The London Marathon

This was it! It happened on Sunday and I’ve done it! I managed to complete the 26 miles in 6 hours 5 minutes and 7 seconds. It was an amazing experience and I loved it all. The bottom line is that I want to keep running. Looking back it strikes me as a life changing experience.

Back in September when I started to train with Marsha, I could only run for 3 minutes in a row and I hated every second of it. My lungs were revolting against this type of exercise, my legs were in dismay and mind kept on coming back to the same question: why do I do this to myself?

On Sunday the 22^nd of April I ran for about 13 miles without even feeling it and walked most of the second half of the marathon. There were few doubts in my mind about whether or not I could complete the race. That is not to say that I was certain about finishing. Far from me! I only knew that there was one way to go about it and that was to run mile after mile. My mantra during the entire race was to keep going and push it a little bit further.

Strangely I found it easy to run and walk. Despite the pain, that was not the main problem. What was almost impossible and took every bit of strength in my body was…eating. I hated every bite of those energy bars, but I knew that the effort would pay back. It did after mile 20, when I started to feel energized again. I do not know if it was the food or the fact that there were only 6 miles left, but I think that was the moment of truth. At mile 20 it suddenly crossed my mind that it might take me about one hour and a half to finish. It was the most realistic insight I had in about four hours.

Mile 20 was also a milestone because I met the Goodenough crew. They were cheering and waving and looked to happy and so encouraging that I almost cried. I ran the last 6 miles with their smiles in my mind and their hugs in my soul. They reminded me why I decided to do this in the first place and what the Goodenough community meant for me. Thank you guys for being there and thank you all for following me on the internet, cheering from home or from the streets, donating money and supporting me in every possible way!