Sunday 26th November saw my fourth and final marathon of 2023 and my best finishing time in over twelve years.
I traveled with the whole family to San Sebastián for a cheeky little weekend over the border. Living in Toulouse, I’ll never get tired of being able to jump in the car on a Friday evening and arrive in Spain in time for cider and pintxos.😋
On Saturday I picked up my race number, then we spent a very enjoyable day exploring the city and tasting all the delicious treats on offer. Many thousands of steps were taken and many glasses of wine consumed! Possibly not the recommended way to spend the day before a major race, but a bit of balance in life is important too.😁
Sunday dawned fresh but not as cold as forecast. After a light hotel breakfast (which I barely had room for after the indulgence of the night before!) I strolled the few hundred metres to the race start. I had committed to a long-sleeved top, which was overkill in hindsight, but at least I ditched my gloves when I saw how warm it was becoming.
I was well positioned in the start pen and got off to a good start, surrounded mostly by half marathon participants. I felt strong and smooth for the first half and drank in the fantastic atmosphere on the streets of San Sebastián. Aside from London, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such support during a marathon. I felt like people were cheering me on at every turn, in a combination of French, Spanish and English. “Allez Sally !” “¡Venga Sally!” “Go Sally!”
The later miles were, inevitably, increasingly difficult and my pace slowed considerably. I knew that my training had been on the light side (I only entered the race a couple of weeks before) and suspected my endurance was lacking, but it was nevertheless a bitter pill to swallow when I’d been on track for a sub-three.
Instead, I relied on my mental strength to get through the final 10-12km, which were also frustratingly undulating. Despite the huge deceleration in the later stages, I crossed the line in 3hr06:26 and picked up my finisher’s medal. This is my fourth best result (from fifteen lifetime marathons) and leaves me dreaming that perhaps I do still have the capacity, in my forties, to beat my twenty-something year-old self… Watch this space!
