Brighton Marathon: Sunday 6th April

Brighton Marathon was my first big target race of the year and I was very excited and very nervous in equal measures. My training schedule since December 2013 had been geared to this race and I was hoping for a good time. Apart from a few scares over my ankle, my training had gone pretty much to plan, but that didn’t seem to reduce my anxieties. Nor the nagging doubt; was I was as fit as I thought I was? All week I had a knot in tummy, which got  tighter and tighter as the race day got closer. The gels and supplements had been ordered and my legs had been given clean bill of health from Nathan. But first we had to get to Brighton and that turned out to be quite stressful - but not as stressful as the journey home turned out to be. More about that later.

Friday: After days of packing, unpacking, checking, re-packing, angsting, it was time to depart Devon for East Sussex. The journey to the Brighton Marathon had begun. It started reassuringly uneventfully, until we got to about to about Taunton on the M5, when we hit heavy traffic, and things didn’t get much better until we got to Northiam in East Sussex some 8.5hrs later. It was, apart from a brief reprieve on the M4, solid traffic, with the M25 especially living up to it’s reputation as the worlds largest car park. However, as we approached our friends Katie & Neils house in Northiam, crossing over the River Rother, from Kent into East Sussex, the  stress of the journey dissipated. Following a brief hello, it was time for a run. Neil understood- he was running Brighton as well and had been kind enough to collect my race number. It wasn't a long run, just enough to stretch out the legs, but as I headed out into the E. Sussex countryside, everything seemed all right with the world once more.

As well as kindly collecting my race number & pack, Neil had also been slaving over a hot stove cooking dinner. A curry feast, consisting of Dahl, Aloo Gobi, Chana Korma, rice and bread. Carbo-loading was in full swing. A tough part of training eating lots of food, but a necessary part and after returning from my run, I was refreshed and ready to eat, and eat I did!


Saturday: A day of rest. Oh, and eating. Rest & eat. That's all I had planed on doing. My kit was laid out, race number was pinned proudly on my BATs vest, gels sorted and photo's had been taken and put up on Facebook to validate the whole experience!

As the day wore on, my nerves increased and as they did, my gut reacted. All I will say is that a lot of trips were made to the toilet. I tried to relax, but couldn't, so took the dogs for a walk. Georgie decided the E. Sussex countryside was too scary, and went back to the house, so I carried on with just Daisy, Katie & Neil's Labrador, who was a proper dog and enjoyed being outside. She was a little upset about the shortness of our outing, but still showed her appreciation as only labs can. The weather was checked and re checked when we got back, so final kit alterations could be made. All forecasts pointed to a very wet day, with strong gusty winds, so I panicked a bit and went for a short sleeved base layer and gloves. Stop panicking. Keep calm. It will be all right. Any way, dinner was ready. Katie had made a tasty roasted vegetable lasagne, which I ate a lot of. Pasta, a long distance runners friend. After that I was sure my glycogen were fully stocked. A near perfect rest day was spoiled slightly as Georgie misbehaved and tried to eat the cat, but timely interventions thankfully prevented any feline injury. Bad dog.


Sunday. 06.45hrs. A deep sleep was shattered by by alarm. It was race day. A hasty, yet hearty, breakfast of a large bowl of home made muesli, yoghurt & honey and strong coffee was consumed before jumping in the car for the hours drive to Brighton. The weather forecast was correct; the weather was wet & misty. Neil kindly drove, so I ate and nattered, nervously. Further pre race nutritional intake was a banana and a High5 energy drink. As we approached Brighton, the weather improved. All that was left [apart from run!] was to park up, get bus into town and meet up with other BATs for team picture.

Simon, Johny, Pam, Dave, Me!

I had also arranged to meet up with an old friend from Uni, Marcus, which I did. Good times. As the tension mounted, it was time for last food intake, which consisted of a SIS sports energy bar and SIS electrolyte&caffeine hydration tablet. Oh, and a few chocolate covered coffee beans.

By now, I was fairy bouncing. Adrenaline, excitement and caffeine is a heady mix! Into the starting pens, squash up, starting gun, then we're off. High five Paula Radcliffe on way past and run. Except it was stop / start for the first few miles, before I could get into a steady rhythm. Dave Adams, a fellow BAT, had agreed to buddy up and pace me for good time. We had our race strategy planed out; it was 6 gel race. One for every 4miles. Contrary to popular opinion, not all of all my gels were caffeine infused. Ok, 3 were; but 3 weren't! I had a mixture of High5 Isotonic and caffeine and SIS electrolyte and caffeine. I also had a sneaky little SIS bar stashed away for when the going got tough.

