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Thursday Apr 02, 2009

A half-marathon!

I ran the Reading half-marathon in 2.34 - half an hour quicker than I ever managed in training.  

Sunday was a lovely day for distance running - sunny but not too hot, enough cloud cover for it to be comfortable, and no rain.  As I lined up at the start it was a bit discomforting to realise that there were thousands and thousands and thousands of people there who were going to run the course much faster than me, but reminded myself that the point was to complete it and raise money for the Alzheimer's Society.

The first two miles were very, very difficult.  I started to wonder whether this was a good idea.  After the third mile, I started to get into more of a rhythm, even picking up speed.  There were several water stalls set out around the route, which was nice, particularly now I've got to grips with timing when I need to take on liquid and how much I should drink.  And the people around the course cheering us on were absolutely brilliant, though I got a bit cross at one point about a misplaced apostrophe in one of the banners being waved.  Tsk, typical picky journalists.

My family were waiting at the nine-mile point to cheer me on; my best friend had waved me off at the start and was waiting in the Madejski Stadium to watch me cross the finish line.  By the time I finished the 12th mile I was tiring and slowing up, and my legs felt leaden; but I knew I had this final chance to kick on and record a decent time.

When I crossed the line and dragged my tired body out of the stadium, it was so lovely to get my medal and grab a silver blanket.  I didn't realise how cold I'd get so quickly - fortunately I'd remembered to pack a change of clothes plus a fleecy tracksuit and a rain jacket, so headed over to the changing tent to get rid of my kit and make myself look vaguely respectable.

For 48 hours after I crossed the finish line, my knees felt like they'd been attacked by someone wielding a metal bar, but now I am feeling fine and looking out for marathons to run next year.  Really.

Posted by Carrie ( 10:40 PM )
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