Well what a week it has been! Sorry for the delay in getting this write up sorted, its been pretty hectic all round and this is the first chance i've had to get things sorted!
The second marathon took place in Gloucester in a small village called Temple Guiting, which is a picturesque place albeit plagued with long steep hills! We stayed with Emi's sister again the night before, and this time I was sure not to have a curry for dinner!
I was luckily recovered from my injuries that have been lingering around since christmas and felt pretty confident that the run would go alright.
The event was organised by the same company that organised the first and there were a few familiar faces which was a great comfort. Despite my training, I still feel very nervous before the start of any race and so the site of many many hills as we drove towards the race start was a bit of a worry!
We arrived long before the race start which wasn't entirely necessary, but the race instructions suggested getting there an hour before the start of the race, and so we managed to get a cup of tea and chill out whilst watching the other racers turn up.
The race organisation left a lot to be desired unfortunately. The race HQ was some 1 mile away from the race start which we had to walk, but it was so that the first lap was shorter than the rest to make the distance correct.
The race started in a bit of a disjointed fashion but start it did, and my first mile went really well. There was no hint of a twinge in my right ankle and my left thigh eased up relatively quickly despite the winter chill that was hanging around the area.
Now, I don't know if you've been to the cotswolds lately, but there are a fair few hills to compete with as you run round. The first of these was between miles 1 and 2, and it was brutal! I managed to take it fairly well on laps 1 and 2, but it got the better of me by lap three and I found myself doing the standard walk/run technique to make sure that I had something left for the rest of the race.
My diet hasn't really been my top priority lately and so I overlooked the pre-race loading phase, a mistake that I certainly won't be making again a hurry! My energy tablets and a steady supply of jelly babies from Emi (who walked round the entire course to cheer me on!) kept me going for the first 21 miles or so. After this point it became tougher however, which sporadic cramp coming on in my quads every few minutes.
I managed to persevere however, mostly thanks to the continued support of Emi and her sister, Vicki, and some fantastic other runners helping me forward as they went passed me. Quite often their comments put a good turn on my "Make-A-Wish" t-shirt, with them making a wish for me to be able to keep running right to the finish.
The course was well laid out, presenting a series of challenging up hill stretches, culminately in a long sweeping incline which levelled out before dropping into a long steep downhill run at miles 7, 16 and 25. My last down hill run on lap three was a welcome reprieve from the demands of the last 9 miles, although disaster struck some 400metres from the end of the course when my left calf and thigh cramped up to such an extent that I couldn't move my left leg!
Now, after walking the last 10miles of the first marathon, it was heart breaking to think that such debilitation struck so close to the finish line, but after a brief rest I managed to make a last ditch effort at a sprint finish, crossing the line in 3hours 53minutes, beating my previous best by 9 minutes.
Overall the expierence was a good one, with each race I am learning new limits to how far I can push myself and what my body is capable of. For the next race, I will be concentrating on keeping a steady pace rather than running at whatever pace seems right at the time (although I have been trying to stick *roughly* to my trained pace), and hopefully this will avoid hitting a energy low at the 20/21 mile mark.
As for injuries, I've been really lucky this time. I didn't take any time away from work, so the first few days after the race at work were pretty tough, but staying active on my feet has helped ease my joints back into working order. With such a short period of time between races #2 and #3 (just two weeks), I decided to take a week off to make sure that my legs had adequate recovery time before going back to some longer but steadier runs in the days leading up to the Cambridge run.
The marathon log can be found at and as usual, the charity page page should you wish to donate is .
Hope you're all good!
