Edinburgh Marathon 2019

@MrHairyHaggis #EdinburghMarathonFestival @CR_UK

This was now 3 months ago; but better late than never….

The remaining weeks of training went smoothly and I enjoyed the energy boost I experienced through the final two ‘taper’ weeks.

As expected Race Weekend came round before I knew it. My family came along to support, making it feel more like a team effort. And with your loved ones behind you, you do really feel a boost. It also gives you another focus point in the race, because you know at the X mile marker they will be there, screaming and waving like mad!

We settled into the Airbnb rental on the Saturday, and had an easy afternoon. We went for the obligatory evening-before pasta feast at an excellent Italian #TempoPerso before getting an early night.

I woke in the middle of the night around 2am, and reached for my ‘just-in-case-I-wake’ protein bar by the side of the bed. A few quick mouthfuls and I quickly drifted back off, and woke around 7am feeling refreshed and ready.

Following a big bowl of porridge, I jammed as many High5 energy gels (matching those being distributed on the race course) in the back zip pouch of my shorts and jumped in the car. My wife drove towards the start until the barriers for the road closures stopped us. I jumped out, donned my bin bag, and joined the masses huddled together in the light rain like a waddle (I believe?) of penguins.

Before I knew it, the time was upon us and I found myself running along the streets of Edinburgh in my first marathon. Trying not to feel intimidated, I kept telling myself I had done the training and just to stick to the plan. I was conscious that I had probably over-watered myself and just after leaving the city did a dash to the portaloos for a quick stop. 4 miles ticked over quickly and this soon turned into 8 miles then 10. We reached the half marathon stage, and I was a touch behind my ideal 1.45 mark, but by less than a minute, so I was relaxed. Sub 3.30 was my secondary target – the primary aim being to complete the race with smile on my face!

We cruised past the 13.1m mark. My furthest in one run in training had been 16 miles. I was conscious of this, but confident in Hanson Marathon Method. I past 16 miles and as we approached the turn around point between 17m ad 18m I noticed I was starting to overtake runners. Not just a few, but a good number, and constantly. Clearly I had plenty still in the tank. Maybe.

I hit 20 miles and the wind kicked up and pushed back on my body as I ran. My legs started to feel solid. Trying desperately not to think of the dreaded ‘W’ word, I reassured myself that my constant gel-ing and watering throughout the race meant I was well hydrated and had fuel to burn. My legs were just getting tired. I prepared myself for some pain. I thought about my sponsors and Cancer Research, who I was raising for. I thought about the cruel suffering my mother-in-law had endured over three years, and how she had battled so bravely, despite knowing that in all likelihood the suffering would only stop when she died. My ‘suffering’ was quickly put into context – it wasn’t even on the scale, and was to be very short lived and stop as soon as I stopped running. I quickly forgot the pain in my legs.

With my mind refocused, I wanted to pushed up another gear and force myself into the wind to stay on track for what was a likely 3.30 finish, but common sense got the better of me. I’d never been at this 20m point – better run cautious and makes sure I get to the line, even if it is slower than I want to. At the 24m mark I knew I had it. My legs hadn’t got any worse, and I was due to see family again at the 25m mark and that would propel me over the last 1.2miles. It was at that point I decided I wanted to run another marathon, and soon. This wasn’t a one off event for me; this was the just the start.

I went over the line at 3.32.07. I was now a marathon runner! It took almost 42 years in the making, but I was there and could not get the smile off my face.

Within literally a couple of minutes I felt fine. I wouldn’t say I felt like running back again, but I knew I had more to give the next time.