The St George's Day marathon was, I think, the most enjoyable one I've run so far. We were encouraged by the organisers to enter into the spirit of the event and wear something identifiably English. Now I'm not particularly patriotic, I don't see nationality as something to be either proud nor ashamed about, any more than eye colour or shoe size, but I wore an England cricket shirt more for aesthetic reasons than anything and was pleased that I did so. My fellow marathoners were in a variety of similarly themed costumes including some Knights Templar and a dragon, it all looked very effective and did nothing to dispel the English reputation for eccentricity. To further enhance this reputation race director Traviss Willcox handed out sheets containing the words to Blake's poem, conjured up a backing track and we all joined in an enthusiastic, if not tuneful, rendition of 'Jerusalem'. Any ambivalence I was feeling about celebrating a day which in truth means very little to me had completely evaporated by this point; everyone was smiling broadly, enjoying the surreality of singing in a fancy-dressed rabble on the seafront at 8am on a Wednesday morning. There are factions within the country which seek to make political capital out of this date but there was nothing political in this gathering, this was just a bunch of runners having fun and that is something in which I can engage without reservation.
The course was a series of seven out and backs along the Kent coast between Walmer and Deal, I had decided to start easily, see how things felt, get to know the course and then decide upon a point to step up the pace and push for the finish line, keeping in mind that I want to ensure that my legs are reasonably fresh for the Hamburg marathon at the beginning of May. The early fog cleared to allow bright sunshine which was pleasant without being too powerful. The course seemed to have a slight upward gradient in the Deal to Walmer direction which was also into a steady sea breeze which persisted for the duration of the event. This had the effect that running north to south was harder work but with a cooling breeze on your face whereas the reverse felt easier but hotter. I coasted through the first two 'laps' really enjoying the camaraderie, the scenery and the light-heartedness of the whole occasion without a worry. Even discovering that my shotbloks must have jumped from my pocket at some stage didn't faze me; this was great fun!
I decided that I would increase my effort level as I turned at the Walmer end of the course for the fourth leg. This would give me the benefit of the breeze at my back and would hopefully ease me into the proper running for the day. My reasoning was that legs four and five would pass relatively easily and I could then bully myself through the latter stages with the mental carrot of it nearly being over. I was conscious that I didn't want this to be a full-on effort but I also wanted it to be sufficiently tough so as to feel like a decent work-out.
It all went very much to plan, the first two effort legs flew by as I went into my cocoon; the views, heat and breeze all became peripheral as I concentrated on catching and passing the runner ahead, if possible, and keeping my cadence high. Legs six and seven became harder, as was expected, but I kept it going without ever pushing too hard. I checked my watch for the first time well into the final mile to see it reading 3:55:xx, I realised that I wouldn't get under four hours but that didn't bother me at all, that hadn't been the aim today, and I finished in 4:01:25, my second quickest time ever, feeling that I had kept plenty in reserve. Had I checked my watch at 20 miles I have no doubt that I would have been able set a PB but I had purposely avoided presenting myself with that particular dilemma.
The goody bag was beyond anything I've received previously; two bottles of beer, an enormous box of chocolates, two bags of crisps, a packet of biscuits, a good quality cap, cufflinks and the chunkiest finishers medal I've ever seen. As a teetotal vegan I wasn't able to indulge in the consumables myself but that has given me the opportunity to spread the joy of the event beyond the actual participants which can't be a bad thing!
In reviewing my performance I have to be reasonably pleased, particularly as this was again run entirely without reference to my watch until the final stages, and only five days after my previous marathon. I feel like the hard work of the winter is paying dividends. The easy miles ranged from 8:52 to 9:53, which, taking into account the different conditions based on direction of run, reflects reasonable consistency. The effort miles were 8:13 - 9:03 until beyond the 20 mile point when I was careful not to be too hard on myself and even then the slowest mile of the final six was a 9:24. This was a negative split by over six minutes, which again is very pleasing. I feel ready for a good run in Hamburg given decent conditions.
23rd April 2014 St George's Day marathon 4:01:25 #33
Great performance, Gary, congratulations!
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