Valencia marathon - 3:20:38

Where to start?!

I suppose a summary of the training:

The perfect training block.
The fittest I’ve been.
Pushing myself harder than I ever have done in sessions
Teaching myself how to ‘dig deep’
Learning how to bounce back from tough & demoralising sessions

The taper:
Felt like a lump, felt unfit, full of cold - the usual 🤣

The morning of:
Felt calm & positive
So excited to see what I could do
Reminding myself how much I love running marathons

The race:
My plan was to start at 3:17/18 pace and see if I could push on a bit to get as close to 3:15 as possible. I didn’t bother with a pace band, I just knew I wanted to run 23:30ish minute 5ks, get through half around 1:39 and 20 miles at 2 hours 30.

The first 25k were GREAT. I felt good, I felt fast & felt totally in control.
Taking gels every 7k, found my rhythm, was pretty consistent with each 5k split & distracted my mind by trying to spot Hoopsters in the out and back sections.

5k splits - 23:28 // 23:29 // 23:32 // 23:32 // 23:35

Around 26k I started to feel a twinge in my right ITB/hamstring.

Bit by bit, I could feel it hurting more & starting to seize up.

REALLY! WHY!?

After all this training!?
I can’t believe it.
It’s going to be a disaster.
I still have 9 miles to go.
I want to pull out.
I don’t even care that much anymore.
I’m a failure.
This is hell.
This is hard.
It hurts.
Suddenly I feel so lonely even though I’m surrounded by so many runners.
What do I do?
Should I just pull out?

Absolutely f***ing not. You do not give up.

Option A - DNF
Option B - walk
Option C - dig deep and get this DONE

The next 12k were the hardest I’ve ever had to work to find positivity and strength.

I told myself to stay calm.
You can do hard things.
Run the mile you’re in.
Take a gel, have some water.
Pull over to the side & stretch your hammy so that it doesn’t fully seize up.
Think of your supporters at home watching.
Think of your crew running the same streets.
You are a good runner.
You can absolutely still do something worth being proud of.
Physically start to smile.

Just run the mile you’re in.

I realised that I crossed 20 miles in 2 hours 29. I could still finish in 3:20 something.

Find someone ahead of you who you think you can overtake. Start playing a game to distract yourself from the pain.

I started overtaking people.
Pulled over 3 more times to stretch my leg.
Had another gel
Downed a bottle of water

And then I had less than a parkrun to go.

4k left.

I actually said out loud to myself, GET THIS DONE.

My last 2k was 4:32/7:17 pace and omg it hurt so much 🤣.

Crossed the finish line in AGONY, burst into tears with just pure happiness. The most proud I’ve felt after a marathon.

What a DIG.

It’s incredible how strong your mind can be.
We can do hard things.
I did a hard thing.

And I am so proud

5th December 2024