Uncategorized – Page 3 – Reach for the Seven Stars

I knew it wasn’t going to be a defining race, it was going to be far from it. A week before the race, I predicted I was going be very slow as I had to get over a 2 week viral chest infection then add on the winter windy coastal weather. Excuses, right? But I knew it wasn’t happening. But I also did not want to lose my £53 and if anything, it will be my long run. So I woke up, dressed up, and showed up.

The start line is 2 miles from my house but this time, I drove there (shamefully). The last time (2021), the walk home was worse than the run itself as it was winter cold on top of the post-race shivers. When I got there, it felt a bit more organised than what I remembered it to be. I got there at 730 for an 8 am start. After all the pre-race prep, it was to the Start Line, then we were off! There was a group of runners were singing All I Want for Christmas…

This time, I also tried out something new. I recently got a running vest as this was not a big city race with only a few pit stops in between. The running vest definitely helped in weighing me down – 1L of water and because of the many pockets, I also brought a lot more than what I would used to. So many things, so many distractions. Very different from the enjoyment of being free when running without much.

This was a really nice homey feel run (600+ runners) apart from there are probably more hardcore marathon runners as who would actually run a marathon in the middle of winter, 3 days before Christmas? I imagine the crazy devoted ones would.

Knowing and accepting that my body was not ready, I already set myself up for failure (but to what extent). It was probably around 10 miles when my mind and body shut down and I started to plan my exit strategy – ‘Where should I get an Uber from?!’ But I would also need to be dropped of by my car which is close to the Finish Line. And I’ve had already paid for all day parking. At this point, the runners in my line of sight have thinned out. I decided to keep on runwalking, passing through my personal markers when I go on a normal run.

Running by Eastney Road, which I always thought was a lonely place to run – although there is the harbour on the left, there are nothing but cars zooming past you on the right. This part was also deceiving as on a normal run, I would be roughly 2 miles from home. However for this race, I have to run past my house and on to the seafront towards the Pyramid Centre, which is 2 further miles.

Finally, the painful run at the seafront, where the weekend crowd has already taken over, with the occasional ‘Well done!’ and ‘You’re almost there!’ Except, I don’t really feel strong and probably just barely breathing.

But hey, I was not injured and I also was not ready to have a Did Not Finish to my name. But I knew that I have not trained hard enough to have a satisfying race. So I crossed the Finish Line at 5 hours 34 minutes and 13 seconds. 550/604 overall, 41/45 in my age group, 158/183 in Women’s. But I did Finish with a big fat medal – almost as big as my face!