What was it like?
It was great. Great for 21 miles and then I discovered that Anthony Walsh knew exactly what he was talking about when he told me that the real marathon begins after 20 miles... I was flying along for the first 3 hours - I was loving it. I did some of the best running that I've done over the past three months - my time, my pace, my breathing, my body - everything was going well.
And then all of a sudden my body wanted to take it easy. Mentally I was fine and I was telling myself that I didnt train for 4 months to walk a marathon and so I kept going; but then I'd have to walk for a while and grab some more jelly babies off some kind bystander. At one point, around 23 miles, I was picking up discarded water bottles to finish them. Yes, I was dehydrated and low on energy but I kept going. The last mile went on forever - I was averaging under 8 min a mile in the first half of the race - the last 1.2 miles took me 14 minutes!!How did it feel to cross the finishing line?
I hardly heard people screaming even though my family were yelling their heads off. I remember smiling and putting my hands up just in case there might be a camera around somewhere. But to be honest, I was too tired to care. All I wanted at that point was an extra small t-shirt and something decent to eat in the goodie bag. I sat on the footpath and opened the bag. A cheese sandwich made with white bread - I never eat white bread. It was too much for me so I started crying and suddenly I was surrounded by four fit men all looking concerned and telling me that I'd done great. I just waved the white bread at them and cried some more...
I have to say that the crowd throughout were fabulous and it was an amazing experience. I loved every bit of it in retrospect - it was just the final 4 miles that really pushed me. 3:58:08 was my final time so came in the top 30% - not bad for a newbie!
Would I do it again? Of course! I can't not run my own city's marathon!!!!! June 7th 2010!
Well done Eileen. Enjoyed reading the blog and best of luck next year.
ReplyDeleteWell done Eileen - Sub 4 hours in your first marathon is a fantastic achievement. You brought bak memories of my first marathon in Dublin where the last 4 miles were agony and I did not hear the cheering crowds and can't say I was happy crossing the finish line.
ReplyDeleteWell done and good luck with your preparation for Cork - now you know what's involved.
"Roll on Cork"? Are you mad or what!!!
ReplyDeleteIt took me a month after Cork to decide to go again but fair play to you, no messing about, nailing your colours to the mast already.
Well done again, especially on the fundraising (and the blog).