Running a Marathon = pain, more pain, thinking about pain and trying to forget about pain. Then you can begin the psychological battle.
Preparing for a run
Everyone has their own system for getting ready for a run and mine was extraordinarily well drilled by the end. Getting ready for a long run became an exercise in itself, as it was a major part in avoiding aches, injuries and chafing. I'd start by applying waterproof plasters over my nipples, then cutting KT tape into strips and applying them in a burlesque style cross over my nipples. Then the generous application of chamois cream to the groin and backside area. I would apply deep heat cream on my heel, achilles tendon, calf, lower hamstrings and around the knee. WARNING: Always apply the chamois cream before the deep heat, unless you enjoy the sensation of rubbing chillies onto your gonads with a cheese grater. Then I'd clean and fill up the water reservoir in my running bag. I'd include blister pads and a foil blanket in my bag in case I had any issues. For runs over an hour and a half I'd bring SIS isotonic gels with me (for each additional 50 minutes an additional gel). This may sometimes have required my running bumbag, because I wouldn't be able to wear my running backpack due to neck chaffing from the straps. I'd then get my foam roller and do some activation rolls on my calves, hamstrings and quads, followed by a few tiptoe raises and some short stretching. I'd make sure my phone and wireless headphones were charged and put on my phone-holder strap on my upper arm. If I was running in the dark, then I'd attach my running lights to my bag. Finally, I'd go outside to access GPS signal for my Garmin and then I was ready to go!
INJURIES
Where do i start? On their own they're trivial, but cumulatively, they're a bloody nuisance. I'll save the stories and just list the injuries below:
Toe, sole and heel blisters, of course.
Don't forget about the super blisters and blood blisters.
Black toenails. I'm now sporting 6 of them and they are gnarly.
Chafing... everywhere
Bilateral achilles tendon irritation.
A solitary bleeding nipple
Stomach cramps
Tight calves.
Runners knee.
Trapezius pain
Quad pain (marathon day only)
Hamstring pain (marathon day only)
Skin/blood rash on the stomach (marathon day only)
Chest rash (marathon day only)
DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscles Soreness)
If the above is anything like getting old, then put me down now! It's the kindest thing.
To put long distance running into perspective, Eliud Kipchoge (World Record holder for the fastest Marathon) is 5'5 and 8.8 stone, which carries a lot less of an impact on the joints and muscles. At 6'1 and 14 stone, I'm not a build that's well equipped for endurance running. Since I started Marathon training I have run the equivalent distance from London to the German border.... and I've only lost 3 pounds in weight. It's due to an increase in leg muscle and eating more carbs. It's a massive nod to the age old saying of "DIET and exercise" to lose weight.
2 Months before the Marathon
I'd been training for over 2 months and completed a half Marathon. Everything was going to plan. In March I went for a pre-marathon check-up with my GP to ensure all was well and, surprisingly, my GP referred me to a Cardiologist for heart tests, to check out a murmur that he had heard. I had a 24 hour ECG, Echo and CT angiogram. To quote my Cardiologist, it turned out that i had a "pristine heart" and the murmur he heard is "turbulent flow" which is common in people who are very fit and means absolutely nothing pathologically. Excellent news, but I'd not run for 3.5 weeks and was wondering if I'd get back on track in my training, as I wasn't allowed to run during the testing.
1 month to go
I managed an 18 mile run 3 weeks before the Marathon, which was an absolute killer after my time off. I completed it in 3 hours and wondered how I cold run another 8 miles on top of that. I was supposed to be tapering my training down and doing less and less miles. However, March was a write-off for my training and I decided to do a 16-18 mile run 2 weeks before the Marathon because I'd have enough resting in March. Whilst still managing my achilles inflammation, I strapped up my calves with KT tape for the first time, but it pulled too tightly on my tendon and after 5 miles I pulled up hard with bilateral achilles pain and limped home. I thought the Marathon was all over. I was so angry. Stupid, stupid, stupid, to try something new at that time. To add insult to injury, to get the KT tape off my calves, I had to shave the hair off the backs of my legs. I had half a hairy leg and half a smooth leg. It looked ridiculous. It was perfect that I was going to Spain a month later and could show off my new look.
