Blog #4

Another month, another race!

I took longer than expected to recover from Tentsmuir 8 in October. Probably no wonder, since prep hadn't been the best and it was the longest (by far) that I had run. I had anticipated a week or two off training then back into it for Croft Race Circuit marathon on 30 November. Unfortunately, my knee was still in a bad mood and not playing ball (it turned out to be ITB problems, so not exactly my knee, but close enough) therefore the longest I managed to run between Tentsmuir and Croft was 13 miles. Once again not ideal, but Coach Jackie at Metro Aberdeen Running Club, in whom I place rather a lot of faith, assured me I had the endurance to do it.

The goal for this race was to run sub-4.27, the qualifying time I need to enter New York marathon next November. I was fairly sure I could achieve it, but self-doubt ALWAYS creeps in before a big event. We travelled down to Darlington the day before the race (the royal "we" being me and my rockstar husband 💕Andy is my biggest believer, best supporter, and loudest cheerleader) and stayed overnight near the racetrack. Race day dawned dry and clear but with an absolutely freezing wind (yes, I know, it's winter). It was great to meet up with Chloe Sangster from Metro who was also running the race. Chloe is an amazing ultra runner, and she was also looking for a good marathon time.

The race started at 9am on an icy track. A 2-mile loop, we were faced with 13 laps. The beauty of this was that after my ultra last month it actually felt really short, and the first lap fairly whizzed by. Of course, this wasn't going to last! There were 6 races taking place, so lots going on as the 20 mile, half marathon, 10 mile, 10k and finally 5k runners all started their races and joined the track. There was plenty of room for everyone and this kept me distracted for quite a while. It was really fascinating seeing runners of all shapes, sizes and abilities out there on a cold, wintry day giving it their bestest. Inevitably, these shorter races all came to an end, and the track started getting more and more deserted. Chloe lapped me, going like an absolute train and looking amazing. The track got even quieter. The effort became harder. My legs were turning to jelly. My head started making noises about walking for a bit.....

There's no marathon without discomfort - physically, emotionally, mentally. But discomfort isn't a sign to stop; it's a sign that you're becoming someone stronger. Growth and discomfort travel together. You can’t have one without the other. Every time we step into something that stretches us in any way we’re choosing to become someone stronger. Discomfort isn’t a sign that something’s wrong; it’s usually a sign that you’re exactly where you need to be. If it challenges you, it changes you.

So I told my head to shut up and on we went. 10 laps became 11, became 12, turned into 13.....and then really quite suddenly it was all over. No dramatic sprint finish, just utter relief at crossing the line. I never look at my watch during a race, I always go on feel, and then I get some sort of surprise at the end, sometimes very good and sometimes very bad. I stopped it but didn't look at it. There were a few moments of feeling rather dreadful, then congratulations all round as Chloe was first and I was third. Bloody amazing. THEN I looked at my watch....3.45 🤯 It was SO much better than I expected, and worth all the pain.

I've achieved the time I need but I won't know until March if I'll be successful in securing a New York entry. But it's still an incentive to keep training, keep pushing, and keep the faith.

🌟