It’s race weekend, woohoo!
Nevers Marathon is the day after tomorrow and I’ll be lining up for my fifth marathon of 2022 and my second one with the buggy.
I must confess I had a bit of a wobble last week. I was very under the weather with the worst cold I’ve had in years and wondering why on earth I am putting myself through this. And not just myself, but the whole family: this race is halfway across the country, meaning a weekend away and a lot of driving.
But, thankfully, the excitement has returned. I’ve set myself the traditional “A”, “B” and “C” goals as one must for a marathon, so here they are:
My true honest “A” goal is to break the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon pushing a pram. I’ve tried not to shout about this as I think it is very very unlikely and I sound like a delusional fool. But I’m pretty sure nobody reads my blog, so I’m taking the risk of sharing this here (and if you are reading this, then shhhhhhhhhh).
The record stands at 3hr10:26, set by Dianna Chivakos in the USA on 22nd October 2017. I haven’t beaten that time this year WITHOUT THE BUGGY and the result I managed with the stroller was THIRTEEN MINUTES slower than that. So it really is highly improbable. But not impossible. A girl’s got to dream, right? That’s what the “ A” goal is: a dream.
Coming back down to earth, my ”B” goal then is to improve the time we ran earlier this year. 3hr23:24 is the one to beat. If everything goes as well as it did back in May (no flat tyres or mechanical issues, happy daughter, no toilet breaks etc) then I think we’re in with a chance. I’ve trained hard for this and can only hope that “fortune favours the prepared” on the day. Fingers crossed!
My “C” goal is of course to “finish with dignity”. You have to respect the marathon and this is all you can hang onto when the going gets tough (which it will).
But more importantly than all of the above, I want to have fun! This will certainly be my last marathon (and possibly the last race of any kind) with the buggy and I just want to make the most of having my little chum along for the ride. I usually feel so strong when pushing the stroller and it just makes me happy. I want to soak up the race atmosphere, get that medal on the finish line with pride and have no regrets.
In short, I’m going to give it all I’ve got and see what happens.
Wish me luck…!