I'd already had 7 sessions of physiotherapy on a weekly basis just to manage the pain before the latest setback, and I truly thought it was game over. WARNING: Never try anything new 2 weeks before the Marathon. Nonetheless, my physio was optimistic as I was improving quickly. All I needed to do was manage the pain. Even the night before the Marathon I didn't think I could get round without my achilles giving up on me. Then I also had the issue of my under-training. I probably completed 70% of the required training in total.
MARATHON DAY
Fortunately, it's been a relatively mild winter this year, but I've still experienced Mother Nature in some of her wonderful and wintry forms. Between January and April I've ran in rain, freezing rain, 50mph gales, snow, sleet, hail storms and the sun. I checked the historical weather forecast for Marathon days for the past 15 years and it's ranged between raining and 8C, to a scorching 24C, so I had no idea what to expect! I was very lucky as it was almost perfect Marathon running conditions on the day. It was overcast, 13C and had the odd light rain shower with intermittent sun.
I woke up at about 06:30am to have my wholemeal toast and peanut butter, and left at about 07:20 to get to Greenwich. I met up with the other Scope runners and had a team photo, before walking up the massive hill to get to the runners area. Astonishingly, I'd walked 3 miles (with the last mile being uphill) that morning just to get to the start line. Helpfully (not) London Bridge station had shut escalators and runners had to climb multiple flights of steps. It was all very helpful, thanks.
I was in my area (red section) with about an hour and 20 minutes until I was due to run. I put my bag in one of the trucks and walked over to get a free water. I decided to get into one of the notorious toilet lines for a portaloo, even though I didn't need the toilet. 40 minutes later I got to the front of the queue and managed a sub-par wee, as i didn't really need to go. If anything, as us drinkers on a night out know, don't "break the seal". Fortunately I didn't need a nervous poo as there was no toilet roll. Obviously, as soon as I walked into my pen i needed the loo, the nervous wee. I walked down to the start line where there were lots of signs saying "please don't wee in the queue", and I WAS OFF! Within 100m people were weeing on the side. Those nervous wees. I refrained as the nerves had gone and I was more in a confused state of mind... "shit, I'm actually bloody running a marathon, what the bloody hell am I doing". All of those months of training, injury, pain, surgery, had all come to this one moment. The nerves were over and I was on my way.
Mile 1 - Downhill, nice. Busy, everyone plodding around each other at a slow pace due to congestion.
Mile 2 - a priest with a bucket of holy water on a string threw some water over me. I took that as a good sign. But then I wondered if i looked like i needed God's divine intervention.
Mile 3- I hadn't had anyone shout my name yet, but Lisa (who was a fairly sizeable lady) had received about 40 "Go on Lisa" shouts. I felt a bit sorry for the unwanted attention she had received because she looked like someone who would be a struggler.
Miles 4-5 - There was a horse on the side of the road. Plus a few w**ker kids on their bikes cycling inappropriately in-between runners and shouting "nearly there!".
Mile 6 - The famous Cutty Sark. Lots of support, I'd had a few "come on Daryl" shouts by this point. Everything seemed to be going well. I'd even seen the famous WWF Rhino, and another. It turns out there's quite a few of them!
Mile 7 - The worst mile for me. My right calf and hamstring tightened and felt very vulnerable. It was quite painful and I honestly thought I'd never make it another 20 miles. I was extremely concerned that my hamstring was a slight overstretch away from snapping. The one thing I had on my side was my logic. Well, I'm running the marathon and I'm either going to finish it, collapse from lack of energy (due to lack of training), or stop because of injury. The question was which one would happen first.
Mile 8 - Unremarkable. Noted that there was a KFC near where I lived.
Mile 9 - Running around Rotherhithe and Canada Water, where I live. This was my bread and butter, where I'd started all of my training for months on end, which gave me a little boost. Plus, Jeremy, Aggie and Paola were there to shout me on, which was nice to see. The first of my support!
Miles 10, 11 and 12 was a slow accumulation of people. Plus the first drunks of the day outside The Brunel pub at 11am. In Bermondsey it was heaving. So many people were cheering. Just before Tower Bridge (12.5 miles) I saw Scottish Matt, which was another bit of welcome support. Crossing the bridge was a bit of a blur, mainly because I was looking out for my family, which I couldn't find.
