Dublin City Marathon 08.

Good morning, and a hearty ye-ouch to you all. I won't lie to you, there really isn't anywhere that does not hurt on my body this morning. Nothing major, just achy muscles. Getting out of bed was interesting, getting out of this chair should be interesting. Going up and down steps should be VERY interesting.
And yet- despite the pain- I'm feeling pretty darned good. Yesterday was terrific and despite the fact that I am lacking any new gears, I managed somehow to knock 18 minutes of last year's time. Brilliant day too, the weather- which I was worried was about- was gorgeous. Bright and sunny, with very little wind. It was perfect Autumnal day and ideal running conditions. The organisers did themselves proud. Once again the crowds that lined the way were truly generous. I slapped the hand off many a child.
It was a different run to last year too, the hills surprisingly I found no trouble at all, which I believe is down to a combination of kickboxing and squatting. There is no doubt my legs are much stronger than last year. I met Country Gay and his dog near the half way mark and that was during the long haul from Rialto to Kimmage. It's not steep that part, but it is a incline that lasts for about two miles. Bit tiring, so it was great to meet him.
I didn't hit any wall, but the last two miles were tough going. I was being chaffed by my sports bra and my legs were tired. However I poodled on and crossed the line with a big 'huzzah!'
Then I collected my blue medal, had a quick look for Aisling, but the baggage area looked busy and unless she was wearing a grey hat, I couldn't see her.
Some minutes later I met the paramour who whisked me off for a much needed pint. Nom nom.
There was was one dark spot yesterday, and that was the amount of runners out who clearly were not prepared for that distance. And they were mostly young men, in their twenties. At the 16 mile mark you could see a lot of young guys in distress, hobbling and looking seriously under pressure or completely cramped up. 16 miles is a horrible place to be that banjaxed, faced with 10 grueling miles there's not really anything to do but dig deep and go forwards. But I know a lot of those guy -if they managed to keep going- must be in ribbons today.
26.2 miles is no joke. It's doable of course, but you've got to give it the respect it deserves. The paramour and I were talking about what I saw and we reckon those young lads are probably fit young lads who play some kind of sport on a regular basis, and thought that with minimal training they could do the marathon. But playing football or rugby or whatever while excellent for fitness is no substitute for time spent running. You just can't expect to get away with it and it must be really horrible to put your body through that kind of trauma. I mean some of these chaps were absolutely fucked.
Anyhoo. I've got breakfast to attend to. Thank to everyone again for all the terrific support, it mach a difference you know, it really really does.