PCC – Day 1
Hurray – Day 1 is in the bag!
I survived and came in just under 5 hours having run 43.6k (one tiny navigation error cost me 300m). Not sure of the official times yet.
I can split the day into three bits:
- first 15k: it rained quite a bit. I mentally tried too hard (nothing wrong with my pacing, just my thinking). I was worried about going too slow. I was worried I was going too fast. I was worried I was holding people up. I was worried I wasn’t going to finish. I was worried my feet were hurting, and so on.
- 15k to 38k: fantastic, I was mentally there and my pace was still good (but it had slowed a bit towards the end). I took my rain jacket off (I was soaked underneath – so much for “very breathable”). After a bit it started to drizzle but I didn’t bother putting it back on. I was running well, with a hat and so was plenty warm. Soaked, but warm.
- 38k to 43.6k: The course got tougher somewhere around 38k (-ish). My left calf started to cramp. Just for a micro second but it did it a few times so I stopped to stretch it. My left knee also started to feel a little sore (not sure if something to do with compensating for each other but it feels fine now). I took it very easy on the steep downhill bits here and ran a little gingerly, stopping to stretch out my calf. I lost quite a bit of time here and four people went past me.
Best bits:
- I’ve run my first standalone marathon
- very rugged coastline (shame the sun wasn’t out to make it look even better though)
- 15k to 38k: I felt great
- my Inov8 x-Talon 212′s – I got hugely confident in the amount of grip that they had. People in front of me were slipping and sliding all over the place but I was fine.
Worst bits:
- getting out of the van afterwards and walking the 250m to my room (my face was creased in agony, I was shivering with cold and walking like John Wayne)
- knee and calf in last few k’s
- I spent a lot of time staring at the mud on the path ahead of me rather than looking around.
- One time looking to the sea by the side of me, with a very steep cliff just yards from me and then tripping on a rock.
Tomorrow is forecast to be sunny but the run is supposed to be a bit longer and a bit tougher. I am expecting my legs to be achy for the first three miles or so – after that who knows!