This was my first proper marathon distance race and first mass participation run, and I was very impressed with the crowds. They really do make a difference and give for an altogether louder and more surreal experience than a quite and lonely wind swept Dartmoor, where the majority of my training took place. I was out for a good race time, but I also wanted to enjoy the experience. Little kids had arms outstretched, waiting for high-fives, and I didn't want to disappoint. I doubt I lost much time, but it seemed to make them happy. The route was predominantly through the centre of town, passed a few major landmarks such as the Pavilion and then out and along the seafront and back, with a few twists and loops inland. There were a few slight undulations, but no hills to speak of. The weather was good. The rain didn't make an appearance after 09.00hrs and the wind was gentle, certainly not gusting at 30mph. To be honest I was glad, but I was overheating slightly in my gloves.

Routine of gel taking was working well and it also helped break down the race into bite size chunks of 4miles. Dave was an excellent run buddy, far more experienced than me and I was learning a lot about race tactics from him. We passed the half marathon mark at 1:47hrs, a tad slower than our target time, but nothing to panic about. Besides, my legs were starting to hurt. The next 6miles were the toughest of the race, physically and mentally. My right leg threatened to cramp on several occasions and the balls of my feet were sore. Dave saw me through this. Despite the increased tiredness, our pace was relatively stable; we weren't just continuing to move forward, we were actually overtaking tired runners. That felt good. I kept saying to myself that pain is an illusion. But it still felt very real. As we did the final switch back and started to head back along the last few miles to the finish, I realised I could do this and do it well. Everytime during the past 25 miles I had asked my legs for more, they had given me more and best of all they kindly didn't cramp when I asked them not too. At this point the euphoria and adrenaline took over and I found the energy for a sprint finish. I willed Dave on, but he couldn't. Taken in by the whole atmosphere, I kicked again and went for the line. Sorry Dave.

It was a fantastic experience running through a wall of sound to the finish. I had done it and although I knew I hadn't quite got under 3:30hrs, I wasn't far off. I cheered Dave over the line, only slightly behind, and we collected our medals together, big smiles on our faces. Exhausted, but elated.

Time to collect bags, get changed, eat pizza and drink beer!

There was free Gatorade Recovery Drink, which I decided to try. It was disgusting. Don't try this at home, or anywhere else for that matter. Horrid stuff.

My brother had been following me on live text and let me know my time; 3:35hrs. Not too shabby!

Other BATs times: Dave Adams 3:36. 37 ; Pam Adams 4:26.34 ; Simon Griffiths 4:38.12.

Significant others: Neil Baker 4:27.32 ; Marcus McTurk 4:13.23

The sun even tried to make an appearance as we made our way to the beach and our meeting point. Post race photo, beer, Pizza and catch up was had; then it was time for home.

Cheers!

As Neil drove back, I contemplated the race that had just been run. My experience would not have been as rich without Dave Adams, that's for sure. The crowds were fantastic, that much was true. But what I really took away from Brighton was that the training really does work. Now that might sound an odd thing to say, but let me explain. I started off the year aiming for sub 3:30hrs, followed the training plan found on the BATs website , but I found the training too hard. I revised the time, and the schedule I followed, to 3:5hrs - 4:00hrs. I put in the miles, I put in the time. I trained smart [don't laugh!], did circuit training and yoga. My time was 3:35hrs 20sec. The training works- if you believe in yourself. I now have the confidence that any distance is possible, provided you train. 

Once back at Katie & Neil's , a celebratory meal and drink was in order, with more race talk. Before sleep beckoned.

Monday: Woke up with slightly stiff legs, but still elated. Said our goodbyes and left. After the journey up, was hoping for an easier journey back to Devon. Wrong. M25 was still bunged up. We crawled along. Stop. Start. Stop. Stop. Start. Then our exhaust fell off. Then it rained. Several hours later we left a garage in Leatherhead with a new exhaust system. Avoiding motorways, we headed West, to Glastonbury to stay with a friend. The journey, was, thankfully, uneventful, and as we approached Glastonbury, the sun came out.

Thank you to Dave Adams for support during the marathon, Katie & Neil for their hospitality in East Sussex and Marcelle for her hospitality in Glastonbury.