London Marathon 2012

So, Sunday April 22nd had finally arrived - the day of the London Marathon!!

I had had a good 16 weeks of training in the build up to the marathon - with only one week and a half going a bit wrong in January with a sprained ankle, but after that I managed to get in a good 13-14 weeks of training, including 1 x 18 mile, 3 x 20 milers and 1 x 22 miler. I was really grateful to have the other CAAC marathon girls to train with, which really helped for the Wednesday evening longer runs, which were made so much easier with the company. The 22 miler from N Berwick back to Edinburgh with Susan and Fiona was also a great run, as were the long runs I did with Porty runner Gareth, which really helped.

Mum at the PCUK cheering point

Mile 9 - still looking fresh

I was ready and raring to go on Sunday morning and was pleased to see that the weather Gods were with us. Somehow I managed to bump into Jillian Hogg in one of the many queues for the porta-loos before the start. (I wasn't brave enough to try the female urinals) so it was great to see a friendly face. I headed off to pen 3 in the blue start. Before I knew it we were off...I headed over the matt and started my watch. The first mile was sooo crowded. I was feeling a bit disheartened as the time was slipping away and I got stuck behind other runners. It didn't help matters when we merged with the red and green starts later on. I went through the first mile in well over 8mins - not the 7:25 I was hoping for! As a consequence I think I got a bit overexcited once it opened up and the following miles were 7:04 and 6:57 - oops!! I was feeling good though and dragged my average pace back to 3:15 pace. I thought I would give 3:15 a go, and just see if I could do it. I didn't want to finish the race fresh, I wanted to know I'd given it my all! I went through half marathon in 1:38 so was not far off target. It was great to have supporters at mile 9, and then my charity and parents at miles 13 and 22, as well as my London friends jumping around so I could see them again at mile 19 and then at 25! A real boost! I started to feel 'a bit tired' at around mile 15, which concerned me, as I hoped I would be ok till at least mile 20. Perhaps I had gone off to fast early on! I went through the usual ups and downs of marathon running - feeling great one moment, and terrible the next. At times I just closed my eyes and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. A particularly poignant moment came as I approached Canary Wharf and could see a fellow PCUK runner with 'for Mum' emblazoned on the back of his vest. I felt a wave of emotion come over me and I sped up to reach him. I gave him a friendly pat on the back and told him well done. We ran alongside one another for a moment before carrying on.

Finished - at the hotel with my medal

Me and Marc with poster made by Julia

 The last few miles were tough, and to be honest I don't really remember much about them. The last 800m however are memorable, turning the corner to see the finish at the end of the mall. I crossed the line in 3hr24min12sec - totally elated! Even better I raised over £1000 for Pancreatic Cancer UK, thanks so much to everyone for your sponsorship - really appreciate it!

Coniston 14

The last weekend in March, I headed to the Lakes with Gareth, Susan, Scott and Ruth for the Coniston 14 - a 14 mile loop around Coniston Lake. We stayed in the youth hostel in Hawkshead on the Friday night and headed to the race the following morning. It seemed to be a really popular race, apparently 1600+ runners. The weather conditions were perfect for racing, cool but sunny. Much like the Lasswade 10 from a few weeks ago this was an 'undulating' course. I felt strong all the way round, although mile 12 was a tough one, climbing to the highest point of the route. However, we were rewarded with a steep downhill to follow and a flat final mile or so to the finish line. I was taking in the beautiful scenery on the route round and really enjoyed this course. I felt strong in the final mile finishing 8th woman in 1hr38.25. A Coniston slate coaster for finishing and a slate place set for 8th woman. Gareth was 10th man too. Scott ran a really fast time and broke his half marathon PB en route! Susan also had a great run and Ruth, although struggling with fatigue recently, had a good run and enjoyed the route. After some lunch and prize giving, we headed back to the hostel for a quick shower and rest, and then walked to Hawkshead for some well deserved drinks and food. We had a feast of local foods, including Cumberland sausage and mash and Lancashire Hot Pot - yum!

The following day the sun was shining, almost felt like summer. We headed out for a walk from Coniston to Tarn Hows - a 7 mile loop, not too taxing on our weary legs from the day before. A great weekend.

Lasswade 10

On 4th March, instead of doing a longer run, I thought it would be a good idea to try the Lasswade 10 in order to incorporate a bit of 'speed work' into my marathon training schedule. I'd heard good things about this race, a scenic route, but undulating. I headed out with Gareth in the car and we drove the second half of the route to see what we had ahead of us.

Really enjoyed this course - a few tough hills, but certainly scenic with a sprinkling of snow on the Pentlands. I wanted to try and get below 70 minutes but was just outside in 70.14! Still a big PB though so can't complain and pleased that the marathon training is going well. 5th place for Gareth - another great run from him.