Before Dan and I set off to London for the big weekend we went kayaking on the Friday. As I said previously I was really excited about this. There isn't a lot to say about this paddle except for that it didn't go according to plan. As I mentioned before Dan and I have both kayaked before, both being competent. Dan was being his normal competitive self and boasting he would be better purely because his upper body strength is better than mine. However, once in the kayaks Dan felt unstable and struggled to gain control. I however just thought he was 'getting on his feet' and sped off, stopping to wait for him. This must've been frustrating for him as well as damaging to his ego. Needless to say Dan didn't enjoy it, we got out shortly after and after some expletives at eachother we didn't talk for a while. It was only 2 hours later when we had cooled off a bit that I bravely said "your not as good as me then". His explanation as to why he struggled was that he is too heavy due to his muscle mass (I thought his upper body muscles were a good thing to begin with?).
Dan is like the majority of people whereby if you're not good at something you don't want to do it. Therefore I questioned whether he still wanted to do the race. I would have been pretty upset if he said no as I have taken on many things I am weak at in order to do triathlons. For example I have never been a strong runner and still need to gain confidence on the bike. Perservering with the things that we aren't good at is hard and takes a lot of will power but makes the achievement much more rewarding. The DW canoe race will be going ahead, Dan just needs to get his own practice in first before we go in together. I'm just naturally better in water just as he is naturally better on a bike.
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| I had to get a picture next the The Savoy's Rolls Royce |
I woke up on Saturday super excited. I had packed everything the night before, going over and over everything I needed to make sure I didn't forget anything vital. The one thing I couldn't find anywhere was the charger for my Garmin watch. I ended up admitting defeat and took Dan's stopwatch watch instead, better than nothing. We left the car at Dan's parents and walked to the tube station. Before going to the London Marathon expo to pick up my number, time chip and my goody bag we went via The Savoy to drop our bags off. Our greeting at the hotel was amazing, I said my last name at the front door to the porter and immediately everyone in the lobby knew we were coming in as they all had ear pieces. I didn't have to go to a reception or fumble about with the booking confirmation. I'm sure they would've wiped my arse if I asked. This is why people pay to stay in places like this, to feel important and be treated like royalty. After some small talk we were shown to our room. The room was so nicely decorated and very luxurious. The room had a door bell as well! I always wondered if these luxury hotels get boring and aren't exciting for the people who do this all the time. I would like to think if by some miracle I ever get that wealthy I would take the time to marvel at the decor and appreciate the whole experience. One of the first things I do when in a hotel room is look at the mini bar. It is a good job I never buy anything from the mini bars because a plastic litre bottle of Volvic water was £6. On the way to the Excel for the expo we went to Sainsburys and grabbed 2 for £1!
The tubes were full of people clutching London Marathon magazines and once at the expo the excited and anxious atmosphere was contagious. After collecting my number and time chip it is compulsory to walk around the many stalls that try and offer you a last minute piece of kit that will help you go faster. Adidas had a vast amount of 2013 Marathon kit, some of which was really nice, but the area was huge. Dan's sarcastic reaction was, "you would never know that Adidas are the sponsers would you?". It was amazing how much people buy at these places, it is a sport advertisers dream. I went into the hustle and bustle of the stalls for three things. The first were some free bracelets which outlined the time splits to get 4h. I picked up 3h55, 4h and 4h10. The second thing was a head band. I have found that I rely on these when exercising as it mops any sweat up so it doesn't drip down my face and feel uncomfortable. I needed to get a bright pink one as I had told everyone at work I was wearing all neon pink. I found an awesome stall with piles of bright head bands and picked one that had written on it "Suck it up buttercup". It reminded me of an episode of 'The Big Bang Theory' one of my favourite programmes. This came in at £4. The last thing I needed was a fuel race belt which I could keep my sports gels in. I could not believe the price of some of them, they are just a piece of elastic with holes in and they were trying to charge £20! I found one with advertising over it for £5 so grabbed that (it didn't last long - hence the price). After collecting my goody bag which included the wholemeal basmati rice I normally buy (I was very excited about this) we were off to meet my friend Becca for a drink. Becca was spectating the day after with Dan, despite never meeting Dan before, so it was a chance to meet and talk about the planned spectating points. After walking what seemed like the whole of the Thames, Dan and Becca began to plan their beer crawl around London.  |
