I did it!

Time of day: 9am (ish)
Distance: 26.2 miles
Time: 6:07:32 (official chip time). 5:44 (by my watch)
Weather: Warm, 22 degrees

So here's the story.............................

Wouldn't it be awful if after all that training I overslept and missed the start of the marathon? Well there was no chance of that. I set 4 alarms to go off at 6.30am. As it happened James was awake at 6.15 so it was all unnecessary. Still, it's better to be safe than sorry.

I had also decided that we needed to leave at 8am to make the 10 minute journey to the start which was at 9am, because I know that whatever time we say we are going to leave it will actually be at least 10 or 15 minutes after that. Today was no different. James' last minute nosebleed sent me into a minor panic, until I reminded myself that we had allowed plenty of time for that kind of thing.

We arrived at the start at about 8.30, just in time for a trip to the lovely portaloos. Now I thought I had made a wise decision choosing a queue with mainly men in it, as I figured they are generally a bit more speedy getting in and out. Not so this lot. 10 minutes later Steve was phoning me "Sara where are you? You've got to get here the pens are closing!".

The pens are the name given to the place that you are allocated according to your expected finish time. As I was in the last pen, I wasn't too concerned, after all if they did somehow manage to lock me out I could easily just tag along at the end once they all started moving. But it's strange how panic is contagious. My superfast queue was remaining stagnant. The loudspeakers were announcing "PENS CLOSING IN 2 MINUTES!" People all around me were deserting their queues and running back to take their place. Unfortunately, none of these people were in my queue!

The phone rang again, this time an even more stressed sounding Steve! "SARA, FORGET THE TOILET, YOU'VE GOT TO GET HERE NOW!" What to do? I desperately needed the toilet, but reason had gone, I left my queue and went back to the 'pen' which was in fact a stretch of road incapable of being closed by anyone. Here James calmly informed me "They're not really closing the pens, that's just something they say to get everyone back in place". Why is it an 11 year old can be so much more rational than their parents in times of stress?

I then decided that I really couldn't start the race without visiting the toilet. I ran back and joined another queue. The place was much quieter now and I was in and out in a couple of minutes. I was soon back in the pen where I waited for another 20 minutes before we moved anywhere.

I was still a bit nervous about how my knee was going to hold out. I wasn't convinced that the problem was completely resolved. I had had a sports massage on the Thursday before the race and it was during that that I had realised how tight my quad muscles were. I really think that this was at the root of my knee problem. I am now a complete convert to the benefits of stretching, something which I have been decidedly lax with during my training. To my cost!

After a couple of miles the familiar twinge started in the outside of my knee. I could tell that my quad muscles were starting to become tense, so I made a conscious effort to try and relax them and this definitely helped, every time I felt my knee starting to hurt I would tell myself to relax.

The first 5 miles just flew by. I really couldn't believe I had run 5 miles so effortlessly. I was keeping to a very slow 12 minute mile pace, which is about a minute slower than I had planned to run, but by this time I thought it was more important to be in with a chance of finishing rather than worrying about my time.

At the first drinks station we were informed that they had run out of water! This was really worrying, I couldn't imagine what we were going to do if all the stations had run out by the time we got there. The marshalls were handing out half full water bottles that people had taken a swig from and then chucked on the floor! I decided it was better to risk drinking from someone else's bottle rather than get dehydrated. I just hope nobody had swine flu!

The next couple of drinks stations were fully stocked and I made sure I kept well hydrated. So much so that I was soon queuing at another portaloo. My watch stops when I'm stood still so that accounts for the difference in my official time and my watch time.

I passed the 5 mile marker in just over an hour by my watch so was still hoping at this point that I might finish in around 5:15.

At around 8 miles I had an unexpected surprise. Whilst running past the traffic jam into Musselburgh I heard a shout from the nearby bus. Steve and the boys were on the top deck waving and cheering madly at me! The other passengers joined in so I felt like quite a celebrity.
They passed me another couple of times before my route diverted onto the promenade path and they continued on to Seton Sands. I was wondering whether they were even going to get there before me.

