The Biggie - Done

Just a quick note to thank everyone who sponsored me for the Liverpool Marathon from a few weeks ago. Ms. Plants was able to drag my battered body from the finish line back to the bed, where I rested for the day. I clocked a time of 5:13, which although it was right around the time I expected, I was hopeful to get below 5 hours after I made the 10k in less than one, and the half marathon in about 2:15. The first part was nothing special, but heading out onto the banks of the Mersey at the Wirral side was beautiful, though not as impressive as heading through the tunnel (with the halfway point in the middle) and coming out the other side to the buffeting sound waves of the fantastic Batala Liverpool drummers. My mistake was that the last third of the course - from about 18 miles - passed the finish line and then headed south, going round parks and some of the more affluent streets. Although I had the first half of the route mapped inside my head, I hadn't looked much at the last section, and because it traced a violin shape those last few miles, it became depressing to end up heading around the next corner and going away from where I was expecting - the big circle that signaled the end of heading out and the start of returning to the finish line took an age to arrive - and by that point several bouts of walking had cooled my legs to the point where as soon as I started back up to a trot they went into cramp. But I got my medal! And next year, I won't make the same mistake.