Bonjour24's Blog

this happened yesterday. i still have my medal on!

ok, so in the last 5 weeks of the training programme, things turned a bit to custard. my longest run ended up being a 30k 5 weeks out, then i got a chest infection which sidelined me for nearly 2 weeks. i panicked a great deal and needed a lot of reassurance because my previous (and 1st) marathon was just a horrific experience for me and i worried that that's just what a marathon was. i had also ran the Auckland half the year before, and remember it being incredibly hilly. i was worried that i hadn't done enough hill training but just kept remembering the words of a few MFP peeps- Foxy saying 'hills ain't no thang', and carson saying that there's no point worrying about the training now because 'the hay is already in the barn'.

so, race day came around rather quickly. i carb loaded, hydrated and immodium'd well for 3 days. i was as well prepared as i was going to be with the training i had.

my friend angie was running this marathon too- her 6th. she said that she was going to stick with me throughout. i felt quite bad about that- she's faster than me and i didn't want to slow her down. she also changed my gameplan- i was going to walk up the hills and take breaks when i needed them. angie told me 'we don't walk- we're runners'. she really kept me motoring.

we lined up with a few other people we know, and waited around for the starting bell. there were about 3000 nervous people around us, chomping at the bit to get going. at this point i felt strangely calm.

so off we went. it didn't take us long to find our groove. and i was running at a 7 min km (previous record over distance was a maintained 7:30 min km over a flat half). i was worried that keeping this pace may burn me out, but my friend wouldn't let me slow! i barely noticed the hills- they definately weren't as bad as i remember. i just chugged up them all- passing my friend in the process! it's amazing what change more experience and a different perspective can make :-) before i knew it we were at 14ks in and crossing the auckland harbour bridge. i was a warm morning with clear blue skies and the view was amazing- not that i really looked!

so, on we continued. i started to tire at about 18kms. but i started to play games to keep myself distracted- naming a veg that begins with each letter of the alphabet and stuff like that.

we got to the halfway mark in 2hrs 30! let me share just how much of an improvement that is- this half last year took me 2hrs 50, and this was my fastest half time ever. i was feeling a bit more rejuvenated to take the turnoff for the marathon. 21kms down, 21 to go.

so the next half is pretty flat, around the auckland waterfront. it was 10.5k out and 10.5k back along the same route. we passed people on their return leg, and were waving people on and making conversation with supporters. we passed a stormtrooper, who must have been boiling! he was carrying a big gun and everything!

things really slowed for me at about 25k in- i slowed to an 8min/km pace- still not tragic, but i didn't know if i could keep it up or if i would have to walk some. well, the only places we could walk were through the drinks stations, so i just kept focussed on the next drink station. at about 32k i said to angie that i may have to stop and walk a bit at each km marker- she told me not to be so daft, and that as runners we run!

she started to flag at about 38kms, and it was like showing a red rag to a bull! revenge is sweet! i was shouting at her that we've come all this bloody way, and that we finish as strong as we can. i was still only going slow- but i was going, which meant she was too! 

500m from the finish line, angie's son (who's 32!) joined us to keep us going! he held his mums hand and mine, and practically dragged us to the finish line! my hubby had come with the kids, and i could hear them shouting as i got to the finish.

their clock said 5hrs45, but my stopwatch said 5hrs38- i'm taking my watch time.

it was such a better experience than my last marathon- i feel like a rockstar now! i didn't hit the wall (i don't think), and i just kept on going. i wouldn't have done as well if my mate wasn't there- i know that. but i did it, and, for me, i smashed it!

it is the day after. my legs ache. i have some chafing. i'm tired. but i wouldn't change a single thing. i'm a fat chick that ran a good marathon.

I ran my 1st marathon 2 weeks ago in Rotorua, New Zealand. I waited a little bit to write my story here because I didn't want to put anyone off. But it was just awful!!!!

I did a 20 week cool running training programme, and I was pretty good with sticking to it. My longest run was 4 weeks before the marathon and was 38kms (23 miles), took 5 1/2 hrs, and it went well.

The run was on Saturday, and 3 days before (on the Wednesday) I came down with a horrific vomiting bug. Oh, I was so sick. We nearly cancelled going (Rotorua is a 2 1/2 hr drive away from where we live, and we had arranged a 5 day family break to make the most of it). I was still sick on Thursday, and we finally travelled down on the Friday. I decided that I had put all of that training and effort in, that I wasn't about to give up so close to the end. I thought that it couldn't be too bad- I mean you start and then have no other choice but to finish, and just do the bit inbetween.

So, no carb loading for me. I finally kept food and fluid down for the 1st time on the Friday night. I had chicken, rice, and 1.5litres of water!

