Saturday
On the Saturday Mum and me headed up to Inverness by car. This gave me the opportunity to drive the route the day before the race. Also to stop off at Foyers falls along with other places beside the loch and took some pictures!
We got to Inverness late afternoon and chilled in the hotel for bit which was right on the River Ness. After that we headed up to Queens Park Stadium which was about 15 minutes walk from Inverness. There we registered and got our numbers as well as my timing chip. Then we headed for the buffet for a fantastic feed shown in the photo below!
For starter we had Carrot and coriander soup, for main had pasta, baked potato and salad and finally carrot cake for desert! A true advantage of having a running event sponsored by Baxter’s! The food was magnificent! Not only that but there was a band playing some Celtic music which created a nice atmosphere. Anyway then headed back to the hotel, chilled out for a bit and got stuff organised for the next day, then went to sleep.
Sunday
One of the things that went wrong with the London marathon was that I was so excited I hardly slept. But this time I had a great sleep and was a lot more relaxed which was good. I went for breakfast in the hotel restaurant at 6.30 am. The hotel opened the restaurant early just for the marathon runners which was good of them! Needless to say the place was packed with runners. And luckily for me they did porridge which is my food of choice before long runs.
Me at 7am! still not quite awake
Then at Quarter past 7, I left my mum as she took a picture of me beside the River Ness and I headed for Queens Park stadium once again. This time it was to get a bus to the start. I was there pretty prompt at half 7 so was on the 5th bus out of half of a mile worth of buses! Over 2000 people! I sat next to a guy called John from Dundee, who was a good laugh. Which was good as the buses were meant to leave at 8am, but didn’t leave till 8.45am because they were 3 buses short. I am not sure exactly what happened but eventually it was sorted. This meant we didn’t get to the start till 10am which was when the race was meant to start. Luckily I had my mobile with me so I could text my mum to tell her the race was delayed.
The Race - The Start
The start was mobbed! I had heard there was always a big queue for the portoloos, so thats the first thing I did. Because I was in one of the first buses there, they dropped us off where the 5 hour runners congragted, probably about quarter of a mile from the start. So next I got changed, made sure I had all my shot blocs, nuun tablets and water. I then went to drop off my bag at the baggage truck which was situated beyond the start line. I then walked back up to the 4 hour congregation bit. Next was the warm up which was funny as only the Sub 3 hour folk could see or hear it! As the start is down the bottom of the slope and we were on a flat bit above it.
The Race – The first half
After about 5 minutes I was off and so happy to get going. I had decided that there was no point in trying to weave in and out of people for starter and I would just let the crowds dictate the pace. This helped as it meant I wasn’t going out too hard which is so easy to do with all the adrenaline build up. The first 3 miles were rolling and flat with some amazing views of the hills around before turning left on to the B582. The road winds and descends quite a bit between 3-4 miles and runs along beside the river and surrounded by trees. At mile 4 was the first climb of the day. It wasn’t really that steep but it was long. I felt comfortable and maintained my pace while a lot of people seemed to slow down. But I was confident due to all the hill work I have done.
Then the next hill at 5 miles was shorter and steeper as we climbed into Foyers. Again I maintained my speed and I knew after this there was not anything as steep as this until much later in the race. At this point I also got talking to a guy who turned out to be someone from the Runners World forum which I had been using in the run up to this race! What are the chances of that! So we got talking for quite a few miles before running our own race. Foyers is a nice wee town and is also where we got the first glimpse of Loch ness. The day was perfect with only a few clouds, so we got some spectacular views.
Just after Foyers, I saw a sign saying 14% gradient! Yes there is a big drop of desent on this course. But what you have to realise is that it seems to all come in very short period; especially in this case. Quite a few people would over take me on the down hills, but I decided it would be better to take it easy, knowing I would overtake them on the uphills. Between 6 and 9 miles there were various more steep descents before at 9 miles it’s down to loch level where you could see Urquart castle across the loch as well as Drumledrochit. The next 4 miles to the half way point I would describe as rolling with quite a few flat bits. I got talking to another guy for a few miles here which made the time go by quicker. I decided at the start I would not check my watch till the half way point. I did this for a couple of reasons; one was so that I was running at a pace which felt comfortable and the other was so I was not constantly checking my watch every mile and then worrying if I was going to slow or fast. So at the half way point I was pleased to see that I went through at just over 2 hours 4 minutes.
