Notes
That really fucking sucked. Half-assed marathon training leads to a half-assed marathon performance.
Was ticking off 45 minute 10km splits up to 30km (i.e. 7:15/mi or 3:10 pace), before it all went horribly wrong. The hip injury had been warning me since about 10 miles, and got fairly painful from 16 onwards. Towards the end when I tried to jog sections I could feel my left hamstring spasming like it was going to cramp, but it never did. But I guess the final analysis has to be that I tried to outrun my fitness again, though I do wonder if I’ve had a virus or something — my heart rate has been suspiciously high during the last couple of weeks.
The day was sunnier than forecast, even though the air was quite cool (and if anything I was too cold while walking).
Should probably not try another marathon (unless it’s a jog-athon) unless I’ve averaged 70+ mpw for six months or something…
Porridge and banana, toast and coffee for breakfast, about 2:30 before the start. Gel 10 minutes before the start, gels at 10km and 20km, stomach didn’t feel great at 30km so I skipped the last planned one. Took a couple of mouthfuls of water with each gel (Rob’s banana high-5, which seemed good, not too solid). Grabbed some coke and jelly babies from the later refreshment tables. Stopped to try to puke just after mile 22 (after heaving while running), but couldn’t.