Having spent five weeks with hardly any running due to injury and then illness I knew the Valencia Marathon was going to be very hard work. In the few days prior to the event I managed two runs and covered a total of five miles, this gave me enough confidence to believe I had recovered sufficiently in order to have a chance of getting far enough through the race to allow a stagger to the finish. I had been advised that the weather could be anything from cold and stormy to sweltering. As it happened the daytime temperature was around the 20 to 23 Celsius mark whilst we were there, which although warmer than I would have ordered, wasn't too bad.
Now in a phase of simplicity rather than over-complication, my plan was just to run within myself as far as I could and then get to the finish using a mixture of hiking and slow jogs. The few aches and pains of a body complaining after weeks of inactivity were easily ignored and by the 5 kilometre mark I was moving quite comfortably. At the 9K point the leading group of 10-12 runners passed on the opposite side of the road on their approach to half way. I pulled over to watch them pass, such a graceful sight, barely seeming even to touch the ground as they sped by.
After reaching half way myself, in 2:08:55 which was beyond expectation, I started to grow weary and by the time I saw Mandy for the first time at 25K I was feeling drained, in a slight over-exaggeration I told her I was 'dead' and plodded on. I knew we crossed a bridge at 27K and resolved to keep running at whatever pace it took until I had reached that landmark. The route here took us along the old course of the now diverted River Turia and I became aware of another runner keeping exact pace with me close on my left. Somehow this lifted me and running suddenly became easy again, we seemed naturally to speed up and slow down at the same places and he became almost like a source of energy to me. Soon 27K had passed, then 28K, it was beginning to feel effortless. I had a quick glance to my left which he noticed and smiled at my brief thumbs-up gesture, there was a definite unspoken understanding here which I was enjoying. He appeared to be Spanish and maybe 20 years younger than me. At this point I had visions of us pacing stride for stride to the finish line, forming a never to be broken bond. We passed through 29K with ease and continued side by side to the 30K aid station.
It was with 12K to go that things began to fall apart. In the confusion of runners darting for the drinks and gels I became separated from my silent companion and as I walked for a brief moment to take on fluids I scanned around for him but could not see him anywhere. Immediately by energy dipped and kilometres were taking 2-3 minutes longer to complete. It became a mix of hiking and very slow jogging. My friend Donna passed me at this point, I had no idea she was even in the race so this was a nice boost but there was no way I could keep up with her. The heat was taking toll and I was feeling distinctly below par but I kept moving and crawled over the line in just under five hours. I was back in the saddle but it hurt!
Next stage on my marathon journey took me from the Spanish sun to the London rain. The Phoenix Riverside Marathon was a series of four out-and-backs on the Thames Path immediately upstream of the territory used for the Thames Meander Marathon. The rain was incessant, the temperature low and the path covered in large puddles which grew muddier, deeper and larger as the day progressed. The first half was okay, but by the third out-and-back I was soaked, freezing and miserable. I certainly wasn't alone in feeling this way. Few of the runners were able to muster smiles by this point, although Mandy, undertaking yet another half, seemed to be in her element, eventually missing a PB by only a couple of minutes which was an impressive performance.
So cold was I towards the end of the penultimate 'lap' that I started to consider pulling out. I wasn't enjoying myself and was struggling to justify continuing on that basis. Luckily my friends Rachel and Traviss caught me and this encouraged me to continue. Traviss had completed four 100 mile races in the previous four weeks and to pull out whilst he continued would have been wildly wimpy. As it happened their company for the final loop seemed to make it pass in a blur and I was able to get the job done which bearing in mind the horrible conditions was all that I needed to do. Marathon number 50 completed and I can now join the 100 Marathon Club as an associate member, commonly known as a 'wannabe'.
24th October 2014 Beachy Head Marathon dnf
1st November 2014 Thames Meander Winter dns
9th November 2014 Enigma Fireworks dns
16th November 2014 Valencia 4:56:36 #49
23rd November 2014 Phoenix Riverside 5:14:41 #50
