Today was a very very tough day. It still felt like an incredibly long way to go this morning even though we'd already done 6 plus the cumulative tiredness had been building up and even though lights were out by 9pm I couldn't sleep at all. I was pretty knackered at the startline. After only 4 or so miles I'd hit the wall and was finding anything more than a walk hard going. By the time we got to the big hill at 7m, it was apparent that it was going to be an extremely long day and that I just didn't have the energy. I hadn't eaten enough yesterday after the race or for dinner, and was struggling to get any pace up. I walk/shuffled to where it gets properly hard just after 13 miles and thought that if I could get through the next 4 it would all seem more tolerable. Unfortunately, shortly after that it all got a bit blurry. I was so low on energy and so sleepy that my eyes were closing and I was finding it difficult to stay on the side of the road, I was weaving all over the place. Playing chicken with the traffic is never a good idea, if only because it probably adds a few hundred yards to your distance.
I saw Mac and two of the physios, Katie and Lucy at 16, and they gave me a bit of coffee. I thought it would do the trick but when I saw two other physios, Roxy and Paul shortly afterwards with a mat laid out I just had to get the opportunity to shut my eyes for a few minutes. They seemed more concerned than I was, I just wanted to sleep but they were very keen to get a lot of food and liquids down me and sort out my Achilles which has really been playing up today, it's very tight and creaky. I must have spent about 20 minutes there, drinking coffee, tea and water and eating jam sandwiches and jaffa cakes. This set the tone for the rest of the marathon, I had someone in the car right behind me to protect me from the traffic and at every stop they were force feeding me. This sounds worse than it was, I can't complain about being given endless jam sandwiches and even an ice cream in Bowness!
I managed to keep a shuffle going through to the finish, with a bit more energy and caffeine inside me and the physios right behind me at least I didn't have to provide my own motivation. Having given up all thoughts of the finish time, I was pleased to have got round sub 6 in 5'49. Tomorrow's another day.
Race start, a mix of race officials, physios, supporters and a few runners. L-R: Shell Atkins, Dave Wintle, Steve Edwards (back to camera), Aly Knowles, Jim Meta, Chris Heaton (back to camera)
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