10 weeks to train... oooopppsss can I do it? by craig0104

• Virgin London Marathon 2012

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  May0420129:41 p.m.

  London Virgin Marathon 2012, April 22nd - "I CAN'T WAIT to do it all over again!!" I thought I'd take time to ponder this comment, I made at the end of VLM 2012, over a few days post marathon, after all the excitement of the day had passed, before I decided whether this was an off the cuff comment or not.  However it's NOT & I DO want to do another! 5 marathons completed & I'm not finished yet!!! I've signed up again for next years London Marathon, so fingers crossed I'm successful in the ballot.  I'd like to thank everyone who supported me during this 10 week marathon journey with encouragement, praise, & fundraising.  It was a hard 10 weeks but I shocked even myself with what can be possible with such a short training programme. I was also overwhelmed by the amount of donations that flooded in for Macmillan Cancer Support!  To date the running total is £4276.50 (with Gift Aid) http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/craigduff which is amazing!  This money will make a massive difference to those people daily battling their cancer demons.  So to the days leading up to the Marathon... I had visited the Marathon Expo at the London Excel Centre on Saturday with Pete & our nephew Sean where I picked up my number & time chip.  What a charged & excited feel to the air as runners & their supporters busily perused the different stalls (sports supplies & charities). I had stopped by the Macmillan Cancer Support stand to pick up some supporter t-shirts & other items & to write on the memory wall my reasons for running - 'in memory of you dad'.  I also visited some of the stalls myself & picked up my Lucozade pacer bands 3:35, 3:40 & 3:45 & I bought some running shades & some fuel bars.  That night I packed my kit bag, ironing my name on the front of my running top & attached my time chip to my running shoes, so less to do on the morning & then settled down with a hearty & yummy bowl of homemade spaghetti Bolognaise, thanks Pete, to carb up!! A visit to Pete's brothers with the rest of Pete's family to drop off the supporter items, to discuss cheering points etc before an earlish night! I slept ok & woke early at 05:30.  I had a light breakfast of porridge, showered & then changed into my running kit.  It was a lovely bright morning, the sun was shining but the weather was forecasted for rain later in the day.  I packed some warm clothing just incase.  I caught the train to Maze Hill station where I had to get off for the Red start line.  I could feel the buzz of the runner & supporter crowds as soon as I reached Greenwich Park & I felt a surge of excitement & other emotions.  It was such an ecstatic feeling, after all the ups & downs of the training session I had experienced over the last 10 weeks, today was the day I had spent working up to.  I panicked a little, thinking had I done enough. However I told myself I had done what I could in the time that I had & it was all about taking part, whilst raising the amount for the charity. So after a few calls to my mum, brother & Pete I met up with 2 of my work colleagues/friends Jo & Becki who were running too.  It was great to see them & after some excited chatter, refuelling (lucozade, & fuel bar) stretches, photos, toilet visit, kit bag drop off & then more toilet visit LOL, we hugged & wished one another the best of luck & took up our pen starting positions. My number said I was in pen 4 of 9 pens (for a predicted Marathon time of 3:30-3:45).  Although to be honest this is the time I had given to the Marathon centre when I applied for the ballot place in April 2011so anything around 4 hrs I would have been delighted with!!  After about 10 minutes in a mass of runners, lined up behind the start line & Greenwich park main gates, the horn blew & a massive cheer went up & we were off. 5 minutes walk to the start line, Garmin started & my run had begun.  I felt great, I felt charged, I told myself not to go off to quick, but to try & pace a 8 minute mile & then reassess later! The crowds were fantastic, they cheered us on they shouted my name, they clapped, they high fived, they gave us snacks.  I decided my strategy was to visit every other water station, to take on a runners gel every 4 miles, to listen to the crowds, to enjoy the entertainment, to avoid the strewn water bottles, & to soak in the atmosphere of the Macmillan Cheer points of which there were plenty.  There was lots to see along the route including steel bands, brass bands, DJ points, dancers, & even a full pipe band at mile 10 which made me think of dad & my family in Scotland.  I thought of all the work dad had done for his local pipe band in fundraising & how much he had enjoyed their music & following the band to their events. This was the first of a few tears shed this day. There were wombles, smurfs, carrots, bananas, men in thongs, a woman in a wedding dress, & these were just some of the costumes I saw on route!!  Other sights very humbling, especially reading the messages of runner's personal reasons for taking part on the back of their vests.  Crossing Tower Bridge is always exciting, knowing you are half way there & it's a great spot for film cameras & crowd cheers!  This is also where I was able to cheer on the first of the professional male athletes heading our way, on the opposite side, who were nearly at the end, having already completed the Docklands part that I still had to run.  The weather was great, perhaps a little warm in parts, so I enjoyed 3 shower stations on route. I waved at all the TV cameras & had my photo taken several times. I'll post the link:  http://www.marathonfoto.com/index.cfm?action=site.login&RaceOID;=19802012S1&LastName;=Duff&BibNumber;=51901 The Macmillan cheers points were fantastic, what a lift.  Lots of cheers, clapping, & photo opportunities.   My family watching from home in Scotland said they saw me twice on TV!  To see Pete & family at mile 25 was a great lift, more photos, a quick hello then off to the finish line with Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament & Buckingham Palace all welcoming sights on that last mile! I couldn't believe it when I crossed the line in 3:34:08 beating last years time by 29 secs & hence setting a new PBT!! I checked my Garmin & it said I had paced an average of 7:59min/mile & had run 26.86 miles! So I had run an extra 0.6mile longer than I should have!!! Had I stuck to the exact measured blue line & hence been able to cut a few corners I would have done a sub 3:30 marathon, however I was shocked, amazed & delighted with a new time & medal! :))) After a quick few stretches, a bag pick up even more photos I set off to HorseGuards Parade to the meet & greet point.  I met Pete & the family at XYZ point right opposite the Foreign & Commonwealth office where Macmillan were having their recovery centre.  Thanks to Pete, Caroline, Steve, Anita, Adam & David for your cheers & support was great to see you all! The recovery centre was fabulous, there were cheer leaders in Team Macmillan colours cheering each one of us as we entered! I felt so special!!  A photo with the mascot & then a pampering leg massage courtesy of Macmillan! This was great!! Some refreshments, & plenty of praise from the Macmillan staff. I did however witness many marathon casualties along the route, some people with cramp, some dehydrated, some collapsed, being helped by the St Johns ambulance staff.  Luckily my only injuries were a little left leg cramp at mile 18 which thankfully did not remain, a bruised right toe & some nipple chaffing, (my nipple pads had come off ) however the vaseline handed out by the St Johns ambulance staff did wonders!! I didn't hear about the most horrific casualty of the Marathon, the devastating news of Claire Squires death on Bird Cage Walk, until later that night!  Claire had completed over 25 miles of the Marathon before collapsing in the final 800 metres.  As far as I'm concerned she did complete it.  She had given it her all, & her family I feel deserve an honoury marathon medal in her memory, if they haven't already been given this.  I decided to donate to Claire's fundraising page for 'samaritans', in her memory, as soon as I read the online article Marathon night.  Claire had raised £500 pre Marathon, but the last time I had looked her total well over £1,000,000  May Claire's family take some comfort in what Claire will have achieved for others.  Rest in Peace Claire.  A true Marathon Angel. So for me again it's been a Marathon journey of many different emotions, & now nearly two weeks later as I compose this blog & reminisce the day I want to repeat it all over again! However first I'm going to enjoy this lovely cruise vacation I find myself on.  Plenty of time for rest & relaxation & maybe a couple of visits to the gym to maintain my current fitness level before my next running adventure.                      

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