Two weeks on

Two weeks have passed since the big day and I'm pleased to say I've been taking it easy (running wise!) I'm enjoying having the extra time to do other things, such as walking, swimming and seeing friends! I had a great Easter break with some great walking in Northumberland and Hadrian's Wall, a part of the UK I'd always wanted to visit.

Today the running shoes were back on for a 5.5 mile run with fellow club runners and neighbours Dean and Gillian, who will be running the London marathon next Sunday. It was great to be out running again. Despite 2 weeks rest, the legs weren't feeling as bouncy as I'd hoped, with my old knee injury giving a bit of a niggle in the last mile or so. Nothing a bit of ice and massage won't sort out though.

So, with the marathon out of the way and training down at the track now back on, I'm raring to go, with a summer of 'shorter' races! Here is my hopeful 'to do' list so far:

25th April: Balmoral 10K
9th May: Penicuik 10K
22nd May: Black Rock 5 (running along beaches, through water and up hills apparently!)
25th May: The Rigg Race (approx 6 miles)
21st June: Edinburgh 7 Hills (14 miles taking in all 7 hills around Edinburgh - no set route, the shortest you can find basically!) http://www.seven-hills.org.uk/
12th July: Girvan Half Marathon
29th June - 2nd August: Tour of Fife (5 races in 5 days! Phew!)

So a few things to aim for over the summer. I hope to make the most of the Scottish Hills this summer too and bag a few more of those Munros :-)
Any other marathons? Well, definately...but I think I'll wait till at least a year has passed for that!

Paris Marathon, 5th April 2009

The day was finally here, April 5th 2009, the day of the Paris Marathon. I had a fantastic weekend, made so much better by all the amazing supporters who came to see myself and Julia run.

We all arrived on the Friday and checked into L'Hotel Pacific, just a mile from the Eiffel Tower. After heading to the Expo to pick up our numbers, we enjoyed some of the Parisian bars and had a nice meal at a classic French restaurant. On Saturday, Julia and I mostly relaxed, chilling out by the Eiffel Tower and making sure we ate lots of carbs for next day's run!

We were up at 6:30am on race day. I'd taken all the necessary equipment to make porridge in my hotel room (yes, I even packed my own kettle!). After breakfast was down, we headed to the Arc de Triomphe. My dad came along with us, which was great as he was able to take lots of pictures to capture the atmosphere of the day. After much queuing (for baggage and toilets) we just made it to the start in time. Unfortunately we were a long way off our starting pen (the 3:45 slot), and had to push our way forwards. We got to the back of the 4:30 start pen, so spent the majority of the marathon overtaking people. Possibly a good mental tactic however!! The race was brilliant, a great atmosphere, and we saw our family and friends five times along the route in total, which provided a real boost in the later miles. We were aiming for 8:25/mile. We managed the first few in just under that, but unfortunately a blockage at the first water stop meant we were stood still for 2 minutes, making that one a 10:19 mile!! We had some catching up to do, but wanted to make sure we didn't overdo it in the early miles and pay for it later. We went through the half marathon in 1:52:20, only 20 seconds off target for a 3:45 marathon. I felt strong throughout the race, my legs only really started to hurt with about 5 miles to go. Julia and I ran together for most of the race. Unfortunately we got separated with about 3 miles to go at a busy water station.
The home straight to the finishing line was great, I put on a little (very little!) burst to the finish and was very pleased with my final time of 3:48:36!! A PB by 1 hour and 7 minutes, can't complain with that!! Julia came in just after in 3:51 :-).
Even better, we have raised over £2000 between us for Pancreatic Cancer UK!! A HUGE thank you to everyone who helped make that total possible!
If you'd still like to, it's not too late to sponsor me: http://www.justgiving.com/jokirbyparis

So, what next....
Well, recovery has been the name of the game this week, with just 1 mile or running and a bit of swimming. I'm itching to get back running again though (who'd have thought it a few weeks back!). I have lots more races planned for the summer (albeit shorter ones!), the next one being the Balmoral 10k in only a couple of weekends time. And I'm already contemplating my next marathon, haha.... not for a while yet mind!!