Yes, it’s been a while, but I interrupt this long break with great news. I finally completed my first marathon, which is an important step to completing an 89km ultra marathon, which is a mere 4 months away…
It’s been a month since I ran the race, but it’s still fresh in my mind, but not in my legs. The day before was extremely windy, and I went to bid dreading running 42km into a strong south easter. The race itself is flat, but add in the wind, and it can become hell.
I woke up on the morning feeling jittery but ready for the early (5:15am) start in Greenpoint. We were to run to Simon’s Town, which actually sound further than 42km. My goal was to run a 3:15 marathon, which required an average pace of 4:37, and it was definitely within my grasp. My goal was to set out at 4:35, and just try and maintain the pace. Ultimately, I wanted to get under 3 hours 20 minutes, as that would allow me to get a B seeding for the Two Oceans Marathon.
I woke up to the wonderful sound of still air, which was a massive relief. Looking at my splits, but you can see I was on target from the start, with a 4:40 for the first kilometre. All went well until I got to about 12km, and the wind picked up. We ran straight into the wind for the rest of the race, which was tough. Somehow, I just gritted my teeth, and held my pace. It did require a little more effort, but I was comfortable, plus the added bonus of passing people helped my ego.
A little sprint over the last 50m (for the crowds) had me finish in 3:13:49, so I was ecstatic. The finish was incredibly windy, and was not pleasant, but the feeling of finally finishing a marathon was one I’ll never forget.
Thinking back now, it was certainly tough, but I felt that I ran sufficiently within myself, and I could have easily plodded for a few more kilometres at that pace. I was very glad to have finished though.
See the route after the jump.
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