The Marathon

Pre-marathon: looking fresh & excited!

Marathon day arrived on Sunday 7^th July, six months after setting that crazy goal to run 42.2 kilometres.  The shin splint injury meant I was going into it with no expectations, just hoping to make the distance without walking.  I did some pretty full-on carb-loading in the three days prior, I had my race nutrition planned out, my mind was in the right place – so it was just a matter of my body holding up.

I was pretty nervous on Saturday, but felt much more relaxed when we arrived on the Gold Coast.  I had a pretty good sleep on Saturday night and woke a bit before 5am to have some porridge and a coffee.  I got ready and Dean & I walked down to the race precinct, just in time to see the half marathon start at 6am.  The atmosphere was great, and I wasn’t too nervous – just excited to get the run underway.  The next hour or so flew by and I saw several people I know, which definitely helped me feel relaxed.

7:20am rolled around and I met up with my friend Rachel at the start line.  Everyone was buzzing, the crowd was loud and there was so much anticipation in the air.  The weather was cool and fine and pretty much perfect!  Rachel & I found ourselves with the 4:15 pace runner and felt comfortable sticking to that pace.  He was great – giving out lots of tips and encouragement, as well as just general banter, to keep our minds off the run.

The first 16km flew by and felt really easy.  I had no shin pain, my body was feeling great and confidence was high.  This was about the point where we had our first turnaround, and that’s where Dean, along with my friend Danielle, had planned to meet me, and give me some more power bars.  It was a real boost to see them there and the encouragement along that stretch was fantastic!

16km: Danielle handing me my supplies; Rachel next to me in green.

So, then it was a matter of heading back to the start line for another 16km.  At the halfway point, I was still feeling great & sticking right with Rachel and the pace runner.  I had a bit of tightness in my thighs, but no pain.  I was glad I’d done a double layer of bandaids/blister strips on my usual blister spots, because they didn’t give me any trouble at all.

I was looking forward to getting to 31km and seeing Dean & Danielle again, and there they were, cheering along from the sideline – I loved having a support crew!  It was around this point that I found myself slipping behind the yellow balloons of the 4:15 pacer, after slowing down at a drink station.  He was not too far ahead, but I just didn’t have it in me to go faster and catch up.

31km: the hard part was about to hit

It felt good to get to 32km and know that all I had to do now was 5km out and back and the marathon was over.  But it was from this point that I felt my body start screaming out for a break.  My feet were tired, my legs were sore and I really wanted a break.  People all around me were starting to walk – and all I wanted to do was walk too!  But I remembered some advice I’d been given – ignore the walkers and keep on running!  I knew that if I started to walk, it would be so much harder to run again.  The stretch to 37km was a real challenge, but I just said my mantra to myself over and over: “I am strong, I am tough, I believe in myself”.  My pace had dropped drastically, but I didn’t walk a step.

Finally, I reached the turnaround and there was just 5km to go.  From here, I just had to break it down and do 1km at a time.  They seemed to stretch on forever, but I used all my mental strength to keep on running and not walk.  And as if the last 5km of a marathon aren’t hard enough, there was a head wind.  A head wind!!!  How inconsiderate!!!  But I have to say, the people lining the street at this point were amazing.  We were being cheered along the whole way, people even reading my name on my race number and encouraging me by name.  It really helped to get me through.

I couldn’t wait to get to 40km, because then it would be only 2km to go, and 2km is doable.  I just had to keep perspective in mind and think about all of that training, the number of kilometres I’d run to get here, as well as the 35km+ I’d done in the run, giving up was NOT an option.  I was so close and just had to keep going.

At 41km, the finishing area was in sight and the crowd really picked up.  I reached the finishing chute and knew that Dean & Danielle were just around the corner, along with several other friends and supporters, as well as the massive crowd of cheerers.  It was so loud and buzzing, and the best feeling to turn that corner and see the finish line.  I crossed it and was overwhelmed with relief, happiness, soreness & emotion – what a feeling!

There were tears – I was just so happy it was over and so glad I had done it.  I had some fruit, Endura and water in the finishing area, before collecting my finisher’s t-shirt and medal.  I was so proud to hang that around my neck.

Finished!

I headed back to where Dean and Danielle were, and finally had a chance to sit down, debrief and stretch.  I was unbelievably sore in my thighs, but the feeling of finishing was so exhilarating.

I completed the Gold Coast Marathon in 4:30:08 (you can see my 5km splits below, and how my pace dropped so much in the final quarter of the run!).  I am so happy with that time, especially considering my injury and lack of training over the last 6 weeks.  This was definitely one of the craziest, hardest, most rewarding achievements ever.

Was it harder than drug-free childbirth?  I think it was more difficult than my second labour/birth, which only lasted 3 hours (WAY less than the marathon!) – but I think my first labour (which lasted 9 hours) was harder J.  And like with childbirth, I am saying it’s something I NEVER want to do EVER again.  However, I’m sure when the pain goes away (wow, I am SOOO unbelievably sore!!!), I may change my mind.  Certainly not while the kids are still young though – it’s just such a big commitment to fit in to family life.

So, here we are.  It’s been one amazing, rollercoaster journey and I am so happy that it’s now ticked off the list.  I would not have made it here without so much support and encouragement.  I cannot thank my husband Dean and kids, Hope & Jed enough – they are the reason for it all.

There are too many others to list, but to the rest of my family, to all my friends from all areas of life, to my loyal Sandgate parkrunners, to the people who’ve looked after the kids while I’ve gone running, to my amazingly supportive workmates, to all my listeners on 96five, to everyone who’s read my blog – THANKYOU!  You’re the best!!!

Stay tuned on the blog for my race video and for what this running mum has her sights set on next J.  I love you all! xo

Official time (the top time is from when the starting gun went,                                                                                                   the bottom time is from when I actually crossed the start line)