-3:30 here to meet the participation criteria for next year's Beppu-Oita Main Marathon.

The result was another sinking ship. This time I was completely exhausted by 25km, but fortunately, it wasn't a 'total disaster' like it was in Shonan, and I managed to keep a decent pace, so I was able to secure a sub-3:30 somehow. Here is the race report.

Training Progress

After recovering from the damage of the previous Tokyo Challenge, my training followed this flow.

• Mon: Jog, then JETT Base ride (drop out at 1 hour or 40km)

• Tue: Intervals, 1km x 5 at 4:00/km pace, 2-minute rest

• Wed: Drop out of JETT Enjoy Home ride midway and do a Toast in the Zwift Duathlon League

• Thu: Jog if possible, or rest

• Fri: JETT Base ride, then brick run, 7.5km at 4:30/km pace

• Sat: Jog if possible, or swim

• Sun: JETT Endurance ride, long brick run (30km 3 weeks prior, half marathon 2 weeks prior, 10km the week prior; pace gradually increasing from 5:00/km to 4:30/km at the end)

With all that said, I felt like I had prepared quite well this time. However, as always, I wouldn't know what time I was actually capable of running until I tried.

Pacers

For this Itabashi race, the introduction of pacers was announced. The next one after 3 hours was 3 hours 15 minutes. Since my previous Tokyo Challenge was 3 hours 18 minutes, it seemed reasonable to follow that pacer assuming some improvement, but I also felt like taking a gamble to aim for 3 hours 10 minutes and try to get into the single digits for the third time.

As it turned out, this greedy thinking was the pitfall.

Nutrition Strategy

Lately, I don't take carb-loading very seriously. I just eat a bit more carbohydrates the day before.

On the other hand, when a colleague at work finally achieved a sub-3:30 in Tokyo the other day, they strongly recommended the famous 'Maurten,' so I finally bought that gel that costs 1,000 yen each and the powder for the drink. I wonder if it works...

On the day

Woke up at 4:00 AM. This is later than my usual JETT Endurance ride, so I have plenty of time. I eat breakfast slowly and get ready. I also succeeded in losing some weight. As expected, this part is much easier compared to a triathlon.

Left home around 6:00 AM. Drove to the Times parking lot near the venue in Ukima-Funado. The Shuto Expressway wasn't particularly crowded, and I arrived smoothly around 7:00 AM. The Times lot has a large capacity, so there was plenty of space. From there, it's about a 15-minute walk.

The temperature was around 5 degrees Celsius, so it was a bit cold, but the weather was nice with little wind, making for perfect conditions. I finished registration, received my wristband, and headed to the changing tent.

There weren't many vendors, but there were plenty of restrooms, and the flow for baggage drop-off was easy to understand, making it a good venue. After changing, I spent some time relaxing while sipping on Maurten drink.

As the assembly time approached, I dropped off my bag and went for a warm-up. I raised my heart rate moderately. I had brought a trash bag to wear against the cold, but it didn't seem necessary. I'll throw it away before lining up.

A wave start system was introduced, with 1,800 to 2,000 people starting every 6 minutes. This is appreciated. I am in Block B, starting at 9:06 AM. I positioned myself about 10 rows from the front of the block. There are three 3:15 pacers. It looks like they are starting from the front of the block.

Start

Right on time at 9:06 AM, the second wave started. For now, I decided to stick with the 3:15 pacers for a while and move ahead if I felt I had the energy. Thanks to being relatively far forward, I think the start loss was only about 5 seconds, but since this is basically a gross time race, I started my Garmin at the same time as the starting gun.

Up to 5km, the area was crowded, so I stayed calm and stuck to the pacers. At the time, I thought, 'Okay, I've got this,' but looking back at my heart rate now, the fact that it was already averaging over 150 at the 5km mark should have been seen as a not-so-good sign.

Around the 5km mark, when passing through the ups and downs at the Iwabuchi Sluice Gate in the dense crowd, there was a dangerous moment where I almost tripped on the steep slope. I was impressed with myself for managing to recover without falling.

After 5km, the crowd began to thin out and the road widened, so I decided to take a gamble and move ahead. In the end, this was a failure, but I can say it was a gain in the sense that I was able to experience 'what happens when I run at this pace with my current ability.'

From 6km, I moved in front of the pacers, and once I did, it's human nature to want to maintain a 4'30" pace. I even had the optimistic thought of trying to make up for the deficit from the first 5km. I didn't rush and tried to chip away at it little by little. However, the official distance markers and the Garmin distance started to drift apart, and since the Garmin showed about 10.1km around the 10km mark, my actual pace was slightly slower.

