Here's a fuller account of the Isle of Wight marathon. I stayed overnight in a barge moored at Wooton Bridge and slept well. For breakfast I ate some fried food, not my usual pre-marathon diet, but I thought it would not do any harm, since the start was three hours away. Possibly I overdid the tea, as I found I had to stop twice on the way round to urinate.
The start at Ryde rowing club was fine, though the second circuit of the pond came as a surprise. Then the route went through Ryde, up and down some hills and out on the main road towards East Cowes. This section was fine and I was doing 8 minute miles. It rained on and off, as it would throughout the race. The wetness didn't bother me too much. Although my feet became soaked early on and never dried out, I didn't get blisters. I made the five-mile point, at Wooton Bridge, in good time. Then there was an ascent, a hill and turned towards Newport. I started to find things a little tougher and had some twinges in my knee, which has let me down before in hilly marathons, but fortunately they didn't come to anything. After Newport we headed out into the countryside and the next miles took a long time to pass, though there was a lot of support, including from a coach load of American tourists in one village.
Entering Shanklin and Sandown, we started an urban stretch which was to continue to the finish. I reached mile 20 after three hours running and a marathon in under four hours was therefore still a theoretical possibility. But I found I could not keep up my pace in the last six miles, and the dull suburban landscape of main roads did not inspire. I crossed the finish line in 4 hours 10 minutes and 40 seconds, which given the weather and the hills, I thought quite respectable. I didn't realise until I looked down at my shirt after the finish that I had two large bloody patches on my chest. I shall protect my nipples next time. I shall also eat my usual marathon breakfast of muesli and toast and honey, rather than the excellent fried breakfast I enjoyed.
I have found a number of photos: the most numerous are those on the Ryde Harriers site, but there are also some taken by Auntie P on Flickr and those on Island Lifestyles
What to run next? The Seaford half marathon and the revived Seaford 10k are the most immediate, and while I may not do very well in events two and four weeks after a full marathon, I shall not miss them and shall take it easy for the rest of June and July. Then I shall start training for the Jog Shop Jog and the Beachy Head marathon in October, followed by the Brighton Reebok 10K and the Mince Pie Ten Mile. Next year I should very much like to do the London Marathon again, which I think I could now finish in well under four hours, on the basis of my IOW experience. If I don't get a London place, I shall look around for another flat-ish road marathon.
Technorati Tags: isleofwight, marathon
