Archive for May, 2008
Posted in Edinburgh Marathon, marathon
Tags: Edinburgh Marathon, endurance, exhaustion, finish, Linkfield Road, mile 25, mile 26, Musselburgh, personal best, Prestonpans, Ravensheugh Road
The final few miles were probably the hardest running I’d done in the entire marathon. I don’t know where I got the energy to keep running after so long on my feet, but the fact that the pacemaker car was stalking me as we passed the power station near Prestonpans was probably what forced to pick up the pace and just keep running.
As I passed through the energy station on Ravensheugh Road for the second time – this time, thankfully, going down hill – I was encouraged again by the prospect of only two more miles to go. Running past mile 25 was a psychological milestone, because it meant I had only one mile left to go, then 385 yards to the finish line. I knew the finish line was close, even if my legs were complaining that it was still too far away! Read the rest of this entry »
Posted May 30th, 2008 by Simon
Comments Off
Posted in Edinburgh Marathon, marathon
Tags: Cockenzie, Edinburgh Marathon, energy, exhaustion, Longniddry, pain, Port Seton, Prestonpans, the big one, tiredness
At mile sixteen, the prospect of still having ten miles left to run was crushing. The marathon seemed to be entering the hardest part now as well – We had passed the cheering crowds, so no support from them, the main body of runners had passed, which left me alone, strung between one or two runners ten minutes in front or behind. A right turn at Longniddry played a cruel trick on me, as I thought this was the point where we could turn round and head for home. However, it was just a detour. The course continued along the quiet stretch of country road gradually climbing towards Gosford House. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted May 29th, 2008 by Simon
Comments Off
Posted in Edinburgh Marathon, marathon
Moving onto the Portobello Promenade marked a departure from Edinburgh city centre. As soon as I crested the hill of Salamander St, the cold headwind hit me hard. I had no choice but to put up with it though, as the course followed the promenade for the next two miles. This was probably the worst part of the entire race for me. The wind was so strong that I even stopped running for a few minutes when it was blowing against me. Just before mile seven, the course switched back onto the roads, providing some welcome shelter. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted May 28th, 2008 by Simon
Comments Off
Posted in Edinburgh Marathon, marathon
The day of the run started with me getting up at six o’clock to do a quick ten-minute run in order to limber up. Then me and my parents, who would be cheering me on, made our way from our hotel to Edinburgh. We walked up through Edinburgh to the starting area on Regents street. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of people crowding the street, most of them runners and the rest family and well-wishers. The weather was grey and overcast, yet it never threatened rain. My greatest fear was that my muscles would cool down to the point where I might get cramp once I started running. There were about 200m of timing pens where the runners were held according to their predicted finishing time. Since I had predicted a time of 6h 30m, I was in the last pen, furthest from the start. In fact, I was at the very back of the pen, as far back as it was possible to go. So this meant I had an extra 200m to walk before I even started the marathon! Read the rest of this entry »
Posted May 27th, 2008 by Simon
Comments Off
Posted in Edinburgh Marathon, marathon, training
Tags: anxiety, Edinburgh Marathon, nervous, preparation
On Saturday, my parents and me took the journey up to Edinburgh. I was very nervous and anxious – The gravity of what I had signed up for became more and more apparent the closer I got to Edinburgh. Previously, I had managed this by simply ignoring these feelings, but now this was impossible. The closer it got to the day, the more anxious I was getting. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted May 26th, 2008 by Simon
Comments Off
Posted in North Bay, Scarborough, marathon, training
Tags: marathon pace, North Bay, training
This morning was beautiful. It was sunny with a chilly breeze, but if you avoided the wind it was quite warm. So began my second to last day of training. Scarborough is particularly beautiful at times like these, especially with the crashing of waves, causing a lot of spray on the foreshore. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted May 21st, 2008 by Simon
Comments Off
Posted in Scarborough, marathon, training
Tags: apprehension, carbs, confidence, preparation, tapering, training
There’s less than a week to go now until the big day and I’ve just been continuing to taper my training. Yesterday I finished my last long Sunday run, a short 10km route around Scarborough. The next weekend I’ll be starting on a 26.2 mile course! I’m currently facing the challenge with a mixture of confidence and apprehension. I’ve done as much training as I safely can, but it’s the length of the marathon that makes me nervous. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted May 19th, 2008 by Simon
1 Comment »
Posted in Edinburgh Marathon, Scarborough, marathon, training
Tags: 11.5 miles, Edinburgh Marathon, Effort, energy gels, exhaustion, marathon, pain, Scarborough, tapering, training
It’s been a while since I posted but I’m back. I’ve been very busy recently and haven’t had much energy to do anything extra-curricular. The main news is that last sunday I reached the high-watermark of my training. I completed an 11.5 mile run around (and on the outskirts) of Scarborough and it was remarkably tough. It was the longest I’ve ever run so far and was also the hardest training run I’ve ever done as well.
I was supposed to have run a half-marathon by this point, but that cold I had a few weeks back has robbed me of two weeks of my schedule. However, 11 miles is only 1.5 miles away from half-marathon distance, so it’s not like I’m drastically under-prepared. My main concern is that the level of fitness I have attained by now is what I will be starting the marathon with. There are no more longer runs planned in my training schedule; Now the focus is on tapering, gradually winding down and scaling back to build up a reserve of energy.
This has also brought me to a realisation that my initial estimate of completing the marathon within 5h – 5h30m is looking too optimistic. I think a more accurate target would be around 6h – 6h30m and I think a lot of that time will be eaten up by having regular walking breaks. Trying to run an entire marathon non-stop seems to be something I will have to look forward to in the future, my priority in this race will just be to get around.
To try and mitigate the point where I will eventually hit the wall, I plan to take full advantage of the drinks stations along the marathon route and i am working on a plan to see how they fit in with my training at the moment. The only thing I can be sure of at the moment is that running this marathon is going to be a gruelling achievement.
Posted May 8th, 2008 by Simon
Comments Off
