Very cold and foggy to start with but by the time the race started the sun was out. It was still cold, but the sun was shining and this was my first test amongst thousands of other runners. That was the main aim of today, to see how I could cope with lots of other people around me. Up until now I've only had to avoid the odd dog and walker and the occasional child on a scooter. This was different and as I have to focus on the floor about 10ft in front of me I was finding the flash of trainers quite mesmerising.
There was a secondary goal. I was aiming for a time of 1:55:00 but my happy window was 1:55:00 to 1:59:59 i.e. anything under 2 hours. Although I didn't pay much attention to the Garmin on my foot, I ran at what I considered a comfortable pace for the time I was aiming for. It was only as I reached mile 12 I noticed I wasn't going to make 1:55:00 but I finished in around 1:57:30 (tbc) with quite a decent sprint finish so I was happy.
I had all sorts of comments from other runners and spectators. Far too many to mention here, but there was lots of "Oh my God!", lots of "Fair play, mate!", a "That's just showing off!" and my personal favourite "Now that's just silly!".
Everyone was really supportive. Firstly I'd like to thank the organisers for letting me do it but the other runners were great too. Lots of encouraging words. I hope I didn't get in anyone's way. I had to take a wide berth round some of the sharper turns as it got a bit congested. I'd particularly like to thank the guy that guided me over the metal walkway they'd put over the gravel we had to cross. He made sure I had a clear path and talked me though it. The balls really didn't bounce too well on it.
It was great to have my family there too. I could hear them cheering from the stands and I could hear my son as he chased me all the way down one of the straights.
I did have to get patched up by St John's at the end. Nothing too serious but at around mile 5 the tip of my right index finger split open and by the end of the race my left one had split too, It's a consequence of dry winter hands. The split on my right finger is really quite deep and is going to take a while to heal. It doesn't make typing this a comfortable experience!
So, overall a very positive experience. Now to focus on the Brighton marathon (without balls) before picking up the basketball training again.
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