THE DAY AFTER 42.195 METERS

Stockholm showed itself from its best side on yesterday and the weather conditions, crowd and atmosphere made Marathon 2010 a very cool experience.

Personally, I managed to stick with my strategy and kept a steady pace through out the race. 3.52 was my final time and that I'm pretty content with considering my very brief time for preparation (less than 3 weeks - nothing I would recommend to anyone, of course).



Two happy Marathon finishers (the "winner" is standing to the left, crossing the finish line with a very respectable time 3.43 - more than 1 hour improvement from last years race).


Here are some stats from the race:

Official time: 3.52.16
Average speed/km: 05:31 min/km
Runners registered total: 20.195
Runners finished: 14.715
My place: 4.044
Average speed: 10.87 km/h

Stats from my Polar AXN500 pulse watch

Average pulse: 163
Max pulse: 175
Total kcals burned: 3 385

And even though I took every opportunity to make pit-stops during water/energy controls, I lost a total of 3 kg.

Weight pre-race: 86 kg, 189 lbs
Weight post-race: 83 kg, 182 lbs

All in all, completing a Marathon is something special but far from an easy task. The crowd on this beautiful day made a huge difference and was an unvaluable energy injection that definitely helped me through. The atmosphere along with all the preparations and talk before the race is what makes these kind of events worth it all.

WHAT'S NEXT?


Scenery I might have to put up with this summer...

Now, in less than 12 hours, I'm boarding the plane that will take me to Bangkok, Thailand for next coming months where I'll be working as a personal trainer and group trainer over the summer.


An authentic "jungle-gym" in Lumphini Park, Bangkok

I'm obviously very excited, Thailand being one of my favourite countries, and I'm not quite sure yet what to expect from this so it will be interesting to see how it develops.

Check back when I give the first report from "the land of smiles"!