my first marathon - with reflections

Hi guys !
Woo hoo ! I ran my first marathon ! 42 kilometres in ... pleasure and pain !
I ran in the Adelaide Marathon - what a great name for a marathon !
I love Adelaide like you wouldn't believe. Having lived here since I was nine, I have a lot of history here.
Adelaide has one of the highest standards of living in the world, principally because of it's climate, which allows for the growth of massive amounts of food, and probably also because it's a stable and well settled society, very safe, no wars, and has huge mineral wealth.
Given this blog is about adventures, running a marathon certainly qualifies. I managed to meet all two requirements - distance within time. I achieved my whimsical dreamy goal, with help.
So, alarm set for 5.00 , 5.15 and 5.30 a.m, I didn't get to sleep until 2.00. fortunately this was my fourth race and I wasn't as excited as in the past. I knew what to expect and had been catching up on sleep in the week before.
ditto running gear was well set out, I was totally primed with hydration, carbs, and dietary suppliments.
I parked my motor bike at adelaide uni free bike park and jogged to the marshalling spot at adelaide oval. 15 mins of hello's, turn on the garmin gps monitor, leave clothes in backpack in truck, take a quick photo, and get into the mob of participants. 200 and some individuals jammed into a tight space, we moved off at 6.45. I remembered to set the garmin.
we progressed like a snake winding around traffic cones, following directions from marshalls, to war memorial drive, which runs alongside the river torrens lake, where I go kayaking. we ran past the north adelaide golf courses (3 of them), where I play golf. I chatted to a few people for a while, totally enjoying the day. the weather was almost perfect - maybe a tad sunny. mainly the sun was behind us, so not a burning proposition. I had forgotten to put on sunscreen.
we ran past my swimming club's pool.
at around the 5 k mark I can feel some chafing on my crotch. thinking that I'll stop at the next loo, I decide to make adjustments then. at 8 ks I'm feeling the need to pee ! so we continue on, the legs feel good, the only niggle is the need to pee ! my abdomen is getting bigger and it seems to slow me down.
10 k mark and one hour has passed, I'm going well, if not a bit fast.
We are running down a road and I'm sure I can see the sea a few kilometres in front of us. I say so to the woman that I've been running with, Erika, and she assures me I'm wrong ! the sea turns out to be a murel on a building !
On we go and I run past my swimming buddy Steve, and his wife. I tell him I'm looking for a loo and he suggests I go into some bushes.
Finally at the 15 k mark, we get to a loo ! phew !!! I 'went' for 2 minutes. what a relief! pissing is definitely the 2nd best feeling in my world ! the best on this occassion!
On we go, stopping at a drink station. I have a camel back-pack so don't need to drink, but up-end a cup of water on top of my head and let it trickle down over me. we are near the west lakes lake, another fine spot for everything ! inc. fishing, swimming and kayaking, nearly always a bit windy for parts of the day.
So we are running past these nice houses with private little jetties when my left hams start playing up and begin to affect my running rhythm, I'm having trouble pushing off my left leg. this is new to me. by the 20 k mark my left foot has had enough and becomes sore ! of course I'm a bit worried but press on, thinking the hams and foot might recover. the alternative is to slow down, but hey! I'm experimenting with running through pain.
At the half way mark there is still no sign of recovery so, somewhat perturbed, I decide to walk for a minute or two.
21 ks has taken me 2 hours 15 mins. I'm happy with that. Let's face it, I am a marathon newby, not well prepared, and being careful. I'm calculating how much time I have left to finish the race. so at 8 minutes a kilometre, how much time do I have? this is the question...
Off again, and I come to another loo (phew!). any excuse to stop (recovery) will do.  I've already spent 1400 calories and it's time to start force-feeding. I pull out an energy gel and a protein bar from the camel back. I've also taken some creotine and have fat burning and Q10 pills to help me out.

