Marathon Madness ~ Beautiful Bungay in the Sun

In some ways booking into a Marathon a week before doing it was the best plan mentally! I had limited time to worry about it or become nervous. It was booked and I was at the start line before I had time to panic about what I had signed up to do! I don't think I had really appreciated how many miles I had ahead of me until people starting to send me good luck messages the night before. With the reality sinking in I knew I needed to get my head into race mode and had a bit of a chat with my brain before heading off to bed!

THE PLAN OF ACTION

The brain was strictly told to pull itself together and to remember these key points!

1. Go slow! Under no circumstances must I race off at the start! I must respect the distance and know that I cannot bomb round a marathon!

2. Race my own race and not compare myself to others! The majority of the entrants will be quicker than me, but that doesn't mean I am having a bad run! The ultimate plan is to block out everyone else and focus on myself and not worry!

3. Have no expectations for a finish time! This is my first ever road marathon. No matter what time I finish the race in it would be a personal best. By having no expectations it would mean I can't be disappointed in how long it takes.

These stayed with me as I headed off for an early night and I woke up relatively calm. Actually surprisingly calm! My brain was certainly behaving, as normally I would be a bundle of nerves. Today however it seemed perfectly normal that I would be getting up and running a marathon. In fact I swear I would have been more nervous if I had been doing the half marathon. A shorter race would have put the pressure on for a speedy PB, whereas the marathon required mental will power.

GETTING TO THE EVENT AND THE START

My lift for the day ~ Richard Goodhand ~ was here bright and early ~ 6.45am in fact. It seemed early, but there was a strategic reason for this!

Marathon runners were able to bring sports drinks and gels with them to then be dropped off around the course. These would be at set water stations. These needed to be at the designated drop off point before 8.15am. I underestimated how much this could have helped me and I only took one drink with me to leave. Thinking back I wish I had taken more and been more strategic where I had them. Although the course was full of water stations, extra nutrients from a sports drink could have helped at several stages. Next time I will read the race information better!

6.45am in fact turned out to be the perfect time to leave! It took around 1 hour to reach our destination, but the parking sites for the event were scattered across the local surrounding area. We ended up parked around a 15 minute walk away from the start! There were some shuttle buses whizzing around, but with the 8.15am deadline fast approaching we quickly marched down to the start!

Now here is one that will make you laugh! With a whole marathon in front of me what should I forget to do! Yes ~ forget to put any deodorant on! What a nightmare! I thought hey ho there are loads of people here ~ surely someone would have some! Apparently not..... but one lady did point out that I wouldn't even remember this concern in a few miles and everyone would be smelly! So I approached my first road marathon already in a sweaty state!

The start was so well arranged! Really simple to pick up the race numbers! Plus no queues for the toilets ~ every runners dream! We even received our race t-shirts at the start. Lots of people were wearing these for the race, but I decided to save mine for post race. On reflection however the t-shirt option could have been a good idea! After a mile I realised I was wearing the most annoying running top. It kept rising up and exposing my belly to the world. I couldn't deal with this for a whole 26 miles so I strategically spent mile 2 trying to tuck my t-shirt into my running tights. I really hadn't worked out my race outfit very well!

The race started out on the main road. We headed straight for the back of the crowd! There were some speedy runners here and I didn't want to get caught up in the starting rush. It was also comforting to meet some people at the start line who were planning on taking it steady. Within moments we were off! Running into the sun! This was certainly going to be a hot race!

SETTING OFF

Well we all know that I didn't stick to any of my plan of action! It's like the starting siren goes and a little voice screams ' run faster! get it over and done with as quickly as possible'. Yes thats right I got caught up in the moment and whizzed off into the distance. I did mentally keep saying slow down, slow down, but I also thought I was enjoying it and felt great so why not enjoy it while I was feeling ok. I knew the dreaded hills were on their way so if the start of the race was enjoyable I would make the most of it!

The course is two loops! This could be mentally challenging and I had tried to consider how to help combat the two loop prospect. The first loop consisted of me looking around loads! I was noting any specific landmarks that I could head towards on the second loop! I had a constant smile on my face for most of the first loop and the marshall's were so surprised at how happy I looked! I did joke a few times that they may not see the smile the second time round!

THE HILLS

I had been warned about the hills! These were the main reason I had hesitated a week ago about signing up! I didn't know how awful they would be and had been nervous about whether I would be able to deal with them! Now I am surprised to say this, but I actually really enjoyed the first 7 miles of the course and this 7 miles was the hilly section. The hills were steep and quite daunting as you approach them, but they were achievable. I found I just needed to keep my head down, slow the pace a little and keep going. There were four huge hills in total and I am proud to say I ran up every single one of them!

I think that it also helped that I hadn't been been totally left behind by the pack! I still had company from fellow runners as we battled up the steep sections.

The thing to remember here is that for every one of the four hills I had to combat there were four amazing downhill stretches! These were great to recover and make up some time! Managing to overcome these hills gave me the confidence that I could actually do this! Although I was very wary that the second time round the hills may not be so kind to me!

THE VOLUNTEERS AND WATER STATIONS

Amazing! Amazing! Amazing!

