26.2 Miles - Marathon J

My right knee was not great, when I ran at my normal pace it hurts, it has pulling sensation the doctor attributes to inflamed tendons due to over training. Over training seemed to be a common diagnosis from the good doctor Hurst, he said my knee, stomach ankle and plantar faciticus (sore feet) are all a result of trying too hard. His advice rest and relax and see if a can run a couple of miles on the flat without pain then re evaluate. Doctors what to they know……..

So I rested and the night before I was due to fly to Amsterdam I went for a two mile run, well more of a brisk walk, but it was pain free provided I kept the speed down so I decided to go.

I met almost marathon B who despite trying to have an early night was totally wrecked on Saturday morning and still drunk from the night before, I sneaked him into the BA lounge where he devoured coffee and hangover cures.

Arriving in Amsterdam I headed to the Olympic Stadium to pick up my number, my two running partners came along for the ride and a free tee-shirt but had long since decided not to run. There was a real buzz about the stadium so much of a buzz that Marathon V’s eyes darted about the place and his brain whizzed with excitement. A youngster and fit from playing football he was considering running after all. Some gentle persuasion followed and then some downright arm-twisting resulting in Marathon V deciding to run after all despite a total lack of kit or preparation. Fortunately there was a running exhibition at the stadium enabling him to purchased top of the line shoes socks and shorts at the exhibition before head home for a Kangaroo burger and an early night.

The next day at the Olympic stadium on the track along side, well just behind the elite runners, our vital statistics looked like this:
Marathon V training zero weeks, running shoes complete with price label underneath.
Marathon J training seven full weeks, with the last five off thorough injury.
Neither of us knew what lay ahead, neither of us had any idea if we would finish.
One of us has Vaseline, liberally applied to prevent another Japanese flag incident

Marathon V's complete training program is the stretch below

My painful knee kept the pace slow and steady, to run normally hurt so it was easy to moderate the pace. At about 8 miles there was a long depressing run down the side of a canal depressing because I could see runners running up the other side and the half way marker, I really don’t like running back on myself! By the 13 mile mark I was if anything frustrated at the gentle pace and still running with plenty of energy, although a cross wind had given me my first ever taste of runners nipple and I can confirm it’s not nice, I’ll add them to my Vaseline ritual in future.

At 18 miles the pace started to feel fast and another 8 miles seemed possible but I knew it was going to be hard.

At 20 miles I noticed I was breathing hard but could not really understand why, I was not going fast enough to warrant such breathing and for some reason my hips decided to hurt, the boundless energy I have just a few miles back had deserted me.

With only 4 miles to go and I knew I’d finish but I was breathing even harder and slowing down. Marathon V was still skipping ahead, gazelle like and full of the joys of spring.

At 24 miles I was blowing hard and then we met our first hill, it was an underpass to be honest with a bridge over another canal but at the time seemed like Everest. I passed a good number of people who choose to walk up the hill only to be passed by half of them again once I was back on the flat, but at least I hand not stopped running.

The last mile was awesome, the support from the crowd and the bands all round the course was good but the last mile amazing. I had my name on my shirt and it seemed everybody was cheering me on, much to the chagrin of Marathon V who did not have his name on his shirt. The last kilometre took us back into the Olympic stadium. I tried to sprint the last 100 yards but nobody would have noticed there was no obvious change in pace. I checked my running computer 26 miles 450 yards! I’d run 250 yards further than I needed!

That night my knees were light somebody had stabbed them with needles each time I got up to walk. Going down stairs was not an option, far too pain full and walking was just an uncomfortable experience. However, looking at the pain Marathon V was in my me feel a little smug it could have been worse, 26 miles and zero training was taking it’s toll on my once gazelle like running partner.