Edinburgh Marathon

So, this will have to be a marathon post to catch up since the last time I wrote... sorry! I really have tried to get this blog written a couple times last week, but it just never got finished... so here's my attempt to summarize. :)

Well, I survived the Edinburgh Marathon. Didn't make my goal time, but overall I would have to say it was a good race. We took the train to Edinburgh on Saturday and arrived in the early afternoon, then walked around the race expo and the gardens in the town centre (it was a beautiful sunny day) before checking into our hotel. The pre-race dinner choice was the Hard Rock Cafe, where I carb-ed up on Twisted Mac and Cheese. :)

Race morning dawned cloudy, gray, and cool. The forecast was for clearing, however, so I put on sunscreen just in case. Martin walked with me to my starting area and took a couple pics before the race started. Don't I look excited?

My goal pace was a 10-min mile, and I started out comfortably running a 9:30. The sun came out around mile 4, and it started getting hot. Yes, it was only 70 degrees or so, but when you train in 55ish-degree weather, that is a big difference! Also, there was little to no shade on the course, so no escape from the heat. (Glad I decided to put on that sunscreen!) I managed to keep my pace under 10-min until mile 11, when the heat started getting to me. I probably should have started drinking more water earlier, but since I hadn't trained with it much, I thought I'd be good. I was wearing my Garmin GPS watch (one of the most amazing products I have ever bought in my life), and I knew I was in trouble when it seemed to take forever to get from 11.2 to 11.5 miles.

Almost without meaning to, I dropped to a walk, then immediately started freaking out. I can't start walking at mile 11! There are 15 more miles to go! I was supposed to run the entire thing! I know for a fact I can run 20 in a row, I just did it 2 weeks ago! I don't think I have ever had a real panic attack, but this was a pretty good mental breakdown. Luckily, somehow, I managed to tell my brain to STOP, calm down, and you will make this okay. The race is not over, nor is my chance to finish it well. After a minute or so of this forced calming, I started running again and mercifully came upon a water station quickly, where I drank a good amount of water and felt a lot more hydrated. I kept running until after the half-marathon point, where I excitedly noted a PR (personal record) of 2:07! My best time for a half-marathon previously had been 2:10, so the 2:07 was a great confidence booster.

It would make a great story at this point to tell you I didn't walk for the rest of the race and smashed my goal time, but the truth is, I really faded after the halfway point. The heat got to me physically and mentally, and I had to settle for alternating running and walking to finish the race. I had just passed the 25-mile point and was planning to start another walk break when I looked ahead along the side of the course and saw Martin with my camera. Now, I'll be honest, as much as I appreciated my travel buddy on this trip, my first thought was "NOOOOO!" Haha. Because the small bit of pride and competitiveness I had left would not let me take a walk break in front of a friend with a camera. :-P

Sooo... I ran the last mile to the finish, though it was not a very fun mile. Here is a picture of me close to the finish, and believe me, the smile was much more about being almost done than being caught on camera. ;-)

I finished in 4:58:07, which I'll admit was disappointing after a goal of 4:30. But on the bright side, it was 10 minutes faster than my Big Sur Marathon time of 5:08, and I managed to come in sub-5 hours, which is a small victory. When someone asks you your marathon time, it's nice to start with a 4 instead of a 5. :) I posted a bunch more pictures and one video from the race and the trip on Facebook, so check them out here if you'd like to see more: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=433864&id=701905001&l=fcc8c9f7b2

After spending a couple days in Edinburgh after the marathon, I came back to a short but busy work week before Memorial Day weekend. Now, some of you dedicated readers (if there are any of you, haha) might remember that I was supposed to run the Dover Half Marathon back in February, but it got postponed due to the course being too icy. Well, it was postponed until May 31st, exactly 8 days after my marathon. Understandably (I hope), I decided not to run it, but Martin, who had also planned to run in February, decided to run the rescheduled race this past weekend. I was excited to go along as his travel buddy because a) he was such an awesome race buddy in Edinburgh for me and I wanted to return the favor, and b) I love Dover!!!

We drove down on Sunday and explored a couple new areas as well as visiting some old favorites. The race was on Monday morning at a park north of Dover. Unfortunately for the runners, the weather was not great - cold, wet (luckily not raining), and windy. A tiny part of me wished I was running (being around so many runners getting ready for a race just has that effect), but most of me was very happy to just be Martin's "race crew" this time. :) He ran a good race, didn't quite meet his goal but given that the course was ridiculously hilly (removed any reservations I had about not running, haha) and that he hadn't really trained for the event, still posted a very impressive time. We stopped in Canterbury for a post-race lunch at the amazing restaurant we found there in February, and it did not disappoint the second time around! :)

So now I am halfway through another short work week, with only two days until my parents arrive in London...YAY!!! I am very much looking forward to their visit, we have so many fun things planned. I will be driving down to meet them in London for the weekend, then they will come back here for the week. We will probably do a couple day trips to Bury St Edmunds and Dover, with a couple days of work (for me) mixed in, plus an OG softball game or two, haha. The next weekend, we are going to Paris on a base-sponsored trip, which I am really excited about. I have wanted to visit Paris ever since taking high school French, and the frantic rush through the Paris train and metro system on our adventure back from Italy did NOT count!

This also means I have almost no time left to clean the house before they arrive (oops)... so I might have to consider this post finished. 0:-) Thanks for the congrats and comments already on my marathon pics, and I hope you all had an excellent Memorial Day weekend!