Manchester Marathon 2018

This day last week, Sunday 8 April 2018 I completed my second marathon, the wonderful Greater Manchester Marathon.

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The lead up to this marathon felt different to my first, the London Marathon last 2017 this year (other than a few little niggles) I managed to stay uninjured, I didn’t stress as much the distance (as I knew I had done it before) and I didn’t feel as guilty if I didn’t stick exactly to plan. When I got to the taper stage of this training cycle I felt pretty calm and only had a few “maranoia” episodes in the final week leading up to the event. I had a busy few weeks during my taper phase, which was probably good as it distracted me from stressing about running.

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I made my way up to Manchester after work on the Saturday afternoon, Manchester Marathon doesn’t have an Expo, therefore I didn’t need to get there much in advance. I stayed with my friend Sally in Bolton, who was running Manchester too, her first marathon.

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We had the untilmate carby meal the night before the race: a large portion of pasta with potatoes, cauliflower and breadcrumbs and a piece of banana bread for dessert. As we had to leave for the race at 6.45 the next morning, we went to bed at 10pm (after posting the obligatory flat-lay picture on Instagram of course). I had the usual pre-race inability to sleep, however I managed to drift off by using a guided sleep meditation I found on You Tube.

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Even though I only had about 5 hours sleep, I felt relatively rested when my alarm woke me up. We had a big bowl of oats, peanut butter and banana for breakfast before getting a lift from Sally’s very kind fiancé Adam to the event village at Old Trafford Cricket Stadium. We immediately joined the first queue we saw for our first pre-race portaloo visit (standard). We were very lucky to have near perfect weather for running a marathon, about 11 degrees, overcast, dry and no wind, therefore we decided we would run without long sleeves and put our bags in the bag drop area. Sprits were high as we made our way to the start line.

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The start area was much more relaxed than the London Marathon (granted there are fewer runners to manage in Manchester). We found our starting pen area, F Pink and waited with anticipation. Once the gun went off it took us about 11 minutes to get over the starting line. I had decided in advance to run the first half of the race with Sally and then reassess how we were both doing.

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As with any big race, it was very congested at the beginning, however we found a comfortable pace and chatted our way around. The first 10K went by easily and we enjoyed talking to some other runners on route. One of the most memorable encounters was with a group of men who were laughing at someone wearing a Vegan Runners vest. I turned around, telling them that I am vegan and it had improved my running. As one of the men ran by me he shouted back “if vegans are so great, shouldn’t you be ahead of me?” and I promptly replied that I would overtake him later, to which he laughed.

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I had planned my nutrition in advance: take my 33 Shake Chia gel at 10K, then a torq gel every 30 minutes until the last 18 miles, when I would have a Clif Shot Blok with Caffine every 15 minutes, this strategy worked very well for me. I avoided taking too much water, just a few sips every 2/3 miles as I wanted to avoid having to use the toilet if necessary.

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As we ran past Brooklands we saw the faster runners making their way back on the other side of the road, it is always inspiring to see athletes pushing themselves to their full potential, seeing their determination spurred me on. At around mile 11 we arrived in Altringham, to yet more brilliant crowd support. We passed the half way point and I told Sally that we could start counting down miles. Sally was beginning to struggle with her legs and I began to feel very torn about leaving her. At about 16.5 miles Sally told me that she needed to slow down and that I should run ahead. I said we would run to mile 17 together and then I would go ahead. It was a difficult decision to make as I know from past experience that the second half of the marathon is much more difficult than the first, however I was feeling strong and knew I could pick up the pace to run a sub 4.30 race, my original goal.

I ran ahead at mile 17 and felt comfortable at a 9.30 per mile average pace. At mile 18 I clocked the man who made fun of me being a vegan runner to my right and I had a great laugh saying “I told you I’d see you later”, we both had a laugh at our mid-marathon banter. I was also able to help a fellow runner at about mile 19 who was suffering terribly with bleeding nipples, I gave him two of the plasters I had in my back pocket and he was very grateful. One of the reasons that marathons are special is the comraderie that you give and receive to other runners on the course, there really is nothing like it.

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I was starting to need the toilet, however I really didn’t want to have to stop as I was feeling strong. I promised myself that once I got to mile 20 I could put on my music to help me through the last 10k. The miles ticked away and I got to mile 20 without too much trouble. I remember this point well from my first marathon, when you are into the 20s but you still have another 10k to run. However my legs felt able to keep running this time and at mile 20 I put on the Hamilton soundtrack and started singing/rapping along as I went (which earned me some very amused looks). I kept going at around at 9.30 pace and said I would reassess how I felt after each mile marker, this strategy worked well for me and I seemed to be passing lot of people who were walking the final few miles. I used some of the extra energy I had to give words of encouragement to other runners who were struggling in the last few miles, I remember how helpful this was to me in the final stages of the London Marathon last year. By mile 23 I had to stop (with much frustration) and use one of the portaloos on route, which cost me a few minutes, however I wanted to be able to concentrate on the last few miles without worrying about my bladder.

At mile 25 I saw Red Faced Runner, otherwise known as Becca (from Instagram) and a friend Rachael from Manchester, I was so happy to see their friendly faces and gave them both hugs before dashing off.

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The final mile was tough, the finish line is in your sight the entire time, however it never seems to get any closer. I focused my attention on the blue finish area and ran with steely determination. I managed to encourage one man who was struggling near me to run the final mile and he ran near me the entire way. I pushed the final 300 meters and was pleasantly surprised to see the final few minutes of my race were at 8.47 minute per mile average. I ran over the finish line smiling and with my arms in the air, stopped my Garmin and saw 4.19.21 for 26.34 miles (so slightly over marathon distance). I couldn’t believe it, my goal was sub 4.30 and I smashed it with energy to spare. I could only thank Sally for keeping me at an easy pace for the first 17 miles, which meant I could really speed up for the final 10 miles. My chip time came in at 4.20.45, which (with a 2 minute toilet stop) I am pretty happy with.

I made my way to the finish area and collected my finishers bag and medal. I rang my friend who had just run an amazing PB in Paris and I rang Tom and mum. I had an alcohol free beer and protein bar as I stretched in the meeting area whilst I waited for Sally. She finished about 30 minutes after me, in tears, I was so proud of her. We enjoyed more beer as we waited for her Adam to collect us.

 

 

Generally my legs felt ok, obviously they were tired but stairs were much less painful than I had expected. My feet were relatively blister free and unlike last year I managed to avoid black toenails. The only major pain I was in was from the chafing on both my arms from where my t-shirt was rubbing, which was pretty horrible (and still looks pretty horrendous).

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We celebrated that evening wearing our medals, eating pizza and drinking prosecco with Adam and our friend Nicola back at Sally’s house in Bolton.

 

 

Over the past few days I have enjoyed looking at the photos from the race, showing my medal to friends and generally being proud of myself. I went for my first run on Friday, 5 days after the marathon and it felt great. I met my friend Laurie who ran the Paris Marathon on the same day and we proudly showed each other our bling as we sipped on prosecco. Today I am having a sports massage to iron out my muscles, I think my calves will be particularly grateful.

 

 

I am not planning any future marathons as of yet, I want to improve my performance over the half and 10k distance, but I am definitely not closing the door on marathons in the future. As Lori Culnane quotes “Everything you ever wanted to know about yourself you can learn in 26.3 miles.”