I've had a marathon on my new years resolutions, goals, bucket list, all sorts for many years. There was one time when I was semi close, in California I was training a little and ended up throwing my back out really bad playing football, which stopped any and all running for a long time. Well, five weeks ago I had been running for around a week and was enjoying it so I looked online for marathons and signed up for the one in Geneva!
I trained relatively well given the short amount of time I had before the race. I made sure to get some runs in during our trips to Malta, Mallorca, and Cinque Terre/Switzerland. I ran hundreds of kilometers and did my longest training run of 32km about two weeks before the race. I loved checking the data after each run on my apps, really fun.
Running has become kind of addicting. I'm really enjoying getting fit, pushing myself to go further and faster every time. I'm really motivated to minimize the effects of aging! My progress with pace and distance surprised me a bit to be honest. When I signed up for the marathon I put myself with the 4h 15m start group. My goal was to finish under 4 hours but I wasn't sure I had enough time to train for that kind of time, so I wanted to play it safe. As my training progressed I knew that the start time was a little slow. I was almost certain that I'd finish under 4 hours, and set myself the stretch goal of 3:40, telling myself if I could get that I'd keep training seriously to try and one day qualify for the Boston marathon or something.
I flew to Geneva alone (as Lain didn't have her NIE when I bought the ticket, she was stuck in the Schengen area) on Saturday morning. The weather was perfect, about 25 Celsius, but I didn't want to wear myself out so I picked up my race bib and headed to a public swimming area on the lake and just chilled for a few hours. My back was hurting a bit, for the two or three days before the race. Getting up and down was a little painful, but I was busy going it was mostly in my head. It did feel better when I went on runs, so I took it easy for the few days before. I did go for a little run in the evening in Geneva, but nothing crazy. I had an early-ish night and woke up really excited for the race.
My back felt a little problematic as I got to the race and went through some stretches, but I put it in the back of my mind and hoped it would go away when the race started. Luckily, that is exactly what happened.
It was a great feeling to be in the starting area with something like 2300 people who were all running the marathon. It was a bit of a party atmosphere, music going and everyone really excited. Agree what seemed like forever, we were off!
Almost immediately there were spectators clapping along the side of the road. I almost laughed and thought "we've done nothing yet" but more and more as the race went on I really enjoyed the people who came out and cheered for strangers.
The first half I was flying. I kept thinking that I didn't want to start too fast, and I was sure I was pacing well. My body felt great and my breathing was perfect, I felt really strong. I passed loads of people though, even the 3:30 pacer and didn't see him again until around 30km or something like that. Nobody passed me until around halfway. I finished the first half in 1:40, my fastest half. I started to realize I was probably going too fast and I would struggle and get passed a lot in the next 21km. I was ready for it though and decided to not get down. Most of my runs start faster than they end and other people know what they are doing much more than me.
The first half is mainly through fields outside of Geneva, really pretty. Every now and then we went through small little towns, and many people were out cheering us through them. Every so often there was a DJ playing loud music, or some people playing live music like a band, someone playing an accordion, and some others. And there were tonnes of people clapping and saying "allez allez allez," some giving encouragement in English when they saw my flag. My favorite thing was the people who read the name on people's bibs, "allez allez allez Alastair." It was really encouraging.
Kilometers 32-38 were really tough for me. I walked a bit, which I wasn't expecting to do. But it was really hot and I started too fast, so I needed to. I tried to keep my walking to a minimum.
I think the best part of the marathon was the support from strangers. It was amazing to see people cheering me on, reading my name and really encouraging me, or saying "bravo, bravo." It was amazing. It made me think about how amazing people can be. I was quite moved to be honest, a few times almost getting pretty emotional (I'm sure being really tired had something to do with it!) but luckily I kept myself together! In fact, as I mentioned, it was really difficult up to around the 38km mark. At that point, people started lining the sides of the road and the cheering, clapping, and encouragement was constant from that point on. After walking a little on and off for the last few kilometers, the adrenaline kicked in, and I couldn't stop running with all the support. The last 4km or so we're not easy on the body, but I found a lot of strength and ran really well.
Crossing the finish line was a great feeling. I was happy to see the clock around 3:42, and knew my time was a little under that as I hadn't started near the front. I was delighted that I was now a marathon finisher!
I spent the next 2 hours or so lying in the grass, pretty much not moving, just texting people and talking to Lain on the phone for a bit! Then I had to walk back to my Airbnb (2km) to pick up my bag and take a quick shower. I got the bus then to burger king and ate/chilled there for a while before heading to the airport. My body feels surprisingly good, no problems walking. I got to the airport really early for my flight, worried that maybe my body would catch up with itself and not be able to move, but got here way too early, especially as my flight is now delayed by over 3 hours!! Unbelievable, I won't land in Barcelona until 1:30am! Ah well, at least it is 3+ hours, as I think I'll get compensated!
All in all, the marathon is easily one of the best experiences I've had in a long time. I'm looking forward to my next one - Barcelona 2019! But for now I'm happy to say I did it!