| I deserve this brownie! |
On the way back the hotel we stopped off to buy one of the brownies in Spitalfields market. By the time we were back in the room we were shatttered. We both dosed off for a little bit and then got a bath ready for a lovely meal at Gordon Ramsays' steak restaurant the Savoy Grill which is inside the hotel. I know it is normally the law to have pasta before an event but I had pasta for lunch and managed to convince myself that protein is vital too before an event. As well as that, I also broke another rule, no drinking before an event. However this was nigh on impossible when the member of staff who greeted us told me that Eric the barman had just recieved an award for worlds best cocktail maker. It would be a sin not to have one! Being me I'm sure I managed to pick the most alcoholic one. It tasted of pure alcohol almost burning my throat as I drank it! I couldn't resist getting this one though as it had my name on it, literally! (See the picture). For dinner I had an amazing sirlion steak and chips with a small glass of red wine. The theory behind this glass was that it is a sin to not have red wine with steak and it would help me sleep. I woozily fell asleep straight away when we got back to the room and laid everything out ready for the next day, this most importantly included the black ribbon we were given to show our support for the Boston Marathon victims.
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| How could I not get this cocktail with this name? |
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| Me enjoying my cocktail by Eric the worlds best barman |
On the morning of the marathon I was so tempted to go against my morning nutrition ritual of porridge for a Savoy full English. Whereas I was persuaded elsewhere to break the rules this one could impact my performance the most. Porridge is my tried and tested method before racing now, it doesn't make me feel sick and I know that the slow burning energy aids me. I probably had the poshest porridge ever full of berries, bananas and raisons.
I was, as always, fashionably late which completed my pre-event ritual of porridge, nervous shit and being in a rush. I wished the people around me good luck and before I knew it I was running across the start line of the Virgin London Marathon 2013. I was in high spirits but it soon became very congested which was frustrating but it had to be expected at such a big event. At mile 2 I threw my fuel race belt away as it kept riding up and I lost 2 gels. I was going strong for the first 6 miles, hitting the 3hr55 time splits and not struggling too badly. The idea was to consistently hit 9 minute miles the whole way round which would get me across the line in 3h59. I was hitting 8 minute miles for these 6 miles. I felt like a proper runner. I missed seeing Dan at mile 6 and when he called me to ask where I was I was heading towards mile 8, even he was shocked! My 5k time was 23minutes, a PB. However, I did begin to slow down. By mile 9 I was loosing the minute lead I had over the 4h splits.
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| At the start line in Greenwich Park |
My half marathon time was 2h10, exactly the same as when I completed it in Bath as its own event. I was already beating myself up but knew I could get a 4h20 finish time. When I saw Dan at mile 15 my legs and my back were hurting. (I later found out my back was a trapped nerve and I am still struggling with it now). I was constantly trying to push more but it was as if my legs were disobeying my mind. I saw Dan again at mile 18 and was really struggling. I spoke to him briefly telling him that everything hurt and then gave him a quick kiss. He said to me afterwards it looked as though I was about to burst into tears and I think I would've done if I had stayed any longer. I had asked that Dan spectate at mile 15 and 18 as I remember from my mums advice and the last time I did the London Marathon that this is the worst stretch as there is little support. I don't know whether the Boston Marathon disaster meant more people came to support or whether the event has grown in popularity since the olympics but there was not one section without supporters. This was in sharp contrast to the lonely feeling last time. The support and atmosphere throughout the race made the event such a great one to be involved in. I was even being cheered on by spectators who were calling me 'pinky' and 'buttercup', which always brought a smile to my face. I decided against wearing my name on my tshirt like many people do as after last time I was fed up of hearing my name shouted out after 5 hours of torture. I also love looking at all the signs and banners of encouragement there was one in particular that I liked; "Pain is temporary, pride is forever". This is a statement I shall carry with me especially during my Ironman. Another one I remember seeing a lot is "Do it for Boston".