I thought I was still okay, but the heart doesn't lie. It was already starting to approach 160 (my LT limit). My breathing wasn't heavy at all, and I was able to breathe slowly and deeply, but... in any case, even if it's fine until the half-marathon, the problem is what comes after. Given the course, since I'm heading upstream on the Arakawa after the turnaround, it will only get harder, not easier, than the outbound leg.

From around here, based on my past experience and intuition, I had a strong feeling that I would fall apart after the half-marathon mark. Oh man, I shouldn't have bolted out... but what's done is done. If it comes to this, I just want to at least finish the half in 95 minutes.

• Halfway point: 1 hour 35 minutes 04 seconds

I have ridden my bike back and forth on this course several times, and the undulations that I didn't think much of back then were steadily wearing down my legs. Still, I kept steadily clocking laps under 4:30, and it looked as if I had almost paid off the debt I incurred by the 5km mark. However, in reality, I ended up slightly over 95 minutes. On my Garmin, the discrepancy had reached 200m. This is not very good for one's morale.

Everything was fine up to this point, but here, pain started to shoot through my thighs. I felt desperate to maintain my pace, and my heart rate was consistently over 160. This is a very bad state. The wish to at least make it to 30km was in vain, and my spirit broke the moment I clocked the 25km lap.

From there, my pace plummeted. My heart rate dropped in response. Intense pain shot through my quadriceps, and I started being passed by runners behind me one after another. Then, just past 29km, I was quickly swallowed up by the 3:15 pace group, and I could do nothing but watch the group shrink into the distance.

However, unlike the Shonan race where I completely sank, this time was different. Perhaps the Estalon Moka I took at 27km started to kick in, as I kept grinding away, clocking laps in the low 5-minute range. Of course, it was an incredible ordeal because I was enduring the intense pain in my quadriceps. The only reason I can endure such times is because of the experience of having endured similar ordeals many times before.

Meanwhile, I also tried taking the last of my Maurten gel, but I couldn't tell at all if it was working or not.

As usual, the peak of the suffering comes after 35km. It was all I could do to keep my laps in the high 5-minute range, but considering I had dropped to the 7-minute range during the Shonan race, I think I did well (in that sense, maybe the Maurten was working? No, I don't know).

Finish line

For the last 10km, I was just calculating. How many more kilometers, how much if I go at a 6-minute pace... how many seconds of buffer until sub-3:30... that kind of thing. With 5km left, I knew I would be fine even if I ran at a 7-minute pace, but since I had worked this hard, I decided to squeeze out every bit I could and just kept grinding. I sprinted like a demon in the final 500m. My legs felt like they were about to tear apart; it wasn't just my legs, my entire lower body was in intense pain. I think I was probably under a 4-minute pace right before the finish line.

I ended up with a mediocre result of 3 hours, 25 minutes, and 02 seconds, but I was able to give it my all at the end, and it was at least good that I was able to run at a 4'30" pace until 25km.

After the race

After a race where you sink, even more hell awaits. Just like in Shonan, I couldn't sit down at first. In that situation, even though staff members usually remove the shoe tag for you, this time I was told to take it off myself. I rolled on the ground in agony, letting out a death-rattle-like groan as I managed to remove the tag.

There was a sherbet service, but since the temperature hadn't risen that much yet, my stomach got cold while I was eating it, which I think was a mistake. Also, I made the blunder of accepting what I thought was apple juice, but it was actually apple vinegar, and I choked after taking a sip.

Even when I wanted to collect my luggage and change, I felt that if I sat on the ground, I would never be able to stand up again. Fortunately, a desk and chair, perhaps for staff, were empty, so I rested there for a while and managed to pack up my luggage.

From there, getting over the Arakawa embankment was another struggle. Dragging my aching legs, I returned to my car in the parking lot in a sorry state. I had intended to eat something on the way, but every shop had a line stretching outside, so I gave up and settled for a rice ball from a convenience store. It was delicious...

And so, I head home. There was a bit of traffic on the way, but I made it back smoothly. After all, the trip isn't over until everything is packed away. I can't even move to do anything without letting out a strange cry. This kind of life will continue for a while.

Next race

Then, once I calm down, it suddenly hits me. The next Challenge Fuji Five Lakes (though I'm entered for the four lakes) is only four weeks away. What am I going to do?

The end