April 2012

[marathondan]

Thanks very much folks. It all feels very surreal right now. Firstly, I've always been going into this wondering if I've set myself an impossible target. Now, I don't even know if I'll even make it through the first mile. I haven't run more than a mile in the last fortnight, and I know running always feels uncomfortable after a layoff, so will I be able to hit my stride? And now, every time I step outside, it seems to be raining hard, and I wonder what it might be like to be out in that in a flimsy vest for the last hour of a marathon. I'm going to pack a long sleeved top as well, although it goes against my race day instincts. The weather can't be as bad as Point to Pinnacle, but I think it could get pretty nasty if we get a cold, heavy downpour, or even a hail shower, towards the end.

But of course, there's the race day factor. It's a while since I've experienced 35,000 runners and a million spectators.

So I wouldn't say paranoia is the word - I've done a few of these now, and I know that even a DNF isn't a disaster in the big scheme of things. Just a huge sense of anticipation, knowing that there's a big spectrum of possible results from failure to finish to a new PB.

I made the pilgrimage over to Docklands today to pick up my number at the Expo. I took Emma with me, which was particularly special as I'd made the same journey three years ago with Naomi when she was a similar age. It's a two hour train journey each way, but she spent most of the outbound journey with her nose pressed against the carriage glass, and we buried ourselves in Dr Seuss for most of the way back. The Expo itself was the usual fairly pointless affair, but we saw lots of balloons and TV screens and tried free energy bars, and picked up just a tiny fraction of what the atmosphere will be like on Sunday.

It will rain, but it will still be an amazing festival of humanity.

Hope to see you on the course, Sweder.

If anyone's interested, there's a tracker / results service here - my number is 18940.

Tally ho!