Everyone who runs a marathon is a f*cking badass regardless of your talent or time. And I absolutely loved to see Becky Briggs' result. In this world that is built of systems meant to keep you in place, remembering who the f*ck you are is a goddamn rebellion.

www.instagram.com/reel/DDH6MWB...

A lot of sustained effort went into that result, a lot of disappointment and tears, and a lot of support and community. Marathons are hard! And really the journey is the important part: the time you put into it, not the time you get out at the end.

Getting to the blue carpet was everything. I had done everything I had set out to do. As I crossed the finish line and looked at my watch I saw my time: 3:26:01. A full 4 minutes under my goal time. I could not believe it. (May have had a little cry) 🥹

I hit the first 5k in 25 mins and felt comfy. I sped up-slightly- and it still felt ok. The next 5k was faster but not outrageous. I focused on finding the pace and settling into it over the first 3 5k splits, coasting through splits 4-7, then pushing into the 8th split and last 2k. I felt good!

That morning, as my race started, I reminded myself the first mile should be the slowest. I actively worked to avoid getting swept up in the adrenaline of the crowd. I was aiming for 5min km and therefore 25min 5k splits which I had set as the laps on my watch.

Going in I had trained well, but I was unsure if I had hit high enough volume or my paces with enough frequency to do what I wanted to do. At work, I was pretty burnt out and stressed out and doing a lot of work travel, so maybe that had impacted my taper?? I had all the nerves.

After putting a lot into springtime training for the Vienna Marathon but ultimately having a terrible race (pain, tunnel vision, a time 12 minutes slower than I was aiming for), I wanted to do well at Valencia. But it was my 14th marathon so I know enough to know you know nothing until race day!