The Abingdon Marathon 2017

The Abingdon Marathon 2017 

Sunday 22nd October 2017 

I woke up this morning feeling a perfect mix of excitement and nerves. At 6am, the alarm went off and I had my usual pre-race meal of egg fried rice with mushrooms. We then had another hour of sleep - or more dozing probably - before the alarm went off at 7am. By 7:40 we were out of the apartment and on our way to the race car park - just 5 mins away. We parked easily and had a short walk to the start where we joined the portaloo que. Everything was going smoothly and I was feeling great. At 8:40 we dropped off our bags and did a little warm up on the track before getting a good starting position. 

The town crier rang her bell and we were off! The race starts with a lap of the track (which makes it very difficult to not go out like a loon!). John, Woody and I ran together before John pressed on leaving Woody and me to get settled into our pace. The first few miles are downhill and felt amazing. I knew from mile 2 that it was going to be a good race for me. My legs felt amazing - tapering is a wonderful thing! I had bags of energy and Woody and I were chatting merrily and telling jokes. 

Around mile 2 we hear a strange squawking noise...we looked to our left to see that we were being cheered on by a few hundred turkeys! We waved hello, wished them a 'Merry Christmas' and continued. Quite a few runners were passing us at this point. My competitive spirit wanted to pick up the pace and go with it but Woody held me pack and reminded me that there was a long way still to go! I made a mental note of a few of the more recognisable characters and hoped I'd be able to pass them later! 

At mile 5, I passed our first major support crew - both mine and John's families were out in force and cheering VERY loudly! High fives all round and a shout of "You're 6th lady!" spurred me on with a huge smile on my face. The first 6 miles were all sub 7mm pace and felt incredibly easy. At mile 7 however, we turned left and came head to head with storm Brian. I could feel that the wind was strong but I felt stronger! I just focused on keeping the rhythm going and, although my pace slowed (7:05) it wasn't a major issue for me. 

The miles kept passing and I was loving every second of the race. I was passing familiar landmarks from when I supported John in last year's race: the newsagents where I bought my snacks, the road where we drove passed John yelling out of the car, the spots we waited with baited breath. Lots of really happy memories kept my mind busy. It was also brilliant to have so many friendly faces in the crowd. Brad (Olga's Husband) had a pirate flag and was super enthusiastic. Orla ran a good 7 or 8 miles up and down the course cheering everyone on and being incredibly encouraging. However, the supporter of the day award has to go to Cat who was leaping wildly, seemingly around every corner, while shaking her huge pom poms (seriously she had bought blue pom poms especially for the occasion!). Even the runners were applauding her for her effort! Seeing mine and John's family, Woody's mum and hearing some of my Strava friends shouting my name! It made such a massive difference- thank you to everyone who came out and supported team GWR today. 

At mile 13 and the halfway point I was still feeling on top of the world. Smiling from ear to ear and just generally loving life! I was under 1 hour 30 (my 3rd fastest half marathon!) and my legs still felt brilliant. Then, from no where, a woman came storming passed me! 'I'm not having this' I thought to myself so picked up the pace a little (6:45mm)  I managed to catch up with her and overtake - but this was not to last. She, once again, put on a little spurt and overtook me - again. At this point, I saw another lady ahead who looked like she was slowing down. 'Aha!' I thought - I may have lost a position but I could hunt down this other lady and make it back into the 6th lady spot. At this point my pace increased again and I looked round and saw Woody was sticking to the plan - I gave him a little wave and continued on my mission - girl hunting! 

So I got a little carried away at mile 15 and did a 6:39mm...but I did managed to over take the girl I was chasing. So, back in 6th position and about to start the second lap - I'd been looking forward to this part because I could start mentally counting down the miles until the end. My favourite mile is mile 16 because it's only 10 miles to go - and I run 10 miles frequently. Unfortunately, miles 16 and 17 were a repeat of the windy section from earlier. Encouraged by yet more shouting from the support crew, I managed to complete the 'windy section' quicker the 2nd time round - well chuffed! Miles 16 and 17 were both 7 minute miles and I had to work hard for these as they were slightly up hill as well. 

Miles 18 (6:45), 19 (7:03) and 20 (7:02)  all passed pretty easily as I was now counting down to the finish. In these miles, I once again, caught up with that pesky 5th position lady, overtook her and go a few steps of a gap before, once again, she overtook me with a spurt of energy that frankly was very impressive. At this point I think I decided to give up on overtaking her and just focus on finish the race with a good time. Surprisingly, the shouts of 'Go on 6th lady' had changed to'Go on 5th lady' I can only assume that one lady ahead of me was unable to finish the race. 

In training, I've done 5 runs of over 20 miles but most were 20 or 21. At mile 21 I started to feel it. My legs were suddenly tired, I had a pain in my bum and I wanted to stop. I looked at my watch and knew I had bags of time so I think subconsciously, I was like 'I can take it easy now'. The lady ahead of me now had a big enough gap that I knew I couldn't catch her. I kept pushing on and felt like I was putting in the same effort as before but I was dropping my pace slightly each mile (21- 7:12, 22 - 7:21, 23 - 7:20, 24 - 7:21). 'It doesn't matter' I told myself - I'm on track for an awesome time. Just keep going and keep trying to enjoy it. I really find that talking positively to myself makes a huge difference. I kept smiling, saying 'Thank you!' to all the marshalls and waving to everyone who cheered me on. It was also lovely to get so many shouts of 'Lovely smile!' or 'You really look like you're enjoying it'. Don't get me wrong- I was working hard. I wasn't easy but I really was enjoying it. 

As I came into the town center for the last time, I saw my family once more. Cheering just as enthusiastically as ever. 2 Miles to go. I've got this! With lots of winding around corners and a steady uphill to the finish, I knew the last two miles would be difficult. I however, very much enjoying overtaking loads of men (many of whom I recognised from the first couple of miles - the ones who had stormed passed me at the start - haha!).

At mile 25 I thought I saw a familiar head in the distance...it looked like John! My initial thought was 'Oh no! I hope he's ok'. But I knew we only had a mile to go so he couldn't be doing too badly. I shouted 'JOHN!' At the top of my voice...no response from him -although about 5 other guys in front of me turned around. After explaining that this particular John was my boyfriend, I managed to rope in a number of men to join me in shouting 'JOHN!' Eventually, we got a wave of recognition and I picked up the pace to catch up to him. He explained he he'd being going really strong until his cold caught up with him and he was having difficulty breathing. 'Not a problem' I thought 'we can cross the line together! But John wouldn't have any of it - he encouraged me to push on and try and get the best time possible. So I did! With only about 3/4 of a mile left at this point, I give it everything I had. 

I stormed into the park and reached the track. The finish line was in sight! One last effort and I crossed the line with a new PB of

3:03:53

Over the moon!