Brighton Marathon II: Fig rolls in Mordor

[roseabi]

Re-posting from the weekly chat for benwill so I don't get detention

This Sunday I got a high-five from Paul Sinton-Hewitt (Mr Parkrun), the race starter for the Brighton Marathon. I shall be expecting the same from the Queen next weekend!

Having not run for almost three weeks (because of the sore soleus muscle in my left leg), I was nervous to find out what running would be like, but Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" got me running happily to join my corral, and then The Chemical Brothers' "Hey Boy! Hey Girl!" made me feel like something of a badass as we started to file out to the starting arch.

I enjoyed the music a lot this year, heard the Queen song three times in total (including one from a choir), and another highlight was the steel band on New Church Road playing "Funky Town" I also enjoyed some funk on a turntable at Elm Grove, Bruce Springsteen being Born to Run in Ovingdean, and the VERY loud drum bands outside Tesco and on Basin Road. It was fun having my name on my top, with everyone shouting Go Abi! And I saw my neighbour filming me, and my husband was a couple of km from the finish (he doesn't like the crowds).

But gentle reader, I went out far too fast! At one point I was running with the 4 hour pacers, which was ridiculous. I think I may have forgotten the feel of my paces during my break - maybe it's time to fork out for a running watch! And although I was taking in the sights and sounds around me, I was also kind of in a trance, and the race seemed to fly by...

...until about mile 18 or so, when I really started to flag, and my leg got quite ouchy. By the "Power Station" section of the course my pace had dropped considerably. I have recently renamed this section "Mordor", but only because the chimney of the power station reminds me of the Eye of Sauron - I actually usually enjoy running over there! But this time I was struggling and it didn't seem so much fun. Anyway, I made it through the rest of the run (with a few short walk breaks), and even managed a sprint to the finish - got a nice airborne photo too!

Chip time: 4:24:31. I got thoroughly sick of fig rolls and jelly babies - I'm thinking again about cheese for the London Marathon, à la C3PO The weather was much cooler than last year, and it even rained while I was getting my bag back. They were giving out free pints of non-alcoholic wheat beer (it's isotonic, man), which most people (including me) were only having a couple of sips of. The goody bag was meh, but the organisation generally was excellent.