Mile 13 - That's where my mum, dad, aunt and cousin were. My time quickened that mile. I also saw the Scope cheerleading team, which was a nice touch. Mile 13 is the first time that you see people running the opposite direction to you. I was running towards mile 14, they were running towards mile 23. It didn't phase me, as I knew it was coming.
Miles 14-16 - They were tough miles as you're running EAST, the wrong direction to the finish line.
Mile 17 - I was feeling OK and thought that I may just have a chance of doing it.
Mile 18 - I saw a sign that said "Pain is just bread in French".
Mile 19 - I was confused that I was still running away from the finish line and the psychological decline began in earnest. I realised that I'd just run 1 mile more than I'd ever ran in my life... and i had another 7 miles left. This was a very tough mile, because I'm now getting familiar with the Canary Wharf surroundings and remembered from my half marathon that it's actually quite a long run from Canary Wharf back to Tower Bridge via Wapping.
Miles 20 and 21 - I just thought about stopping, just for a short walk, but i knew i had to plough on. At this point, I hated people shouting my name and saying "Go on Daryl, only 10K left!". I just wanted to shout back "Yes! I know how long is bloody left! I've seen the past f***ing 20 mile markers!" At that point I'd tried my best to avoid looking at the mile marker signs, as it feels so long between them.
Miles 22 -23 - I wanted to stop so badly, but I was expecting some of my friends to be at those miles. If they saw me walking I'd never of heard the end of it. "Daryl, we came to watch you run a Marathon and you walked it!" It kept me going.
Mile 24 - I was expecting to see my family again, but I'd run too fast and they weren't there in time! Blackfriars underpass, it's interesting. It's the only section of the course where there's a 300m long straight, underground, where nobody can see you from the crowd. People were laying down, peeing, being sick, walking, it was all going on. I call it "the tunnel of shame". Then at the last 30m of the tunnel, when it comes back into the crowd, everyone is up and running again, like nothing happened. But we know, the runners know, we know what happens in that tunnel.
Mile 25 - Christ almighty, I'm actually going to bloody do this!... i think. I'm feeling pretty darn shite. Can I do this? I'm so close! But I still don't know. Then, as I run past the Houses of Parliament, I hear "Daryl!" It's Eoghan, so I run over to him and he offers me a pint he'd been saving for me. I told him "never again" and avoided the pint, which looked about as appetising as a mouldy sandwich.
Mile 26 - I'm running past Buckingham Palace, I see the 200 yard to go sign. Even then I still wondered if I'd finish! My body was in bits.
Finish line - I didn't feel much. I was too exhausted and mentally drained to feel happy or relieved. It felt a bit out of body.
I went and collected my finishers medal and my finishers goody bag. I knew I had to lay down and put my legs up for 10 minutes to prevent inflammation. My sister called me (as she was at home 40 weeks pregnant) and congratulated me. This was the first time that it dawned on me what I'd done. Before the Marathon i was 100% expecting to break down in tears at the end, but it never happened. Maybe I was too dehydrated!
After the race I went down to Trafalgar and saw my friends and family at a pub. The beer went down much better, a nice pint of Guinness. I just couldn't drink more than 3 beers, as I felt strange. The body was in meltdown. It took me a loooong time to limp to Westminster and get the tube home. The steps were killers. I had to take steps one at a time.
Time to give myself some kudos. It later transpired that I'd smashed the second half of the Marathon when my stats came out:
The next day I was totally bed bound. It was very fortunate that I'd taken the day off work, as I couldn't walk down the stairs in my flat! I eventually made it to the corner shop near me after 20 minutes (which would normally take 2 minutes to walk there). I bought some recovery food. Mango juice, a pizza, jaffa cakes and a Ben & Jerrys,
Overall, I ran the marathon in 4 hours and 37 minutes, which I'm sure could have been a little quicker without the training problems I had. But mainly, and most importantly, I raised £2,306.50 for Scope, At Mile 25 and at the end I said I'd never do another Marathon. 2 days later, I said... never say never.
It's been 3 month since the Marathon and I needed a new challenge. So I've now entered a 1 mile open water swim of the Serpentine for Children with Cancer UK. Three swims a week of 1500-3000m for the next 8 weeks. Let the training begin!