It is almost exactly four years ago when I last ran a marathon. This is me at Milton Keynes, just before the start of the race. I had done this race a few times before, each time getting a little faster each time and I would like to think I’ll be able to run another marathon one day.
My time was under four hours, I think it was about 3:52 and I was quite pleased with that. My pace, although far from any kind of record, had remained remarkably consistent throughout the 26 miles and again I was quite chuffed with that. Normally I get over taken by loads of runners in the first few miles and then I seem to overtake quite a lot in the last two or three miles.
So you know, I was wearing a DHB top. This had been sent to me by those nice people at Wiggle as a press sample. One of my other blogs used to get quite a significant readership and I often had free bits of clothing, coffee and snack bars to test. The top was actually from their triathlon range and quite a snug fit!
I do like endurance events. I think they are good for me, both physically and mentally, plus the discipline of training is good for me (though at times I question my sanity).
My friends Andrew and Harry (father and son) have just completed a LEJOG bike ride. That’s from Lands End to John O’Groats via some of the Scottish islands, so the route, at well over 1,000 miles, was far from the shortest. Nevertheless they did it in an impressive 12 days.
I don’t think I’ll ever be up to that level of fitness but I think I’d like to see how good I can be once again. To be honest, I’ve never been completely satisfied with myself. Even the reasonable Milton Keynes marathon left me wondering if I was lighter or trained more, how much faster could I have been? Perhaps time will tell…..