The most unpleasant 4 hours of my life

Apologies for the blogging silence over the last 6 weeks. I've been meaning to get on and post, but never quite had the time. However, today I'm enjoying a rare day of leisure without anything really planned. The reason? I'm recovering from yesterday's London Marathon.

To most people's surprise this was actually my first ever stand-alone marathon. You do one Ironman and suddenly people think you're a veteran of endurance events, knocking out marathons for fun. I got to within 1 week of running last year's London Marathon, but withdrew fearing my shin splints would develop into a proper fracture if I ran 26.2 miles on the streets of the capital.

Annoyingly, shin splints aside, I was in much better shape in April 2008. I had maintained Ironman fitness and added a lot of speed, so after a 1:25 Half Marathon I was expecting to get close to 3 hours. This year, with the shin splints always on the verge of returning my training was designed to get me to the start line. So I was limited to 2 runs a week, one long and one steady. Running fully 14 minutes slower on the same Fleet Half Marathon course was a fairly good indication that I was someway off my best. Then I got beaten comfortably beaten by my training buddy Phil at Reading.

But with the aid of some customised Orthotics, a foam roller, 3 ice packs and some ludicrously expensive tape (which to my amazement seems to have made more of a difference than anything else), I got to the start without any real niggles, other than the nagging doubt about being able to run 26.2 miles.

The weather was much nicer than had been forecast, warm enough to strip down to my vest and deposit my bag a full hour before the start. I then completed a comprehensive stretching routine in the sun and found my starting pen.

Due to my predicted time from last year I was in pen 2, about 3 pens further forward than I should have been with an 8 min/mile pace target. I was a bit concerned that I'd get caught up in the rush and set out a bit too fast, but that didn't transpire as the crowds dictated an 8:15 first mile split.

Pace-wise this was fine, but already I was getting a little concerned. My stomach did not feel good. Normally before a run or triathlon I have a Powerbar Harvest bar 45 minutes or so before the start, but hadn't been able to restock at the Marathon Expo as Powerbar hadn't brought any stock along. Reluctantly I decided to try a Go bar instead, which is a similar cereal/energy bar, thus breaking the nothing-new-on-race-day golden rule. From within the first few miles my stomach was close to cramping up. As soon as we hit the first water station I took some on to see if that would solve the problem. Instead it went the other way and I felt a lot worse. Water just seemed to bounce around.

I decided to take nothing on for a few miles and see if the problem would go away. This included avoiding the first Lucozade stop. Despite all this I seemed to be able to carry on going at 8 min/mile pace. In fact, by 5 miles I had regained the time I had lost in the first 2, so was exactly on target for my 3:30 finish.

Around about 12 miles the wheels started to come off. Fairly quickly I realised I was close to hitting the wall, ridiculous before half-way. Crossing Tower Bridge is the highlight for many people, but for me it was an horrific experience. The noise and sun were so intense there that I started feeling quite dizzy. I desperately swallowed the first of my emergency Powergels and gulped a whole water bottle. Thankfully, in the shade of the Highway, the gel kicked in and I started feeling a bit more normal. But the damage was done and as hoardes surged past me I diverted my attention to watch the lead men flying back towards the finish on the other side of the road.

All hopes of a good time were gone as I braced myself for the hardest half-marathon of my life. Although my stomach had settled down and was able to keep both water and lucozade down (just, I nearly threw up the energy drink at 15 miles), my legs and mind were shot. I knuckled down and spent a dark hour jogging round Docklands, forcing myself to keep moving. If there is a good thing about struggling so much it's that the crowd adopt you and I got a lot of encouragement. I remember one Irish guy peering over the top of Westferry underpass particularly; his accent stood out even though he wasn't shouting.

At mile 17, there seemed to be a massive gap to the water station and I started gasping. I needed more energy too, and with 2 miles to the next energy station I readied the final gel. When the aid station eventually arrived, I briefly walked to get the gel and whole bottle of water in quickly.

By the time I got to Canary Wharf my staggering pace (that's staggering around, not staggeringly fast) wasn't quite so unique. Others were struggling and I began to overtake walkers. Those passing me weren't making me feel I was going backwards now either, and my spirits began to lift. Around about mile 20 you turn left and it's basically a straight run to Westminster. I looked at my watch. The last few miles had been plodding 10 minute affairs, and with about 65 minutes to get home within 4 hours I knew I'd make my back-up target if I carried on running. Well, plodding.

Around mile 21 a cacophony of noise erupted around me and I looked up to discover Gordon Ramsay about 10 metres ahead. I thought he'd overtaken me and figured I couldn't let that prat beat me so decided to let him pace me to the finish, then I'd sprint past him, with the chef trailing in my wake in my finishing picture. So, for 20 metres I picked up the pace whereupon Ramsay abruptly stopped. As I went past I whacked him on the back and shouted some encouragement. I regret this: I should have shouted something rude. But still, having him behind me was good for the morale. Looking at him he wasn't going to be able to run faster than me, so as long as I ran all the way I knew I'd beat him.

The next 3/4 miles seemed to pass in a blur. There was so much noise that I just switched off and tried to focus on taking all the drinks on offer and staying out of trouble. A lot people were walking now, though I was still being overtaken by stronger runners. I saw one poor guy stagger like a new-born lamb before falling into two runners. Thankfully they were able to catch him before he hit the deck and some nearby Police Officers quickly took their burden.

I counted off the bridges. Blackfriars, then the long run to Waterloo. Then under the new Hungerford Bridges, then right at Westminster. My right Achilles was twinging badly in the last mile. It felt close the snapping and somewhat occupied my mind for the last mile.

As I passed Buckingham Palace at mile 26 I looked at my watch and had a minute to get in under 3:55, so I upped the pace as much as I could and my torment was over.

It only took 10 minutes to be processed through the system: Chip off; medal on; collect goody bag; find kit bag. Impressive organisation, as was the whole event. Then I wandered over to the Meeting Point and lay in the sun waiting for Julie and Sue to arrive. I must thank them both for their support on the day. They did a really good job of getting round in time to catch me 4 times, and the encouragement of having personal support is very uplifting. This was especially true as I headed into Docklands. In one of the most staggering coincidences, I heard my name being called and looked up to see Julie and Sue waving. Then another pair of voices joined in next to them and it was Tory (a good friend from UCL) and Ed. I assumed they had accidentally met up and decided to stand together, but it turns out they didn't know they were standing next to each other until they were supporting the same runner. Mad.

So, what have I learnt?
1. 2 runs a week is barely enough to run a marathon
2. Get stocked up on your chosen energy products well in advance
3. Get hyrdated and stay hydrated. I've always been a bit lax in this area, but I'm rethinking that from now on. I don't want to repeat that experience
4. 10 minute miles aren't quick, but they get you there in the end
5. The London Marathon is amazingly well run and supported. I'd recommend it to anyone

Finally, how am I feeling today? Well, my muscles don't actually feel too back. Both knees are very sore and ruined a well-earned good night's sleep. My left foot is painful in the same place as ever, which is related to my shin splints, though the shins themselves are fine, which I'm very pleased by. Most confusingly, the most painful thing is my left shoulder that I don't seem to be able to move properly.

So, no real damage done, except to my pride. I do now have a finishers medal and a spanking new PB (23 minutes faster than my IM run split, if you're interested). But 3:54 is no time for a man who could have run 50 minutes faster 12 months ago. So I'm going to have to run it again, just better.