Sorry I haven’t been posting folks but the week before the marathon was a bit hectic and I was a bit stressed! It’s all officially over. I ran the Edinburgh Marathon on Sunday 23 May 2010 in 4:15:08…and with four stitches in my knee (more on that to follow). My ultimate goal was under 4:30 and my best case goal was 4:06-4:10. I am exceedingly happy with my 4:15 because this year’s marathon took place on the hottest weekends of the year so far and definitely one of the hottest weekends Scotland ever sees. Temperatures on Sunday went as high as 23 or 24 degrees Celsius, which is 74-75 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s some lovely weather to be out and about in here in the UK but it is definitely not the best weather to be running in and certainly not running a marathon.
I could tell from the very first mile that it was simply too warm to hold the 9:25/mile pace I had set myself. When it is that hot it is doubly hard to run. It is best to go on perceived effort more than pace or even heart rate. I had read that the key to a good marathon is to try to maintain as close to the same pace as possible throughout, with the obvious potential for slowing way down in the last quarter to half. I worked out my pace and for the first half I managed 9:37 per mile and the second half 9:52. My overall pace was 9:44 per mile. Only slowing by 15 seconds per mile in the second half was very good. In the last couple of miles I did have to slow right down to training pace of 10:20 per mile a few times as it was so hot and I was so tired. But overall I was able to maintain a comfortable pace and finished the race strong.
I spent the three days prior to the race doing everything I was supposed to. I drank water little and often throughout the day to stay hydrated. I had no caffeine. I ate as many meals and snacks as possible that included complex carbs but took on simple also. On the Saturday I stayed off of my feet as much as possible all day and didn’t overdo it on the pasta that night to avoid feeling sluggish the next day. One the day, because it was so hot, I drank virtually non-stop throughout the race whether it was the Lucozade sports drink handed out along the route or the water. I would drink a bit of water and pour a bit on the head, drink a bit pour on the back, drink a bit, pour some on the legs; all an effort to stay cool. Homeowners along the route had their garden hoses out for you to run through and I took full advantage. So many runners were already walking by even mile 10 and so many others were dropping out due to heat stroke, exhaustion, dehydration, etc. I think common sense prevailed with me. I just paced myself, drank as much as I could and tried to stay as cool as possible. It apparently worked.
Finally, the knee. The route finishes at Musselburgh racecourse. This is/was a horse racecourse so it was grass. In order to provide traction, especially if it had rained, organisers bolted plastic rubber mats to the ground which had raised ‘nubbins’ – for lack of a better word. When you go from running on concrete that doesn’t give to grass and plastic that does and your legs have done 26 miles you can only lift the so high. I was literally 15-30 seconds from the finish line when I tripped on the mat and went tumbling. I didn’t even look down. There is a camaraderie among runners; we help each other out. I had barely touched the ground before a fellow runner had grabbed me by the arm and dragged me up back standing. I shouted ‘thank you’ and hurled myself towards the finish all the time thinking “oh crap, I’ve gone and got a scrape.” I crossed the finish line incredibly satisfied and looked down to discover a gaping hole in my kneecap and my knee-high white compression sock soaked in blood. The plastic ‘nubbins’ had torn my knee to shreds. I collected my medal and goody bag and headed to first aid. The Doctor and paramedic were great. I couldn’t really feel a lot from the endorphins, adrenaline and the fact that my legs had done 26.2 miles. They put four stitches in, dressed the knee and away I went to the reunion area to meeting my husband.
You can see the route map here. We ran by the sea for a lot of it and had great support from the locals. I would definitely do Edinburgh again but I’ve again got my sights set on London next year. I did really well in this marathon especially considering the heat; just imagine what I can do in cooler temps. Watch this space for the next marathon!