The Race – The second half
From my previous marathon experience where I had to start walking at 14 miles due to cramp; I did wonder how far I could make it without walking this time. Well the next 3 miles from 13.1 were again fairly flat and were gently rolling like before. Then at 16 miles the road turns away from the top of the loch towards Dores. Dores was fantastic! There must have been 50-100 people lining the road cheering us on. It gave me such a lift and exactly what you need at this stage of the race. At 17 miles the hills started. The first one was pretty gradual and then levelled off. The second between 18 and 19 miles went on and on and on! But I was still feeling good at this point. I was overtaking a lot of people as they walked up/slow run up the hills. At 19 miles it levelled off with a slight decline which was nice. Then there was a guy in a gorilla costume with a horn thing which was funny. At Scantiport the last major climb started which was reasonably long and fairly steep. Again I ran pretty strongly up it overtaking people.
I ran fine to the first roundabout which was about the 22 mile mark and then my head started to go. I turned and saw a bush and though this was the last chance for a loo stop before you won’t be able to go again as the crowd’s line the streets, etc. I had been holding off for the past 10 miles as I thought if I stopped I wouldn’t be able to get going again. And I was right! The last 4 miles was tough, but I was happy as at least this time I hit the wall with less than 4 miles to go rather than 12 miles to go! I would walk for wee bit and checked my watch to make sure the maximum I would walk at any one time would be 2 minutes and then I would run for as long as I could.
Me at the 24 mile mark.
At the 24 mile mark the road turns off and goes alongside the River Ness. I had been looking forward to this as this is where my Mum was waiting for me and I saw her instantly which gave me a huge lift. The route then headed up to the road bridge and looped back round the opposite bank passed my hotel. Again I was really gritting it out and trying to run as much as possible.
Race – The Finish
The mile markers felt like they were getting further and further away from each other, until finally I could hear the cheers from the stadium as I ran round the back of it and ran the rest of the way on to the track and across the finish line. I was absolutely delighted with my time of 4.07.47.
Just crossed the finish line!
I was awarded with my medal and goody bag. I then met up with my mum who was delighted for me, while I collapsed on to the ground and just lay there. I really don’t think I could have given any more today mentally or physically. The even more amazing thing is that even with the small walking breaks in the second half and the fact the second half is a lot hillier. I ran it a minute quicker than the first half; meaning a negative split! I made sure I got some fluid on board and went back to the hotel for a well deserved dip in the Jacuzzi. After some dinner in Jimmy Chungs Chinese Buffet, I got back to the flat and checked the internet. To my delight I saw that I had managed to reach my Cancer Research charity target of £500! I would like to take this opportunity to thank every single one of you who donated and definitely made the day all the more worth while. Also a special thanks to my Mum for all her support over the weekend and driving me home today as there is no way I could have!
Me with ma medal
Some Stats –
Out of 2205 people who started the race, 2173 finished it! This is quite incredible and means there was a 98.5% finish rate!
My chip position was 1090/2205. Meaning I finished in the top half (just, lol)but just not if you take it from the people who actually finished.
Overall I had 6 shot blocs, 1 every 4 miles. 3 half NUUN tablets which desolve in water and replace salt lost.
Lessons Leared –
Things that went well -
- This time I followed a schedule and was averaging 40-50 miles a week which included a good balance of speed work/tempo runs/long runs and easy runs.
- Shot blocs and NUUN tablets definetley helped and prevented me from getting cramp.
- Hill work very beneficial and helped me go up the hills
Things to change –
- I only did one run of 22 miles which was on a tough course and had to run/walk the last 4 miles. I think it would be beneficial to do a few runs of 22 miles maybe even a 23 or 24.
- Although hill work was good, would be good to do actual hills, north of Scotland which are way harder than the ones dealt with today. This will make you even stronger in the last section and means the hills shouldn’t take everything out of you at the end.
- I reckon I could up the training even more, maybe with another easy run on the Friday or upping the speedwork reps.
- Maybe try 8 shot blocks, one every 3 miles- see if that helps
Overall I think have still a quite a few marathons at least to go before I have mastered them, but I have definitely taken a giant leap forward with this marathon and I am extremely pleased with the result.