By mile 18 my 5k time was 32minutes, something I have really beaten myself up about post race. What was so frustrating for me is that I wasn't physically tired, I wasn't even out of breath I just could not move my legs faster than the plod I had adopted. Becca who had been out the night before and then ran out of battery on her phone managed to see me at mile 25. I wanted to stop and hug them both but Dan and Becca both screamed "Don't stop!". Apparenty the spectators around them looked horrified as they were so mean but I'm glad they said it.
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| During my sprint in the last 200m |
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| The man congratulating for finishing sprinting and beating him |
(There is actually a picture that shows me just as I cross the line with a guy who congratulated me on my sprint finish - see above). I crossed the line in 4h53 official time. My actual time was 4h45 as it took me 15 minutes to actually cross the line due to congestion. (I haven't got the exact time as I forgot to stop my watch when I finished). I grabbed my goody bag, which had nothing that good in it, who wants to eat an 'Eat Natural' bar after a marathon?! I got a Mars bar last time. The tshirt isn't even that nice, nothing like the 'LonDONE' slogan one I got last time. I finally found Dan and Becca in the crowd where I was greeted with some beautiful flowers, thank you Becca! (She believes that no matter how many events or marathons you do you always need flowers - she can come again!). I then hobbled to the Ritz with Becca while Dan got the bags from The Savoy. I had a quick shower, got ready and we went to meet my friend Sarah who had also completed the marathon at Cafe Rouge for some dinner. Thank you very much to the Dixon's for such a treat! Contrary to the mass beer celebrations others may take part in I only managed one refreshing beer before I was back on the water. Dan's mum asked if I was ill when I told her that. Dan and I were asleep by 9pm.
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| All over and I can still smile! |
The last thing we had to do in London was tea at The Ritz. We were nearly not allowed in as they thought Dan was wearing jeans and have to say they were very rude to us about it. Overall the tea was pleasant
enough, we did seem to be the only people laughing and having a good time. Although this was probably at my expense as I put milk in a tea that was obviously meant to be drunk without it. This was obvious as the 'tea' became transparent, I unpleasantly had to drink this very quick so no-one would notice. I can now tick tea at the Ritz it off my list now. Our overall stay at the Ritz wasn't the high class trip we thought it would be though. We didn't get a key to our room throughout the stay despite being assured everytime we asked that one was being made. The rooms were also not as fancy as we thought they would be. I expected the Ritz to be a place were they could go wild with the clashing florals and four poster beds, but it was nothing like that. I don't mean to sound like a snob but I was comparing it to The Savoy and that seemed to be in a different league. Their staff were more welcoming and friendly and their decor was well done. If you're thinking of treating yourself do so at The Savoy, its much better than the Ritz. There was just nothing special about the Ritz and I think I like anyone would be was expecting that. As I walked out of the Ritz towards the tube station my dress blew up, showing my arse to London. What a way to end the weekend. Dan said that my mum and friend Sandra would call me Bridget Jones as these things always seem to happen to me!
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| Ignore the horribly close red face - look at what I did to my 'tea' |
Despite being disappointed with my time I am pleased with what I achieved and know that next time I will get a sub 4 hour marathon and finally beat my Mum's marathon time! I need to be increasing my running distance on a regualr basis so my legs are used to the mileage I am putting them through. Following this I shall be doing a half marahon at least every 2 weeks and come next year for Ironman training I shall increase that even more. There are always postitives to take away from an event even if we don't achieve everything we want.
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