Firstly they were all in great spirits! I certainly think the glorious sunshine was helping their moods! They must have been chuffed to have such a lovely day to volunteer! They were jolly and enthusiastic as we came past - both the first and second loop. Water station 1 certainly won the best station though! They had music blaring out to help us on our way!

Secondly - I had never been in a race with so many drink stops! This certainly made the decision to run without a hydration pack the best decision ever! Water was available every 2 to 3 miles. This was perfect on such a hot day! Hydration was the key to get round and I took advantage of every drink offered to me. It is worthwhile bearing in mind that the water is supplied in cups. Its a no bottle affair!

SCENARY, WATERWAYS AND VILLAGES

I did wonder whether I had made the right choice to do a marathon in the middle of nowhere. With Manchester marathon happening today as well I wasn't sure if I should have gone for a bigger race! I was quickly please with my decision though! The race course was beautiful! The rolling hills were full of flower filled fields. With the sun beaming down the colours reflected and looked stunning! I was gutted that I couldn't justify stopping to take some photos. The views kept me going and mind busy. It certainly helped the miles tick by!

Half way round loop one we ran through Gillingham! This village is stunning and had a gorgeous river running through it. In fact I believe it was part of the Norfolk Broads. Canal boats lined up either side. The supporters were out in force here and they certainly helped motivate us for the return journey back to Bungay.

The second half of the loop is flatter, but seemed harder! But I was determined to keep the pace up! The one thing that was keeping me going was the thought of getting round loop one before the half marathon started! They started 2 hours after us so I needed to run a fairly quick half to achieve this! With the final two miles back to Bungay being on a trail track I was in my element! I flew down this section. It may have been the motivation of getting loop one done or the fact my sports drink would be waiting for me round the corner!

THE BUZZ OF THE HALF MARATHON CROWD

A speedy first loop had been the right decision! I got round to the half marathon starting line with a minute to spare! I got to run past the whole race lining up to start and I have never felt so much love! The crowd was cheering and whistling as I passed. It was such a buzz and certainly made me feel proud of what I had achieved already. It was just what I needed to convince me I could complete this race!

My pace was still holding strong - between 9 and 10 minute miles as I ran off from the half marathon crowd! Then the realisation hit me! That half marathon race was heading straight for me! I was right in their way and would be running much slower than the majority of them!

It didn't take long for them to catch me up! But I made the most of this additional company. Many of them had a chat on the way ~ asked about the course and how it was going. They were all life savers and kept me entertained up until around mile 16! This is the first time I dared to waiver a bit. The fourth hill on round two was just a little bit too much. But I had a stretch, got the head together and ploughed on! With the half marathon in full swing a number of new supporters were out on the course too! This was so helpful as my biggest fear was having a lonely race! I felt supported and loved the whole way round!

SURVIVING POST 18 MILES

Now I have run between 18 and 20 miles a number of time, but I knew it would be tough to make it to 26. My hips were starting to hurt a bit and I was worried I was seizing up. Every now and again I had to stop and stretch the hips out! I think I need to focus on hip flexibility in the future! This was my main downfall!

My pace per mile seriously started to slow over this section of the course. I was slightly sad as although I wasn't aiming for a time my pace until now could have got me close to 4 hrs. Despite this I knew I was on track to make it back before 4 and a half hours. The need to get back in this new target kept me going.

What surprised me the most is I was still smiling! I am not sure if this was enjoyment or insanity, but the smile was there as I waddled through the last miles! I am not going to lie though ~there were times that I wanted to quit! My legs were like jelly!

I felt strong mentally, but it was frustrating the legs were not quite with me! Think if I do this again I will do a few bigger runs to train the legs. I say next time...... at about mile 24 I was pretty sure I was never going to run again. I swear I only got the last few miles with the help of some fellow half marathon runners! They wouldn't let me give up!

SUCCESS! I MADE IT

The finish line certainly was a delight! I was so pleased to see it! It was also a bit of a blur as I was quickly whizzed off to have my shoe chip removed! Thank goodness they had a chair for me to sit on! If they had made me stand on my leg that could have been the end with me flat on my face!

Then with a goody bag in tow I was given my medal! And what a lovely medal it is! My first ever road marathon medal! Eeeeeeeeek! Now this was worth the effort! Was over the moon to have succeeded and I was more over the moon with my time. My first official road marathon time ended up being 4 hours and 16 minutes! Super pleased especially with such a hilly course! There is certainly some hope with a bit more training and a flatter course that the time could be squished to 4 hours! A challenge for the future..... but certainly not for now.

You will see from my route I got slower and slower! OPS!

While I waited for Richard to finish I enjoyed the sunshine, a bag of crisps and a can of coke! Sugar was lacking and in all honesty I was not feeling my best! It took around an hour for me to feel myself again and the walk back to the car certainly helped stretch out the legs!

RECOVERY

Now this is the funny bit! Not seizing up and being able to walk in the future. The next 24 hours consisted of.....

1. Squatting

2. Kicking

3. Wiggling

4. Bathing

5. Tackling Stairs

6. Recovery Swim

All of the above was worth it! Within 24 hours I feel fresh as a daisy! I have even muttered the words that I may go for a run..... maybe this means I should have tried harder on Sunday!

I certainly will be considering returning next year to try and get a PB in the half marathon. Loved the course and the atmosphere was amazing!

#All #Running