Sporty Girl recaps the sacrifices made on the road to her awesome marathon debut.

With 2 half marathons under my belt, and basking in the glory of my sub 2 hour victory last October, I knew it was time to up my training in preparation for the Brighton Marathon which I had entered for the following April. The one sporting aspiration I have had all my adult life and never had the courage or the time to dedicate myself to properly. Not happy with just taking part and completing the epic 26.2 mile event, I was always only ever willing to set foot on that start line believing I could run every single step of the way (walking was not an option), and be fit enough to actually even enjoy the journey.  
 
Christmas onwards saw a step change in my running and the goals became more and more ambitious from then onwards. Whatever the weather I found myself leaving work dead on the bell to get myself home and, in full winter lycra, to hit the streets.  Friday nights in were becoming a habit (anyone that knows me knows this is my worst nightmare), but all so I could dedicate Saturday mornings to my weekly challenge of increasing my miles. 

Many weeks I ventured out on my own, but having an ex boyfriend still willing to help out a girl in need and Lazygirl herself, I found some Saturday mornings enjoyably gossiping around my planned course with an old friend. For anyone that is planning to run a marathon – get a few friends to help you out it makes the weekend challenge seem so much less daunting! And the best feeling of the week came as I completed my task and could reflect on achieving a new goal. I would often then make Saturday nights well and truly make up for my discipline during the week and find myself out in nightclubs until all hours… the record was 7am after a 15 mile training session… now although I don’t recommend this, it was all part of my own personal list of goals and achievements!!

The weirdest part of my training session was actually the 2 weeks before the big event where I found myself resting up. I didn’t quite know what to do with myself and doubts of whether I had done enough crept in to my mind. But ultimately I knew the big day was approaching and I was actually becoming very excited to just get on with it! My confidence and excitement levels were boosted when I realised Lazygirl herself was going to take one for the team and pace make my whole run to try and help me break the 4 and a half hour goal I’d set myself… now this is a true friend!  

So as Sunday 15 April finally came around, about a year after entering, there I was, freezing cold and standing on the start line with one of my oldest friends by my side. The first 5 miles were great, even saw my parents twice which is always a boost. A few more hills than would have been preferred but at the half way mark we ran into a very busy Brighton town centre with thousands out supporting.  Again my parents were there in full force, energy gels and a camera in hand cheering us on.

Since completing the marathon, everyone has asked me, ‘did you hit the wall’?  Thankfully I can say no, but from 13 miles onwards each miler truly just got harder than the last – go figure!  Miles 21-24 were the worst, partly because of the pain factor of being out there now more than 3 and a half hours, but also this was the bleakest part of the course and I just wanted to be able to see the finish line.  Mile 25 became a happy part of the event as the scenery improved and the crowds got behind us.  

With 1.2 miles to go and only 12 minutes to realise my goal, Lazygirl and pacemaker extraordinaire warned me to get a move on as we were going to be very tight. I hadn’t ran a sub 10 minute mile in over 10 miles but the thought of not achieving my goal and having to run this whole thing again someday to prove a point to myself, I decided no pain no gain and we were off.  At 1km before the end when the look of pain on my face increased, and I was starting to doubt I could keep this pace up, my best friend and husband appeared from no where, cheering and screaming me on.  BEST FEELING EVER!  And at 800m the 3 best (and most glamorous) work friends a girl could have were there equally as loud and supportive.   

Mum and Dad ever present were there screaming at the 200m mark, but by this point there wasn’t enough oxygen in my brain to register their familiar faces or voices so unfortunatly I missed them, though I knew they would be somewhere close by.  These people had made the journey from Peterborough and London to stand in the cold and wait for hours on end just in the hope of being able to cheer me on for 5 seconds and give me a boost. And I am so grateful they did.  As the finish line approached I could see I was going to achieve my fairly ambitious (for my standards) goal and I crossed the line in 4.29.18. I always like to cut things fine!  Lazygirl 5 seconds ahead of me had stopped on the finish line to do the running man and it was clear that one of us had found this experience a lot easier than the other!

I had an emotional 5 minutes as I don’t think I’d ever been so proud of myself – cheesy but true.  I even found myself crying and hugging a stranger. As a Londoner this is a completely foreign concept!  1 hour later with all my supporters in tow, I had a glass of red wine in my hand and a big grin on my face. Brighton was a great event, incredibly well organised, incredibly well supported, and a great place to go for drinks afterwards. I think I may have been the only marathon runner on the last train back to London; sore, stiff, cold and a little merry but thoroughly pleased with the whole experience.  I totally recommend.