Current PB's

  • Marathon - 3:54:26
  • , Half Marathon - 1:27:41
  • , 10K - 42:32
  • , 5K - 19:47

Thursday 7 October 2010

The Edinburgh Marathon 2008

Another one of my old blog posts, this time it's my race report from the Edinburgh Marathon in 2008. I promise to start putting new posts on here soon!

Edinburgh Marathon 2008

Well I can now call myself a marathon runner!!!!
What a day!!! looking back now I loved the whole experience; the nerves at the end of last week, the pasta, the excitement when I got my number (I have to admit Andy that I did pin my number onto my vest as soon as I got it on the Friday night and tried my vest on!!), the gallons of water i've drunk, the trepidation before the start.
I actually managed to sleep pretty well on Saturday night and woke at 6am to have my porridge and honey which is my usual pre-race breakfast. My neighbour was also running and had kindly offered to give Helen and I a run through to Edinburgh. We made it through in good time and as we were walking up to the start who should I bump into but Tism! I couldn't believe it! It was good to see you and i'm sorry I couldn't chat for longer but it was getting kind of busy at that point!!
We were soon off and I had planned to go at 8:30 pace and just see how long I could keep that pace for. As it happened I only managed to get close to that on mile 3, most other mile splits were closer to 8:45 for the first half and closer to 9:00 for the second half. I also walked through all of the water stations to ensure that I got enough fluids on board. In my two half marathons I ran through them and ended up only taking a few mouthfuls before tossing the bottle. This time I drank every last drop which I was really greatful for come the end.
When we got down to coast by about mile 4 we were really exposed to the wind. I thought it was more left to right than head on so it didn't bother me too much. It was quite blustery though and I was taken by surprise at one point when I came out of the cover of a building to be almost taken off my feet by it!!! I remember looking out along the coast and seeing Cockenzie power station and thinking that it must be about the point where we turned back (it's a sort of out and back course, just not back to the place we started at, if that makes sense!) It just shows I have no idea of distance because we ran way past it and when we did eventually turn back I remember looking at the power station again and thinking 'oh my god, not only do we have to run to that but about 3 miles past it!!'
I got talking to a guy at about 14 miles and we stayed together for about 3 miles I think. I found this really helpful as it took my mind off any of the pain I was feeling. He was in the middle of training for an ironman triathlon in September where he'll be doing another marathon, with a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike ride as a warm up!
As I made my way back along the coast I got to the 20 mile banner and told myself that it was only 10K to go and that It wasn't really that far. I continued this countdown as I got to each successive mile banner but the motivation only lasted for about 100 metres, then the pain took back over!! I walked for a couple of minutes at mile 24 which was the only time I walked outside of a water station.
When I got back into the racecourse I couldn't believe how busy it was. As I approached the finish I started to get really emotional and after i'd crossed the line I burst into tears. I have no idea why I did this, maybe it was just the enormity of the whole day catching up with me. According to my watch I finished in 3:54:27 which, given that my training didn't exactly go to plan, i'm absolutely delighted with.
Talking to Helen after the race I said that I didn't have to do another one now because i'd done it in under 4 hours but by the time we were driving back home I was already talking about how i'd love to do the New York marathon!!
I also managed to bump into Russell after the race. Great to see you again Russell, I hope you're happy with your time and you enjoyed your curry on Sunday night.
My legs are feeling pretty ok just now but the pain in my shoulders and arms may be masking that. They are now a nice 'lobster red' after getting sunburnt yesterday.

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