26.2 miles...done.

Hi all. I did it! my first marathon, the Belfast City Marathon 2009...26.2 miles, under the belt. just for the record, everything under the belt, legs, hips, feet, knees are stiff and sore but not too bad. The elation however of acheiving the goal I had worked so hard for makes it all worth while. My finish time was 4hrs 15mins, which I was a bit dissapointed in. this was due to a leg cramp that started at mile 13 and got tighter and tighter forcing me to stay at a reduced pace. this was my first ever leg cramp, and on race day!! But i reckon I know what caused it...when driving up to the city the traffic was pretty slow and made getting to the start line quite tight. It was a cold morning, overcast with some rain, so when I stopped the car and took off the track suit trousers (as I was running in the usual lycra shorts), I was pretty cold, shivering as my wife pinned on my race numbers. I dashed off to the start and it was packed out with bodies all going in different directions, I found my way to the section of entrants that were sub 4 hours and had to climb over a barrier just as the gun went off. Throwing my left leg quickly and high to stumble into the street with cold muscles then straight into running cost me my sub 4 hour target, which I know I would have definitly done otherwise. Ah well, I'm happy to have finished my first marathon. What's next? I'm having a think, will let you know. I have to say it was a surreal experience, which I will detail out in my next post very soon. I also have a pending podcast, which because it is a first timer is under review by itunes, but i will talk some about race day in the second episode which I may do on my recovery run. PS... A big thanks to Stuart at quadrathon for his help and support in geting my first podcast through the technical aspect and into itunes.