I have tried so hard to get this blog written before the Manchester Marathon on Sunday. Not only that, but the longer I leave it the more I start to forget. Finding a spare moment has been mission impossible this week. Not only that but I have felt pretty exhausted since the Brighton Marathon. So it has been hard to get my brain in gear to come up with the words.
As you can see I completed marathon number 5. The Brighton Marathon. If you are reading my blog for the first time, I will quickly explain that I ran this marathon last year, and it was during this race that I came up with the idea of not only running a marathon blindfolded, but to run 15 marathons in 15 months.
I travelled up to Brighton super early on Saturday morning to get the expo out of the way. I thought it opened at 9:00am, but in fact it didn't open until 10:00am. So I had a hour hour to kill. FAIL! I had to stand in a very cold, windy and wet queue for waiting for it to open. It was right along the seafront and the wind coming off it was so strong. It felt like it was punching me in the face. When the doors finally opened at 10:00am, I walk into the Expo looking like a drowned rat.
I rushed inside and collected my race number as fast as I could. I told myself to just get in and out as fast as I could. I was adamant that I was not going to spend any money, because I didn't have the money to spend. I was almost about to leave, until I remembered I needed gels. I rushed over to the 'High5' sports nutrition stall, grabbed the gels I needed. Paid and then told myself it was time to leave, or was it? I then remembered that my head phones where faulty and I needed a new pair. Anyway you can see where this is going. I didn't get out of there as quickly as I had planned and yes I spent a whole lot of money on things I once again.
Race Day
It seemed to come round so fast. When I woke up on Sunday morning, I wasn't really feeling that nervous at all. I was quite excited. I was trying to not let my mind get the better of me and treat this as if it was the first time I had ever done this race. I made my way up to the race HQ for 8:00 am. Looking out of my hotel window, while I was getting ready, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It was so bright and sunny. I thought it would be nice to get there early and to sit and enjoy the sunshine. When in actual fact, it was so bloody freezing!! I plonked myself down on a grassy hill to soak up the atmosphere and ate a whole bag of Haribos within minutes. They were suppose to last me the whole 26.2 miles.
It was turning out to be a wonderful marathon. It was starting to warm up and I was running at a comfortable pace. I was getting so many runners approaching me to ask me which number this marathon was, or to just talk to me about my challenge in general. It was incredible to be getting so much support from people. As I hit mile 5 the road was spilt with the faster runners coming down the other side. So many people were shouting my name. This was so encouraging and helped me to keep going. Well, it was until I started coming back down the other side, because I knew what was coming. I had managed to get myself to mile 11 with hardly any problems. I knew that between miles 12 to 13 there would be big crowds to help me get through those miles.
A seagull shat on my head.. TWICE
I spotted another runner who was also wearing a SENSE vest, so I made my way over to her to strike up conversation. Turns out this was her first marathon and she was partially deaf. She was on her own so I stayed with her until we had to make our way into the starting pens, as she was feeling a bit nervous. I ended up losing her in the crowds, which was a shame as I hoped to run near by her to the end. I wasn't to be on my own for long. I felt someone tap my shoulder. It was a girl I know from Instagram. I follow some incredibly inspirational runners from there, so when I get the chance to actually meet them at races its fantastic.
The gun was fired and off went the elite runners. It is very rare that I get to see them, so it was a wonderful opportunity to see them in their glory. It was at that moment that the nerves kicked in. Like a kick to the stomach. I suddenly had flashbacks to last years race, and I was remembering parts of the route that I was dreading. I could n't shake this from my mind. Suddenly it was moments away from my wave to get started. I wanted to make it my mission to get a high 5 from Jo Pavey, who had started the race this year. Mission accomplished. I managed to film it too for my High5it video diary.
I wasn't even half a mile into the race when I felt another tap on my shoulder. It was from another girl I know from Instagram called Hayley. It was wonderful to meet her as I have been chatting to her for a while now. We ran together for a short while, before I let her run on ahead. No matter how fast or slow someone is running, I always feeling like I am holding them up so I don't like to run alongside someone for too long. It was so uplifting to keep seeing people that I knew. Not to mention seeing my running pal Norm at mile 5. It's my life's mission to get a pre or post race picture with him!
It was turning out to be a wonderful marathon. It was starting to warm up and I was running at a comfortable pace. I was getting so many runners approaching me to ask me which number this marathon was, or to just talk to me about my challenge in general. It was incredible to be getting so much support from people. As I hit mile 5 the road was spilt with the faster runners coming down the other side. So many people were shouting my name. This was so encouraging and helped me to keep going. Well, it was until I started coming back down the other side, because I knew what was coming. I had managed to get myself to mile 11 with hardly any problems. I knew that between miles 12 to 13 there would be big crowds to help me get through those miles.
Miles 14 to 18 were physically very hard. My legs were starting to hurt and I was starting to feel pain in my lower back. I have never experienced this before. I tried to block it all out by chatting to runners around me. I wasn't the only one in discomfort. Not that this made me feel any better, but there just seemed to be a whole load of us struggling together. As I approached mile 18 I could see a spectator in the distance wearing a bright orange t-shirt. I could see the logo clearly. It was a SENSE supporter. I didn't even know him but the sight of him made me want to cry with happiness. He told me that SENSE were waiting for me to run passed. I had tried desperately to keep my eye out for them, but as I was running at a ridiculously slow pace, I thought they may have left already. I was so happy to see them. It helped to remind myself of why I was doing all of this. It gave me a new lease of life but this would only get me through another mile.
I won't even bore you with the next 6 miles. What I will tell you is they were the hardest 6 miles I have ever experienced. I cried a whole lot through them. Everything just seemed to hurt me so much, and all I kept thinking was "how the fuck am I going to run another marathon next Sunday!?" I just wanted it to end. I have never had a baby, but I am certain the pain was worse than child birth. I wasn't giving up though. This is never an option! I had to keep reminding me of why I was doing it, and thinking about my charity. I also started thinking about the children in my school and how much discomfort they spend in their lives. so I had no right to be complaining.
I got to mile 24 when I suddenly just felt something splash on my head, I immediately looked up to see a seagull fly passed me. Yeah you guessed it, it had launched shit on my head. Not just the once though, it did a 180 degree turn, flew back and covered the back of my neck and my arms. Now had this have happened to me any other time I would have laughed my head off, but I was so tired that I had no energy to react. Though plenty of people around me found it most amusing!! I'll get that pesky bird!
The end of the race was in sight and I was about to finish a marathon covered in bird poo! It must have brought me some luck because I suddenly found some energy from somewhere. I picked my feet up and I ran. I ran like my life depended on it. I was passing all the other runners who could only walk at this point. I just focused on the finishing sign and didn't take my eyes off it. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket to film the final moments, as I thought this would be great for my video diary. YES!!!!! I finished!! Thank goodness, So happy for it to be over!
I am frustrated because I allowed the race to get the better of me. My time was atrocious. I had told myself not run too hard because I needed to save some energy for Manchester, but I had hoped to have ran it a little bit quicker. I guess there is no point beating myself up about it. I completed another marathon. Marathon number 6! I have a lot to be proud of. On top of this, this was also my 10th marathon of all time. I am so proud of my little self. Now to forget it and focus my mind on number 7. God only knows how I am going to manage it!!
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