Canberra Marathon Number 12

Post marathon dinner with friends at Ellacure

Pre-marathon tweet up with friends from interstate and locally

In the final stretch

Canberra Marathon

With  Mr B (who ran the Half) and our son Peter after his first marathon

Mr B's brand new Alfa Giulietta

Another Canberra Marathon has come and gone. It was my slowest time yet and the last few kms were very slow and painful but I finished with the encouragement and support of very good friends on the way.

The weather on Sunday was perfect. Early in the morning it was cool and crisp and it warmed up gradually to a very pleasant morning. There were thousands of starters as the half marathon and marathon runners all started from the same place at the same time. Of course this meant there were also lots of familiar faces. For the first 4km I ran and chatted to CJ and it was great. As we reached the slight rise towards Parliament House she ran ahead and I listened to my music with only one earplug as I wanted to be aware of the all the interesting conversations going on around me. 

At one stage Jen, Kerry and her dog came running along near me to give me encouragement and it was great to have their company. I felt fine until my stomach started to feel a bit strange at about the 30km mark. I tried to have a drink at every drink station but did find the water at a few of the stations tasted disgusting. I'm not sure why as at other times the water tasted fine. I wanted to keep hydrated but could only take small sips as it really made my stomach feel worse. 

I was really struggling when there was about 6km left to run and it was great to see speedygeoff and Ewen out there to keep me going. I have never been more glad and relieved to see the finish line. I truly thought I might not make it. Maria and Charley were so lovely when I really felt quite ill at the finish. They made sure I was ok before leaving. So many people kept me going and made it all worth it.

Soon after I crossed the line I spotted my son who had completed his very first marathon in 4:08. He had been in pain for the last 10km with plantar fasciitis. However, he too was very happy to finish and I felt so proud of him. There's nothing quite like the feeling of finishing your very first marathon. 

Mr B finished the half marathon in 99:06 finally reaching his goal of beating 100mins. Later that evening, after a relaxing bath in our brand new bathroom we had a lovely dinner in a restaurant with very good friends celebrating birthdays and a big day out and discussing plans for our next big event in New York City!

Total distance: 42.2km
Time taken: 4:31:11
Average pace per km: 6:25
Calories burned: 2443

Postscript: Since I wrote this we have heard the devastating news of the bombings at the Boston Marathon. It is such a sad, senseless and tragic thing to happen. My heart goes out to all those poor people who took part in the marathon and the supporters and spectators. What an abhorrent act!