I wrote this post two days after the marathon but never got around to posting it...
I SURVIVED!
I’m not really sure how to write about the marathon so close to finishing – although following the advice of Vic, I am writing about it whilst I still remember it – so I thought I’d just go through the days leading up to it and then the course itself….
We got to Barcelona on Friday morning. EARLY Friday morning – our cab picked us up and took us to Heathrow for 4am. Last minute packing (I had been packing since Tuesday but there was still stuff to do) meant that I didn’t get into bed until 12.30am so three hours sleep was all there was on offer. I didn’t let it worry me but a little snooze on the plane was all I got, so coffee was the order of the day. Once we got into the city, we headed straight for the expo, which was already quite busy at 11.30am. The expo was great; having only been to the London one last year with Vic when she was running, I think this one was easily as good, if not better. The systems in place to pick up numbers, t-shirts and chips were faultless, and the registration area was simple and really clear to check. And the numbers had our names on the front *WIN*. I had been told by numerous sources that having your name on your top was the best motivation, but I never managed to sort mine out, so this definitely solved that problem. We picked everything up and had some food; well I had a coffee and snuck some wheat-free pitta breads out of my bag to snack on…we hung around the expo for a while, I bought a cap (GOD SEND) and then we headed up the hill to have a look at the Olympic Stadium.
The stadium was….like any other stadium…..but did have some great additions from the Olympics, and I must admit that it was fairly awe-inspiring to see the track where Linford Christie and Sally Gunnell won gold the day before I ran the marathon. After that we headed to the Olympic museum, which was also great, and a really good pre-race outing to get in the zone…. We couldn’t get into our apartment until P and M turned up on a later flight but as the weather was so good, once we’d finished in the museum we just sat in the late afternoon sunshine and read, which was l-o-v-e-l-y….
We met up with P and M and got into the apartment, which was small but perfectly formed, and we were warned about not getting raped or robbed by the girl who let us in. Good advice for life….after a bit of unpacking, we headed out for food and some calming pre-race drinks….back in bed by 10.30pm and I slept through until 11.30am….good race prep. We then spent Saturday eating the best burgers ever, spotting cute dogs and enjoying the sea front, before a huge pasta dinner and bed by 10.30pm…..
The alarm was due to go off at 6am but due to not knowing whether phones were going to automatically update themselves for daylight saving, we all ended up awake by about 5am….not ideal but not hugely detrimental. I couldn’t open my tin of rice pudding for breakfast so ended up eating one and a half pittas with peanut butter and jam. Everyone was actually fairly relaxed, which was great, despite it being the first marathon for three of us…and the first run for M in four months….but she’s a marathon veteran so everything was fine. We wandered to the start, had the obligatory portaloo visit, and then checked in our bags. One of the best things about the marathon was that the start and finish were in the same place, so we knew exactly where our bags would be when we finished – where we left them. It also made meeting up afterwards MUCH easier – having wandered around for an hour carrying Vic’s stuff in London, I knew how bad this could be…so we dropped our stuff, faffed about for a bit and then headed out. There was the usual last minute panic about the loo (again), and then we all separated to go to our relevant pens. I was aiming for the 4.30hr plus area – it didn’t get any “slower” than that, so I shuffled towards the back and waiting for everything to start moving. I randomly bumped into M in the melee, and then we were off!
I had downloaded the Hunger Games for the trip round, so I kicked this off and everything basically went to plan. I won’t go through a mile by mile account but highlights/low points were:
1) LOW POINT – the loo at 10k. I HAD to go and it was, undoubtedly, one of the most horrible things I have seen. I’m not squeamish but jeez, PLEASE get more toilets for next time…
2) HIGHIGHT – a band playing “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits at 19k. A huge family favourite and really spurred me on during one of the bleakest parts of the race.
3) HIGHLIGH – Sagrada Familia at 17k: just SO beautiful. Nearly missed it due to my cap giving me tunnel vision but managed to snap a photo.
4) LOW POINT – the double backs at about 20k and just before 30k. It is SOUL DESTROYING to see people who are much further on than you as you trudge past.
5) HIGHLIGHT – seeing M on both double backs and shrieking about how much we were looking forward to burgers and wine. Saved the soul just a little bit….
6) LOW POINT – everyone in the race was fairly fast and I was not, so there weren’t many runners around my time, and by the time I got to some of the stations, they were empty. The crowds had also lost interest by the time I came through and some people thought it was fine to just walk out in front of me. This was NOT FINE.
7) HIGHLIGH – running up to the finish with so many runners coming back down the other way with their medals. They ALL clapped and cheered, which felt really supportive and almost made me a bit teary to be part of a running family. But then I remembered I still had to finish….
8) LOW POINT – thinking that the first inflatable tunnel at the finish WAS the finish. I power ran up to it and then discovered I had a good 400m left. I nearly cried, but just turned up Paul Simon a bit louder and made it over.
9) HIGHLIGHT – FINISHING!
Then there was a massage, I found everyone, we ate patatas bravas and drank muchos sangria. It was a really great weekend and I’m so happy that Barcelona was my first marathon….first of many I think….
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