Post marathon musings

So I did it. I ran for 5 hours and 8 minutes to complete my first marathon.

The person that woke up this morning was indeed different. Although not changed in the ways I had expected. The marathon left me hungry to do better, sort my diet out, train harder and faster than ever before.

"They" say there are 2 responses from runners who have completed their first marathon

1) when is the next one.
2) why the he'll would anyone want to do that more than once.

I fall well and truly into category 1.

Anyway here is a blow by blow account of what I can remember
Start line - OMG there are a lot of crazy people in one place

3ks in - I think the girl who just said out loud that there is only 39k to go is about to be lynched.

9ks in - the two women listening to music and trying to have a conversation about if they were going to have sex that night or not are talking so loud I think the whole field can hear them.

17ks in - wow I've managed to maintain an average of 6:30min k's but I'm starting to slow.

21ks in - I had a laugh at how proud the girl next to me was about making it half way. I didn't want to point out that from an effort perspective we were probably only a 1/4 of the way.

30ks in - sweet I'm running further than I ever have before.

36ks in - I can't run this hill. I walked and felt my phone ringing so I answered it. It was a fellow runner from work asking how I went. She got very angry when I told her I was still going 6ks out and was walking she verbally kicked my ass and at that point I committed mentally to run the rest of the way.

39ks in - I got a cramp on my left leg inner muscle just above the knee but I used the pain to push on. I had 3k to go so I ran through it.

42k in - as I entered the MCG one of the volunteers told me it was into the G and across the finish line. Talk about cruel, it's into the G do a lap and across the line but anyway at this stage I was feeling good, almost crying but holding it together.

42.195ks - I saw Sarah, Ben and Grace and they were going nuts. I lost it cried I was so happy to have made them proud. I did it I showed my kids that daddy has seen unlimited benefit from hard work and self discipline.


My hopes when I started running was that my kids would be inspired to be active. I can now say that it's working. Ben was very sad that he is too little to run races with daddy. The time will come when we are running together but in the mean time I need to find a way to shave about an hour off my marathon time.