They did. They arrived about 10 minutes before I did at around 13 miles. I stopped for a quick chat and another loo stop before plodding on my way. My knee at this point was still holding up but only just.

At around 15 miles my knee started to really hurt on the uphill stretches. It didn't matter if it was a really gentle incline, it just seemed to be at that angle it sent shooting pains through the outside of my knee. No amount of trying to relax my muscles was helping now. I had to walk until I reached another flat bit. I was so frustrated.

I carried on in this way, running the flat and downhill sections but walking on the uphills. I kept hoping that it would pass, but it didn't. I overheard another runner, who was also walking saying to someone, "It's so frustrating my mind wants to go but my legs just won't let me". I knew exactly how he felt.

I met up with Steve and the boys again at just over 21 miles. I was feeling a bit defeated by then. I ate half a packet of ready salted crisps and stocked up with more fluids. Matthew was keen to do the last 4+ miles with me, and I almost let him. By now I was walking more than running, so I thought he would easily keep up, but Steve said he thought he was too tired, so I carried on while they waited for the bus back to Musselburgh.

At 23 miles I gave up on trying to run, I really couldn't go more than a few metres without shooting pains in my knee. It was then that I had a kind of a revelation, rather than feel disappointed and defeated I could still strive for the best time possible even though I was walking. The ironic thing was that I had hardly any pain in my knee at all if I was walking. So I carried on purposefully, trying to keep to a 14 minute mile pace. I wished that I had done this during my walking periods earlier on, as I think this would have made quite a bit of difference to my overall time.

At 26 miles I decided I was going to run across the finish line if it killed me. And I did. It was agony but I did run the last 0.2 miles. Stamina wise I felt fine, but my knee just didn't want to do it.

So that's it. The story of my first marathon. It's been a brilliant journey, not just the 6 hours of running the marathon, but more importantly the 6 months of training for it. Will I do it again? Yes I think I will. I have applied for London next year and think I'm guaranteed a place after 5 years of not getting in. I feel like I have learnt so much training for Edinburgh and now I'm keen to put it all into practice. I've learnt that training for a marathon is about so much more than just running. It's about eating the right foods, drinking enough (water), not drinking too much (wine), getting enough sleep, getting enough support and definitely about stretching!

Finally to end this blog I just want to say a few thanks to the people who have shared this journey with me (can't you just tell I'm a frustrated writer):

Firstly, thanks to my neighbour Sandra who has always been so positive and encouraging about my running and who introduced me to Simon from Cotswold Allrunners who really kept me motivated in the early days and gave me loads of helpful advice, the most important being to remember to stretch to avoid injury! It was whilst training with Simon that I met Jo who shared so many of my early morning runs in the depths of winter. I really wouldn't have kept going without her.

I have found inspiration in the blogs of John and Broeky who also ran their first marathons at Edinburgh on Sunday. It really helped to know I wasn't the only one doing it.

My friends have also been a constant source of support, in particular Elaine, Lynne, Ken and Lorraine and Jacqui who have endured tales of my running ups and downs and sent me texts of encouragement during the race.

My colleagues Maddie, Debbie, Jeannet, Karen and Jo who have had to cover several days of running induced illness. I promise to look after myself better for the next one.

My mum who has looked after James and Matthew for me so that I could fit my runs in when Steve was working.

My lovely boys James and Matthew both of whom have accompanied me on runs on their bikes and proved to be very reliable pacers. They have also had to endure the last few days of me saying "Don't touch my legs" and "Mind my feet". Yes Matthew I do owe you quite a few games of football!

Finally and most importantly, I couldn't have done it without my wonderful husband Steve who not only has had to live with me and all my ups and downs, but has also been chief child carer and training partner. He has given up his days off to spend hours cycling with me without a word of complaint. Thanks Steve, you're the best!