Reflections On The Edinburgh Marathon

I headed over to Edinburgh on the train from Inverkeithing and was surprised by how busy it was. The start of the race was behind the National Museum of Scotland in Teviot Square.

The start of the race was a weird contrast of lots of energy and hype as we inched steadily towards the start line.  About 30 minutes after the official race start I crossed the start line with a huge smile on my face and the crowd still making lots of noise.  The early miles through Holyrood, Portobello, Joppa and Musselburgh were great fun.  The support from the crowds was brilliant and controlling my pace meant I felt strong.

It was really warm and I was grabbing a couple of water bottles at each water station.  I felt my energy starting to drop around mile 19.  There’s a point where everything begins to take a little longer and required a little more effort.  By mile 21 or 22, running had become a conscious act of will. Every step was deliberate and effortful, like treading water just to stay above the surface. It becomes a battle between your body and your mind – “keep running, or start walking?” on a constant loop in your head.  At no point did I feel like I couldn’t finish, but the paranoia starts to creep in. You begin thinking, “What if I cramp up? Will I even be able to walk to the end?”

My goal at the start of training was simply to finish the marathon, but it’s easy to start setting private time goals along the way. Before race day, I thought I could get around in under five hours. What I realised on the day was that there are more factors outside your control than you think.

You’re running for a very long time. I needed to stop for the toilet a couple of times. Thankfully, there were portaloos all around the course. Taking on water and energy gels takes time when you’re new to it, and I hadn’t run in that sort of heat before. That definitely affected my pace.

In the end, my preparation was enough to give me what I needed to run 26.2 miles. It wasn’t enough to maintain a faster pace or finish strongly over the last five miles.

One of the biggest lessons was the importance of understanding and sticking to your goal. I felt great on race morning, and my confidence started creating expectations beyond what my preparation supported. Just because you feel confident doesn’t mean you should change the goal. Or at least, don’t change the goal without changing the training to match it.

Like most challenging things, I swore I’d never run another marathon as I lay on the grass at the finish line, exhausted, emotional, and close to tears. In that moment, I couldn’t imagine ever doing it again.  Almost a week later, I’m already looking at marathon training plans and wondering which one to do next.

But here’s where you need to be honest with yourself – you can do anything, but you can’t do everything.

Training for and earning my 4th Dan is my next immediate goal. I want to do it for myself, but also for the club and for all our students. Striving for what you want in life shouldn’t be constrained by your own limiting beliefs or the beliefs of others.  Be careful what you choose to believe as “truth”.

Part of the reason I challenge myself is so that others can see the reality of the process.  The struggles, failures, shortcomings, disappointments, and setbacks that come with pursuing something worthwhile.  These are the gold!  This is where you learn and get better.  If the training had been easy I wouldn’t have learned anything about myself along the way. 

My training focus now has to shift to match this new goal, and that brings a different set of challenges. I’m looking forward to shortening the runs, getting back into the gym, and spending more time training on the mats.

One thing the marathon taught me is the value of having a plan. Following a structured training programme made a world of difference to my preparation. I definitely perform better when I don’t have to think about what comes next, just read the workout and get it done.

To my family, thank you for your understanding, patience, and support throughout all the training, and for being there at the finish line. It meant more than you know.

Thank you as well to all the instructors and staff for the encouragement and support that helped make this possible.  

Thank you to Shari at Green Strides Fitness for all the support, check-ins and the amazing training plan that’s guided me through the process and got me ready for the marathon.

And finally, thank you to everyone for your kind messages and generous donations. Your support kept me going.  In the end you helped raise an amazing £1,339.00 + £318.50 Gift Aid for Alzheimer Scotland.