So, Saturday morning came around pretty bloody fast. I woke at 3am full of nerves. I cried and wondered if I was being a dumbass. I mean, I'm no athlete and I'm still pretty overweight. And I was still feeling pretty rough. But I thought that all I have to do is get to the start, and the rest will take care of itself.

I chose to start at 8am with the walkers because I knew I was going to be slow (I'm a natural plodder) and had a few different goals for the run. My main goal was to finish and not die, but I wanted to finish it in under 6hrs. Secretly i reeeeeally wanted to finish it in 5 1/2hrs. Goals set.

So I lined up, saw a few people that I recognised and said hi, and off we went. I was an idiot to start at the back of the pack (which is where I usually place myself) because I was stuck behind a cluster of walkers. I'd forgotten that bit. But it didn't take long for the roads to open up and for me to find my groove. I felt really good.

So I was just going, as you do, plodding on and keeping myself between 7-8mins per km. It seemed to take forever to get to 5km (nearly 45 mins), but I felt like my effort didn't match my pace iykwim. I felt like i was running at my usual effort, but it felt like i was running in water. I actually asked some of the race wardens if the km markers had been measured properly and held out some hope that they'd pulled some psychological trick to have them further apart at the start and closer together towards the end. Sadly that was not the case.

The run was clockwise around a rural volcanic lake, and the roads were not really sealed properly. There was scree, potholes, it was off camber, and pretty hilly. I had been told that it was a difficult run but have always just thought that running 42.2kms anywhere is going to be difficult. When someone tells me in future that a run is difficult, I'm going to listen.

The marathon runners started 90 mins after us plodders, and I got overtaken 17kms in by some wiry, lithe people. Buggers. I had a shocking headache at this point and felt pretty nauseous but just thought of keeping going. I just wanted to get to the halfway point, then I had plans to reward myself with a short break before carrying on. I'd been walking through all the water stations and having a drink, as well as regular leppin gels. I eventually got to the halfway mark in 2hrs 50- I was pretty miffed about this because I knew that I was not likely to make my uber goal of 5 1/2 hrs. However, I had also just walked up the longest and steepest hill I had tackled- about 2km of winding verticality. It really sucked. And I was getting overtaken by walkers and people who had started an hour and a half after me.

At 23kms I had another water and Leppin Gel, and promptly threw up at the side of the road. Which was just awesome. My thighs were burning (which had not been an issue since my 1st half a long time ago) and I just wanted to stop. I walked for a bit to regain my composure. I decided at this point that I wanted to run this again when I was feeling better to see if that made any difference, because at this point I was just miserable.

At 25kms we came to a junction. If I turned left, I could be back at our rented accomodation in about 10 mins and this whole sorry nightmare would be over. If I turned right, I knew I would have another 17.2kms of pain to go. I didn't think I could go another step. I wanted to throw up again. My thighs were on fire. I had a headache and sick on my tshirt. I turned right, straight into the steepest hill in the world. I walked up this hill, and told myself now that the goal is to finish.

28kms in and all was flat. Literally, flat as a pancake. Forever.  Running on this at that point made me wish for the hills. The roads were still uneven and stoney.  The soles of my feet were hurting. My thighs were just sore. I actually cried and wondered why I was doing this. I was really struggling and had been for a long time. I jogged 1km, walked 500m because I just couldn't keep going. At 32kms I phoned my hubby to tell him that I was about 1hr15 from the finish line, and to put the kids in the car to cheer me on at the finish line. I knew that they would pass me, and the thought of my kids not seeing my running the marathon was enough to spur me on to run (slowly) from 32-36kms. They passed and whooped, I waved, they disappeared, I walked.

Then they had us running over roadworks- proper big stones underfoot. I simply could not run over this because the soles of my feet were so sore. So I had to walk that. Then there was pavement! Beautiful smooth, flat pavement. I made the pact with myself that I was going to run to the next km marker, but I just couldn't do it. I was exhausted. My head was willing me to go, but my feet were throbbing and thighs were killing me. I walked and jogged until 41kms, keeping up with 2 walkers in front of me to make sure I didn't fall too far behind. As soon as I hit the 41km marker, I knew that the end was not too far away and I WAS going to run to the finish. And I did.

I finished in the time of 6hrs 23mins. I finished a marathon. It was an awful, painful experience. I questioned myself at so many junctures. In hindsight I was probably too sick to do it. But I did it. And I'm so proud of myself for having competed and completed it.

Now I want to run one when I'm well- I don't care about the time (that's actually a lie), but I just want to be able to say "I ran a marathon in xxxx time", and feel proud of that, rather than say 'I did a marathon but I wasn't feeling well', and feel like I have to explain myself.

So, October 28th is the Auckland Marathon. And I've just got my entry ticket.