You might think that my blogs are full of bull. And, you are welcome to your opinion. Today, was magical. The best marathon I have ever run (I only have five others to compare it to in fairness), a steady pace throughout, no flat points, hydrated from the word go, took on food regularly, plodded and felt like I ran within myself. The planets were aligned, the weather was in the Goldilocks Zone and Aimee McDonnell (my personal physio) weaved her magic this morning to get rid of just a few knots in my calves, hamstrings, quads, ITB and achilles.
She has now worked on me in recovery after the run for almost as long as I ran for. Please let this set me up for tomorrow…
The support around Brathay has been fantastic, there’s an aura, an atmosphere, Hogwartian perhaps, it simply is special. You genuinely feel like an athlete; tended to, fed and watered, advised, cajoled, manipulated (in a good way), as a gladiator primed to do battle with yourself over an undulating and energy sapping course. There have been little encouraging toot, toots on car horns (Beep, Beep for Brathay) and not once did my mood drop. Last year when I did Windermere Marathon the wall hit me just after Bowness, nothing like that today, I sailed through and up Ice-Cream Mountain, then at White Cross Bay I took the time to recognise that I was running Matt’s Miles; 3.7 miles back to Brathay. There’s a reference point I will no doubt recognise over the coming nine days.
Oh, yes forgot to mention, I was interviewed for TV this morning and also on BBC Radio Cumbria this evening. You can never get a smile for the camera from me, but I’ve done so gladly; the reason, here, Brathay. Today I captured my Marathonian (Cretan) Bull, today I captured the day.
