Moray Marathon 13/09/2009 (Elgin)
Alan at Edinburgh Marathon this yearThis is my 13th marathon on the 13th, so if the previous 12 are anything to go by and if 13 really is unlucky (broke my leg on 13th) then I will be looking for excuses.
The difference this time is that I’ve not been ill or injured and my training has gone pretty well (thanks Bert).
Apart from myself there was young Marc and not so young Eric doing the marathon and Gordon Beedie was doing the half marathon. We all had our own targets and were all looking forward to the race. I travelled up on the Saturday along with Kerry Gordon and his wife who both unfortunately weren’t able to take part. We met up with Marc, Eric and Gordon who had arrived earlier. We all went out for a very poor Italian meal and then returned to our digs for a quiet night.
Sunday morning (race day) I’d slept alright, eaten well and felt good. The weather was dull with a bit of drizzle and very little wind. So no excuses available so far. I was hoping for 3.30 as my pb was 3.36. I always look for 3.30 and don’t manage, so this time I was thinking more of the worst time that I would still be happy with and thought a realistic time would be around 3.45. Within the first 200 metres I dropped one of my gels but didn’t let it bother me and just got on with it. The leader was in my sights!! I hadn’t read the website so I didn’t know about Grahams look into the future but I had been told about it so no extra pressure!!
I was relaxed and ran with a guy from Edinburgh (tried to get him to join porty) from about 3 miles. We were both hoping for around the same time. We ran together chatting and the miles felt like they were passing without too much effort. There were plenty water stations so no problems there. I only checked my watch every 5 miles and at 20 I was still on course for a possible 3.30 if I could keep the pace going. I hadn’t even thought about my 18 mile mark which usually gives me problems. I was having to dig in now but I was still passing people which gave me a boost but I was slowing and with 4 miles to go, Andy (who I’d ran with), pulled away from me. 3 miles to go and it was 3.05, I was feeling tired and thought 3.30 was gone but still had a chance of a pb. During the next half mile I suffered, for the first time ever in a race, cramp in my right calf. I had slowed right down and had to try and massage it as I ran. There was no way I was stopping. I didn’t have another look at my watch and I also missed the final mile marker and was delighted to be told by one of the marshals that there was 400 metres to go. I got a “go on Alan” shout from Kerry and I could see the finish and the clock. Shoulders back (thanks Bert) I managed to lift my pace and finished with a smile on my face. My time was 3.35.15, this is a pb by one minute. I was happy but I had wanted a bit more. Hopefully I can do a bit better in Dublin next month.
Marc did a superb 2.57.58 and Eric did 4.22.08. We had all improved on our last marathon times. It’s the second time I have run Elgin and it is very well organised. I would definitely recommend it.
Q. – Graham, how am I going to get on in Dublin and what are this week’s lottery numbers going to be?
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