The day after the day after

Well that was pretty much the toughest thing I've ever done.

Race day finally came round and I did the marathon on Sunday. It did not go according to plan. This is a taste of the events of the weekend: I drove up on Saturday and the weather was hot. However, I was assure by the BBC that it would be cloudy and rainy in Edinburgh on Sunday. I bought some carb gel things as recommended and charged up the ipod. I felt as ready as I was going to be. The hotel I stayed at was so shit it was actually funny. The old woman was so miserable I felt sorry for her. The rabid dog did not get my sympathy. I definitely saw it looking at my jugular. It was basically Fawlty Towers with tartan. Looking on the plus side, I did get a pretty good exfoliation from the towels.

When the run started at 10 am it was still a little over cast and looked like it might rain. Within an hour of the race it was clear blues skies and blistering heat. For about 3 hours I was going according to plan and was on target for a 4 hour ish time, then at about 18 miles I just lost all my energy and thought I was going to pass out. I think that over 3 hours in the sun in the hottest part of the day, whilst running my first marathon was a little too much. And it wasn't just me. Bodies were strewn by the side of the road and the sound of ambulances echoed around.

To add to all this, the vaseline I'd generously applied seemed to have disappeared in the heat and I was left with a serious case of chafing.

So, the last 8 mile took me an hour and a half. 4 hr 42 mins when at one point I thought I wasn't going to finish. I've got a very sun-burnt heat and face and was pretty sick on Sunday night. Next time I'm running in winter...at night.