Mile 18!

I did it! 26.2 miles in5hr 35min

It's over! I managed to run the whole distance and my knee wasn't too bad. Walked in places, particularly in the penultimate mile, but ran most of it. My body is sore, my toes are blistered, but I feel amazing!

Had some great support from friends and family which kept me going. It was a very sunny day, hot but with a sea breeze helping out over the second half. Stopped to load up on gel packs, drink and sun cream at mile 6 and mile 18. Had one gel pack every 45- 60 minutes, think I had six of them. Ran with my hand held bottle and drank water and Neuro Sport. Didn't need to go to the toilet so didn't have to stop and queue.

Was aiming to run at 4 mph and finish in 6.5hrs so exceeded my target. Felt pretty good until mile 10, that's when the quads began to hurt. Prior to that it was mainly my knee and my achilles tendons. The knee was ok, was hurting before the race and a little bit at the start, stopped and walked briefly when it twinged. In the second half of the race it was less of a problem. The bigger problem was my right quad, which still really hurts - was probably compensating for my weak left knee by running more on my right side. I have blisters on the inside of my right toe and outside of my middle toe. My face has gone red and patchy for some reason, possibly due to sun and wind exposure, hopefully will settle down a bit tomorrow so I don't look too mad!

Yay for me! Will aim for 5 hours or less next year...

Final stats for today:

Place: 6741 (of 7419 finishers)
Marathon time: 05.35.22

One day to go...

Knee is constantly hurting, at work, at home, in bed. Going to run anyway, or at least start. Decided not to run the day before, went for a walk on the seafront instead - very sunny which bodes well for good weather tomorrow!

It's decision time...going to run!

14/04/2010: Finally got out for a run on the seafront, knee didn't hurt too much but I felt pretty weak and tired. Only ran for around 30 minutes.

15/04/2010: A great 40min run round to Hove Park and back home. Felt stronger and had more energy. Knee not a problem. Based on this I am going to run!

Knee.

The left knee got worse. It hurts to bend it when I walk now. Icing and compressing. Will rest and see what it is like on Wednesday. Might have to pull out of the race if it doesn't get better. The injury is the same as the original...I haven't had that specific pain for a while, why now?

I hope I can still run next Sunday. Time will tell...

8 miles, The Road to Hell

Ran the part of the course today that has been dubbed 'The Road to Hell' by some nice person. Basin Road South, out to the Power Station and back to the Peace Statue. Warm sunny day, the warmest it's been since I've been training actually. If it's like this next week I am not prepared - only used to running in the freezing cold! There were a few other runners running the route, all much faster than me. Getting concerned now that I may not be able to maintain a decent pace on the day. Will just have to see what happens on race day. Both knees twinged during the run, plus had pains in my left quad and the centre of my chest. All passed in time, but it does not bode well! Have had to ice the knees as they still hurt a bit, especially on the left. Just have to hope that the 18th is a Good Day. Fingers crossed.

3 miles, seafront

3 miles on the seafront today, beautiful day, great sunset, lovely sky. Lots of other runners out and about today.