I did it …and it was way beyond what I thought I was capable of!

Edinburgh Marathon, 3.54.44, 8.53m/m ave

9.03, 8.54, 8.43, 8.43, 8.51, 9.03, 8.51, 8.44, 8.45, 8.53, 8.43, 8.47, 8.43   
8.49, 8.53, 8.50, 8.48, 9.07, 8.52, 9.04, 9.10, 9.07, 8.55, 9.01, 9.07, 9.07, 3.13 at 7.51m/m pace

The GPS was measuring the mile markers before the actual markers on the route so that explains taking 3.13 mins to do the last 0.2 miles especially considering the pace I did it at!

After staying relatively calm yesterday I woke up this morning feeling rubbish with a sore throat etc,  I was even threatening not to run and spent the journey through thinking through the places I would be able to drop out if I felt awful.  I had no desire to repeat my experience in New York.  Pacepusher has now decided this is my equivalent of man flu and is in my own head dealing with nerves!

I took some Lemsip cold and flu capsules when I got there and then spent just short of an hour queuing for the toilet!  We had not realised there were more further up and were getting more and more worried about getting to the start on time.  I kind of gave up on any time at that point as I thought we would be so far back in starting.  We managed to sneak into the 4.00 - 4.30 pen which was not what I had intended but was better than starting at the back.

I had decided during the week that I was just going to go for sub 4 even though even in London 6 weeks ago I was only going for sub 4.10 but I had got really positive after last weekend’s running and thought I would just go for it and if I crashed and burned at least I had tried.  I also partly came to this decision because Pacepusher decided he would run with me so I thought I might have more of a chance, as I said yesterday I knew he would not let me give up on that time without a fight.

I said that I wanted to run at 9.00m/m pace but as can be seen from my splits we were faster than that most of the way round.  Pacepusher admitted afterwards that he thought I was going to fall out with him for going to fast near the start but it felt comfortable, in fact I commented near the start that it seemed so slow compared to compared to last week’s 10km pace.  I decided that I might as well try and get some time to spare in the bag, I know this is not the way you are supposed to do it but no other strategies had worked for me prior to today so I thought I might as well try it.

I fully expected to blow up at some point but it did not happen.  I remember getting to 7 miles and thinking that I felt awful by this time in New York, then wanting to get to 10 at that pace, then 13 and then the turn around point at about 18 miles I think.  I could not believe I kept running under 9.00m/m.  I do a lot of maths while running and kept working out how much time I was ahead of the four hour mark and it just kept getting more and more.  I was wearing 3.55, 4 hour and 4.10 pace bands and kept being ahead of the 3.55 pace which is 8.59m/m so this became my own goal although I do not think I voiced that until nearer the end.  I think Pacepusher was keeping a more conservative goal in mind as he said at about 20 miles (I think) that I would beat my pb and under 4 hours would be the bonus but I was already thinking about the 3.55.

My legs hurt from about 15 miles and I was so sure I would hit the wall at some point but although I slowed up from about 20 miles it was not drastically at all and I am really pleased with that.  I could have slowed up a lot, lot more and still made it under the 4 hour mark.

The last few miles were a struggle but still nowhere near as much as I was expecting and it did not even feel like I had been out the time I should have been for a marathon.  I thought the crowds at the end particularly were amazing, better than London probably because they are so close to you and between pacepusher screaming at me to get me under the 3.55 and the crowds it was amazing.  I had been really unsure in the last 1.5 miles that I would get under the 3.55 because the garmin was running short and so was really fighting for it in the last couple of hundred metres.

I decided afterwards that if I had been running by myself, that if I had started at that pace I would probably have got about that time as I would say I am pretty determined if I know I getting to the time I want BUT there is no way I would have started at that pace by myself so I owe pacepusher big time, although I think that debt is cancelled out with the WHW race and the support he is getting for that!

I commented on WHW runner’s blog that I cannnot believe how supportive all the WHW runners are, especially when I am not even running so thanks for all the good luck comments.  It is really appreciated!  And John, I cannot believe you went to the trouble of texting, I presume, other people to tell them how I got on - thanks!

Now bring on Chicago in exactly 20 weeks time!  There is just the small matter of spending 5 weeks in a rural village in Malawi in the middle of that training plan!

Caroline Gibson