Yesterday was the Blackmores 42km Sydney Marathon. Never having run more than 18km in a run session I knew I was in for a huge challenge. My first goal was just to complete the 42km but with some calculations based on my training times my real focus was to break 3 hours and 30 minutes.
Commencing the run on the Harbour Bridge with a sunny 24C day made for an enjoyable start. I felt great running to the half way mark [21km] at a time of 1 hour 35 minutes. Running at a good pace of 4 minutes 30 seconds per km I kept pushing on.
At the 32 km mark it happened, I 'hit the wall'. Never having run this distance before and maybe going a little to hard too early forced my body to a point where I just wanted to stop and give up. I slowed my running pace down to 6 minutes per km but even the slower pace wasn't helping.
I was determined not to start walking or to give up. I began to focus on 'happy thoughts' to distract myself from the pain of running. Eventually the focus and determination became draining too.
Again I thought it was all over when I reached the 38 km mark. My legs felt like concrete, my calfs were burning and my head was spinning. At that stage the crowd was also building in numbers and the positive comments from the onlookers gave me that inspiration I needed.
Coming up to the 40 km mark I gave it everything I had and with the crowd support I was able to cross the finish line in a time of 3 hours 22 minutes and 40 seconds. This put me in 202nd place and in 31st place in my age category.
I was so relieved when I crossed the finish line. I was truly happy to have completed my first marathon. I was able to give the run everything I had and that's all I could ask for.
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