My legs feel a bit better as I shuffle off again. I'm thinking that it is by no means assured that I am going to finish the race, and I will have to 'dig deep' to do so. My feet are sore, but what choice do I have ? I shuffle on, taking the energy gel and a piece of protein bar. I shuffle past a house that I painted the facia boards on 30 years ago. I took a photo of it. the facia boards are 3 floors above the ground and I had to climb up one skinny ladder to paint them - very frightening and dangerous. when I was at the bottom of the ladder the wind started to blow it over. luckily I was able to grab it and stop it from falling. the tradies inside the house thought I was on it and falling !
We move on to the esplanade which runs alongside the beach at Grange. I have a great view to enjoy. people are swimming, the local dragon boats are out. I'm wishing I was in one of those boats !
There is a woman who has just overtaken me and I speed up a bit to keep pace with her. on we go for another few ks. I meet swimming buddy Steve and his wife again, he says he'll go get a beer for me, I take a picture of him and tell him to get the car!
The woman in front of me starts to walk. this is good enough for me so I walk too. she starts, I start. we are moving at a slow jog pace, towards my surf-lifesaving club and the fabulous Henley Beach jetty. there's a group of spectators waving placards cheering us on, cool ! the marshals and other volunteers along the whole track are so encouraging, it really helps a lot!
We continue on. the road camber is making my feet hurt more so I move on to flatter surfaces. concrete is harder to run on than ashfelt (bitumin) so I avoid concrete. grass is too soft and uneven so I stick to the ashfelt. occassionally we run on spongy racetrack material which feels a bit soft.
We meet the river torrens at the 28 k mark. I'm moving okay, jogged 7 k's and walked for less than 5 minutes of that time. my legs are fine, no pain, just tired. the compression tights I'm wearing are supporting my legs really well.  most of me is feeling good, it's just my feet that are sore, the left one more so. I'm walking only to relieve my feet. it takes less than a minute for the feet to recover enough to start jogging again.
By this time I've figured that I will have enough time and endurance to finish the race. I walk under a road bridge, enjoying the first real shade in 28 k's (notwithstanding 2 loo stops). I have been mildly sun and windburnt. more gels, I take one and a half of them, washed down with a few mouthfuls of drink, and another piece of protein bar, wondering how much this might improve my performance.
The river has a bitumin bike track running alongside it, good shadey trees, and I begin to pick up pace. after a while I can feel my calves swelling so slow down. my foot becomes sore so I walk for a while. jogging along, I come accross another loo. I don't actually need to 'go' but go in anyway. more water over the head, pull out more gels, and have a drink.
I move on and settle into a jog pace - faster than a slow jog. I actually catch up to a few others who are jogging or walking. the course is undulating and it makes sense to walk up the rises.
At about the 32 k mark, I run out of endurance drink. 600 millilitres is not quite enough, must bring 1 litre next time! There is a group of 5 of us slowly wending our way along the river. we come to a view of the city about 10 k's away. I can see a building near our destination. I am struck by how far away it looks, but then understand that it's only 2 of my local 5 k loop, which I normally run in an hour.
Jogging along, I lift my head to see a course photographer some 15 metres ahead. I'm glad I'm not walking and have the chance to smile at him and exchange a few words. interesting that in spite of how my body feels, I am very happy to be saying hello to people. I can quite happily bear pain !
Jogging along, a sign collector rides his bike up behind me. we chat as I jog. he tells me that his job is to pick up the sign posts indicating direction and distance. I ask him how much time is left and we work out I should be able to finish on time. I'm not last and there are still some people behind me. I increase my speed up to a fast jog. this guy was helping me to jog faster.
at 6 k's to go we came accross another drink station. more water on the head, one cup of gatorade down the throat, I avoided the temptation to drink more.
A young couple caught up to me, the guy was having difficulties and his girlfriend was encouraging him. she had told him to catch up to me then have a rest (by walking). we spoke about how much time was left and that we would probably make it. she started encouraging me too and we took off at a fast jog.
At 4 k's to go we ran alongside a graveyard, near where I used to play as an eleven year old, so I took a photo. At eleven I was in the cubs and would wrap my scarf around my head in the ninja fashion. we had steel offcuts from a factory that we used as throwing knives, and became quite good at throwing them into trees. we played in the river for hours, eating the fennel which grew there, and ripping our shorts from sliding down concrete, grass and mud banks. what fun!
At 2 k's I took a photo of a weir where we used to go fishing and swimming. I had to save my cousin Tommy, who was out of his depth. of course he tried to climb up me, and I went under, and a bigger kid had to rescue the both of us !
so then we are running along torrens lake at elder park, accross the river from adelaide oval, past my old school rowing shed, and the festival theatre. whilst I've been here hundreds of times, never before as a marathon runner. we walked up the last rise to King William Road and turned to see people cheering us on.
We ran the last 600 metres accross the bridge and into the oval, finally to the finish line with 10 minutes to spare! total time 5 hours 35 minutes !
Slow, but I did it !
cheers dears !

PS. I should continue the story - some speed writing coming up.

Having finished the marathon, picked up the finisher's medal and recovery pack (apples, orange juice, oatbars), had several drinks of water, I moved off, picked up my backpack and sat down, started changing, undoing shoelaces, drinking and such like.
My legs went into free-fall and just totally relaxed. lucky my tights stopped them from swelling right up - those compression tights are brilliant for recovery.
5 minutes later I was ready to move on, however legs were not ! No way do I want to walk to my bike - I catch a taxi home.
Into a salted spa, I discover more pain. chafing has taken skin off my crutch, behind and thighs. a smallish pain which dissipates in a few minutes.
compression gear back on and into bed, legs continue to relax. the left hams are close to cramping, my ankle is sore accross the top and stuck in a tip toe position, whatever that's called.
I'm saying 'ow' about 10 times a minute!
I have 3 facebook messages from friends wishing me well, and reply to them. this marathon running would not occur without the well wishes of others, and I am very grateful for them.
I boost up on elasticity pills, paracetemol, and go to sleep.
2 hours later, the ow's still predominating, I make it to the car. no way can I walk anywhere so I drive to a hungry jack's drive-through.
home again, legs going nowhere fast, an early night.
in the morning, the now cold spa relieves feet and legs. legs are okay, no pain just fatigued. I spent the day typing the first bit of this posting. ankle still sore.
next morning I cancel my swimming appointment and continue working on this, go into town, speaking to a few friends about the marathon. band at night.
this morning I notice that I've lost muscle from my legs ! grr ! oh well ! the marathon was beyond my fitness level but that's life. the legs have recovered pretty well really and I might do a light run in a few days.
I have a 30 minute swim tomorrow where I'll lightly shake them out.
the next running event is the 10 - 11 km City to Bay Fun Run, in about 3 weeks.
In summary, running a marathon was a large goal for me. I achieved that goal by basically following a program of 3 runs a week for about 8 months.
I learned a lot about distance running, especially that preparation and recovery are much more important than I first realised.
I ran in 4 events, a 26 km, a 32 km, a 31 km, and a 42 km. The 26 was good, in the 32 I injured my foot from ill-fitting shoes, the 31 was good, in the 42 I hadn't recovered from the 31 and was under-prepared.
I'm going to continue marathon running, but will choose those that coincide with better preparations.
the Adelaide Marathon was a great marathon to begin with and I'm really happy to have done it.
cheers dears !