Berlin to Istanbul

I'm writing this from my hostel bed in Berlin, 12 hours before the start.

First of all, I didn't choose to run two marathons a month apart on purpose. The plan was only Istanbul. But around June, a post came up in the adidas Runners WhatsApp group about a spare bib for the Berlin Marathon. No runner would pass on a chance like that. At least, that's what I thought. And so began my marathon training.

… Or not. I had a very nice plan for the summer in my head. But I also had trips planned, a busy work schedule and lazy feet. In a snap of the fingers it was August, and I was unfit. Over the next three weeks I took my weekly volume from 10 km to 50, and somehow didn't get injured 🤞🏼

Let's see how tomorrow works out.

It was difficult. But I finished in 4 hours 41 minutes, 11 minutes slower than my target. I think I got a little too excited and started too fast, although I'm not sure I could have kept running after km 35 even with perfect pacing. I think I'm just lacking long runs in my training.

The event was perfect. The whole city was so festive, and the sheer number of people who choose to go out and cheer you on is crazy motivating. There were a few times when I was walking and people called my name and got me running again.

I'm writing this from the train back to Nuremberg. My friend Halil was a big help: he brought my backpack to the finish line and helped me get to the train station.

The best part of the day for me was checking my phone after the finish line. My whole family had been following my progress, my girlfriend was constantly texting me motivational lines (even though I didn't reply), and my friends were discussing my progress among themselves. Seeing all that really made me emotional.

I'll report back on the training for Istanbul. Around km 35 I was seriously thinking of dropping the next marathon. But naaah. Let's call Berlin a long run for Istanbul.