Last Friday I noticed
that Foxy was running one of his Enigma Festivals this week. He was
saying he had places left and was anyone interested.
Yeah right! I though, as if I want to do a marathon.
Everyone knows I have pretty much given that up!
But all day, a voice kept nagging at me ‘you could do it you
know…..’
‘but I haven’t trained’
‘and?’
‘and you need to train to do a sodding marathon’
‘not really, you just have to be prepared to hurt…..are you
prepared or are you just a bit rubbish?’
‘ok then. Be rubbish’
‘I bloody hate you’
‘yeah I know, when you going to enter?’
‘I will give Foxy notice today and then if I have a decent
run to and from parkrun tomorrow I will do it. Ok?’
‘yeah, I’m excited, don’t tell anyone it can be our secret’
‘twat!’
See what I bloody have to put up with.
So Saturday I ran to Harrow Lodge parkrun, did it and ran
home. Total of about 11.5 miles and yeah I enjoyed it and felt good.
Fmailed Foxy, booked tickets. Told no one.
Saturday night we went out for anniversary dinner. To our
local restaurant. Mr actually had to get up and go and have a look at the wines
to help the waiter choose the right one. Then we he bought the bottle to our
table it was a different one! However it was one we would have chosen had we
known they had it :-D
Anyway I had a good drink because I knew I had said no to
xc. That wasn’t because of the mara, it was because I needed to do some work
and I wanted a lie in first. Am I lazy?
Anyway, had lie in which was nice, then Chris went off to
football with his friends. I spent the next few hours talking to myself going
through my talk. I was sick of it by the time he got home!, I was also watching
BBC News 24, apparently we were due a massive storm and the world was going to
end in the early hours of Monday morning.
Oh well, if that happened I wouldn’t be running, would I!
The world only partly ended really. The south couldn’t get
to work so it was actually a global disaster, I wont say any more though cos
people died and it was a proper weather thing.
My talk was cancelled which was just as well as I got to
work an hour after it would have started. Never mind, another time, I had other
stuff to do.
I was a little concerned though as there was so much
disruption on the trains I wondered if it would be ok by tomorrow? No way to
know. I went to bed early as if I would be getting up at 5.30 am anyway.
Mr had gone by that time (see, I could go anywhere and
pretend I went to work) and the trains appeared fine! Bingo!
Got on the 10 past 8 from Euston to Bangor. First stop MK.
As fate would have it, the 2 blokes sitting next to me were also going to do
the mara (I heard them talking about someone I knew and butted in!) so I got a
taxi with them from the station.
When you think about it, it’s prob best I didn’t tell Mr H
what I was doing, not sure he’d be that
impressed with me introducing myself to strange men on the train :-D
Arrived at venue with 30 minutes to spare. 2 ladies toilets
for 5 ladies……bliss!
Does that sound like we all jumped in together and er…..well
anyway it’s not supposed to.
Said hi and gave Foxy a hug, realised I knew only 2 other
people here, Ruth and Travis. I really have been out of it a while. There was a
time when I would know every one of the people at an Enigma race.
Still, this actually pleased me as I wanted to be anonymous.
After all I wasn’t really there. (I do have an ICE tag on my keys in case I
cark it whilst on a secret mission)
No fuss and we are off at 9.30, 7 laps of about 3.75 miles
each. This race doesn’t really start til you’ve done 5 laps. That’s what I told
myself. Because it’s true.
I spent the first lap ensuring I knew where I was going. The
route was marked by flour and tape, and the men in front of me :-D but on a
mara like this it is so easy to end up alone that I really concentrated. So
when I saw the zig zags for the first time I knew it was about 1.3 miles into
the lap. I ran up them thinking that perhaps later I would allow myself a
little walk there. For now though I felt good and it was a lovely course and
the weather was fab, sunny and bright but not too warm. Most of the lap is
pretty quiet walkers and dogwalkers excepted. The end 500m or so runs alongside
the go ape thing the gym and the hotel
pub then the café so a bit more lively here. Passed the cp for the first lap,
no thanks don’t need water or anything I’m fine.
The next 2 laps were fine too I felt good and smiled my way
round. Had a gel at end of lap 2 as planned. Mild stomach discomfort after but
that always happens. Lap 4 I suffered with my back low down and begged some
ibuprofen gel off someone at the cp. Probably psychological but that did seem
to help.
I had run all the zig zags so far and decided that on the
last 2 laps I would walk them.
Lap 5 was a bit more mentally tough than the others because
of my back at the start and because it contains mile 16 which is always my
nemesis but actually I was ok. I kept thinking, after this one you only have
7.5 miles to run. Piece of piss!
Lap six had a bit of a bad moment in it. My foot went on the
floor and it seriously felt like I had broken something in the arch. I slowed
and by changing my gait a little I could get round it, but every now and then I
would put it down wrong and die a bit:-D (it is still very sore )
But you do know, there was no way I was stopping now. No
fucking way.
Gel at the end of lap 6 and I was on the glory one :-) the one where you say
good bye to all the things you are now getting heartily sick of! And you know I
never walked the zig zags. I did this marathon to make me happy and that
actually meant running it all and doing the best I could (I even tapered for 2
days).
I hadn’t really been looking at my watch because I knew I
was running to the best of my ability and also because I couldn’t work out how
to see elapsed time on it ……………. I’m a cock sometimes ;) anyway when I finally
did I realised I had been running for 3.41 and I had 2 miles to go.
LEG IT!!!!!!
As much as my now very tired and a bit broken body could I
did. And finished in 3.56.47. First lady too, but there were only 5. I lapped 3 :-)
I was bloody ecstatic with that. I started not knowing if I
could finish…….well yes I could have walked it but you know what I mean. I
asked myself a question as if you have read my blogs before you will know I
like doing and the answer this time was a big yes.
I CAN!
I did ring Mr H from the station and told him all about it.
He was a bit bemused I think, but he’s had 25 years to get used to me he knows
I will do things in my own way. Or have a strop.
That might be all for now.
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