London Marathon 2019 Race Review
Finish lines, not finish times
I finished in 3:20:08.
Although my finish time was 20 minutes off the lofty target I set myself of three hours, it was still a new Personal Record by 12 minutes. I aimed high and finishing short of that was still a great result.
A race of two halves
The first half was perfect. I was feeling fit (surprisingly, considering the two weeks prior I’d spent in the hospital with my son, Hamish). I’d fuelled correctly. I ran a new Personal Record for a half at 1:28:24 and was on track to finish under three hours.
The second half was not so strong. If you’ve been following my training reviews you’ll know that I’ve been managing an issue with my left hip flexor that I should have rested and let heal a long time ago. I first knew there was a problem in the race around mile nine when I could feel it tightening. I told myself to just keep pushing to the half way point and we’ll mentally reset when we get there. I kept pushing at my target pace and finished a great first half. Mentally, I think I let myself down a little at this point. I slowed slightly and let the tightening continue to a point where I couldn’t have moved my legs faster again if I’d wanted to. The second half was a slog to finish. I knew quickly I’d missed the three hour mark and was mentally trying to set new targets as I went. There was one point where I thought I wasn’t even going to finish. My leg started hurting so bad on impact and I was limp running; putting all pressure on my right leg to propel me forward. I nearly cried and stopped.
Luckily, I kept going, putting the missed time out of my mind. I did finish and some of the tension had even started to loosen a little by the end. If my whole race had been like the second half I don’t know if I would have finished. The strong first half set me up and gave me a mental and physical buffer. I’ll remember both halves for different reasons and I finish pleased with my achievements in both.
A great experience
The London Marathon itself was amazing. The sheer number of people who show up in support and shout your name as you run around is a great experience. Especially, when compared to the pockets of support found at other races, I can see now why, for so many, the London Marathon is a bucket list experience. Cutty Sark and Tower Bridge were two of my favourite moments where the crowds were so full of energy you can actually feel the surge running through you.
My highlight was, of course, around mile 20 when I (luckily) saw my family with Hamish screaming “CHARLES” through the barrier which was hilarious. My daughter was understandably asleep in her pram but I got to hug and kiss Hamish and my amazing wife, Laura. It was hard to imagine we were all stuck in hospital the day before, unsure if we’d even make it and then here we all were, making it work in our crazy lives.
Thank you
Alongside all the training miles and the race we’ve raised over £5,000 for Kidney Care UK. I got an email from JustGiving saying that we were in the top 3% out of 41,042 fundraisers in April. That’s an amazing achievement and I want to say another big thank you to all family, friends and friends of friends who donated.
What’s next
No running. At least not for a few weeks. I need to let my hip flexor properly heal.
Unbelievably, three days after the race I went over on my ankle reaching for a closing door. The pain was unbearable and I’m not ashamed to say I cried, a lot. Maybe my legs were weak. Maybe I had a lot bottled up. Who knows. All I do know is: it fucking hurt.
My good leg quickly became my bad leg and I’ve now got a right foot that’s more than half covered in a yellow-y green-y purple-ly bruise. I’m limping, not because of a marathon but because of an everyday chance occurance.
Life can catch you unawares. It will throw real challenges at you that weren’t even on your worry-radar on a random Wednesday afternoon. Don’t worry about life. Use it. Set yourself challenges. Push yourself beyond the limits of what you think you’re physically capable of. You CAN do it.
Finish lines, not finish times.
