I had much anticipation for this year's Marathon, and my personal goal was to shave off at 20 minutes from last year's timing.
However, it turned out anything but the way I wanted it. Rushing to the flag-off point, checking in baggage, and queueing up for the portable loo meant I was late to the starting line. That left me with little warm-up time, but I thought I'd do fine.
And I did - for the first 18 km, keeping to a respectable pace. Then disaster struck - my Iliotibial Band gave out, thanks to the lack of proper stretching, and I slowed down to make it to 21 km. That caused a host of problems, like a chain reaction, as I had to adjust my running gait to accommodate the pain. Which made it worse as my other leg bore the brunt of my weight, and cramps appeared elsewhere with the awkward running. In the end, I had to walk and hobble the rest of the distance back. I ended up taking at least 2 hours longer than I had planned or wanted, but with a valuable lesson in tow - stretch, stretch, stretch!!!
Guess there's always next year. Sigh.
