I started off with a good porridge breakfast and then walked the couple of miles or so down to the start at the Spectrum Leisure Centre, figuring that parking, or even getting anywhere near in the car to be dropped off, would be something of a nightmare. From almost outside my door I saw another person clearly heading in the same direction; the trickle soon became a stream and then a flood of people all walking towards the start. Already feeling the excitement, and funnily not at all apprehensive. I think, having done 15 miles last week, I was almost thinking that 13 would be a doddle.
At the Spectrum it was chaos, but fairly well organised chaos - just thousands of people. What on earth is it like at Greenwich?!
I dropped off my bag then went and stood at the blue start. We had been given a colour according to the time we had estimated we would finish in - blue is for "at the back". I met up with a friend, Debbie, and at 10:00 we started to shuffle slowly forward. There was a professional Runners' World pace setter who was running at 2 hours 29 minutes, so I reckoned not to go off too fast but to see if I could keep her in my sights. Debbie disappeared off fairly quickly but I was a bit bunched in so couldn't go with her and decided I'd just keep to myself and keep steady, following the pace setter at 100 yards or so back. There were loads of people by the side of the road, including a cheerleading squad and steel band, so the atmosphere was great and the weather gorgeous.
At 3 miles I saw hubby standing at the roadside cheering and waving, which was lovely. Then off up towards where a friend lives - there she was with her husband and their neighbours, with their chairs outside and a cup of tea! (Not for me though.) Just after that I got to the first drinks station, where I was very grateful for a bottle of cold water, and where the first runners passed me on their way back... They were proper speedy Kenyans and they were absolutely flying! (I later found out from my son, who is at Uni in Bath and had been at the Bath Half last weekend, supporting not running, that the same two Kenyans won that race too, in the same order and in almost exactly the same time!)
After that the flow of runners returning gradually increased, until by Westfield at just over four miles (where the Surrey Advanced Brass ensemble was playing) there was a mass of them. I had gone gadget free - no watch even, and although I had my phone with me I'd given William the day off - so apart from the mile markers I had no idea how I was doing. I was feeling very relaxed though, and the running was steady and easy despite the heat. I had lost sight of the Runners' World pace setter at about four miles, so I thought I was probably running a bit slow, but I decided not to beat myself up and just keep going.
On the approach to Woking there's quite a long steady hill which I tackled well, then under the railway bridge and a U-turn at the fire station, with another drinks station, and a GU gel. I actually liked this one a lot more than last week's; it was much thicker in consistency and tasted nicer too, and I really felt it did me a lot of good. Of course the crowd also help a lot with keeping you buoyed up (although in some parts they were beginning to pack up and go home by the time I passed!), but I was grateful for the gel nonetheless. I didn't have my name on my bright pink shirt (unfortunately the Marathon organisers had failed to return my PanCan vest from the printers in time - I hope they, or the Royal Mail, haven't lost it) but I had lots of people yelling "Come on pink lady!" at me. I'm not sure if it was my shirt or my face they were referring to! The way back didn't seem nearly as far (it never is!) and it was great to have hubby and friends to cheer me on with three miles to go.
For the last three or four miles I was still feeling comfortable and, having run all the way so far, was determined not to stop. I passed so many people walking, including, in the last mile, my friend Debbie, who had gone off a bit too fast and was suffering for it a bit. She made me run on though, and, with the crowd getting bigger and yelling "you're nearly there!", I even put in a teeny bit of a Kenyan finish. It probably wasn't but I felt I was finishing strongly. Down the sandy path and onto the athletics track, and round to the finish. As I crossed the line the clock said 2:37:25, which I was initially a tiny bit disappointed with, but then I remembered there would be some to come off to allow for not crossing the start at exactly 10:00, and anyway, I'd had a great day out and really enjoyed my running so the time wasn't really important. And I got a medal, and Debbie came in a couple of minutes later and we got a bit tearful that we'd actually gone and done it!
In the event it turned out that I wasn't all that far behind the Runners' World pacer, and finished in a net time of 2:30:41, which I was delighted with. That's faster (although not very much, just a couple of minutes) than when I did the half marathon distance in training a few weeks ago, and it was incredibly hot. I was most pleased with the way I ran though, I didn't stop to walk a single step, and at no point did I ever feel like I was having to dig deep to keep going, or that I was really suffering. My feet were sore and so were my hips, and I was quite hobbly during the afternoon despite the stretching and the cold bath. This morning my Achilles tendons feel very tight but otherwise I feel pretty ok, and very proud. I have a Body Balance class later for some gentle stretching, then a full hour sports massage this afternoon at which the lovely April will reduce me to tears but will make me feel a lot better afterwards. And only two more really long runs (one of 3 hours, the other 3 hours 20 minutes-ish) before I start to taper. I can't believe how quickly it's coming round now. I am getting very excited. On Thursday this week I had a lovely day in London to meet an old friend from Uni, and at the end of the day, before meeting hubby for a date night dinner at Villandry in St James' (highly recommend it), I went down onto the Mall and sat on a bench just by where the finish will be. I watched the road and the traffic and tried to visualise myself running up there in triumph, with crowds 10 deep yelling... Choked up!
Oh, and I have a medal...
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