Finally the day was upon us, after 22 months of post-crash recovery I toed the line at a major endurance event. I woke up at 4:30am, so the nerves were definitely there. Eating on demand was never a forte and didn't go down well this time either. Around 8:00am we were ready to get on a train to the city centre.
We got there way too early and that wasn't a great idea based on the morning temps. Had my first cup of coffee about 90 prior to the start and ran into Pepijn shortly after. Talked briefly and wished him well on his quest to go sub 2h50 for the first time.
Forty minutes before the start Joeri and I got into the coral and started counting down. Finally the gun went off (or so I think, because I didn't hear it) and the shuffling forward of many feet started. It took us about 3km to get into the planned race tempo and move around people easily. The first kilometres felt effortless as the should and I had a good feeling about the day.
At the 17km marker Joeri got into trouble and decided to fall off the pace. In hindsight I wish I stayed with him a bit longer. Because after 27km and crossing the monumental Erasmus bridge for the 2nd time I started showing the first signs of fatigue. Between 30 and 32kms I had to walk for the first time and the next 5km were not by any means good. I walked about 200m every kilometer.
After the loop around the park we saw the back-of-the-packers running into the park and their suffering provided some relief and I got back into a decent, albeit slow rhythm towards the finish. The final kilometre was sheer bliss and I couldn't wipe the smile of my face the whole way. I was an athlete again!!!
The total time of 3:24:44 was almost 15min of the plan, but it is what it is. I'm already looking forward to the next challenge: my first trail ultramarathon in Bouillon at the end of April...
...and revenge on the marathon somewhere in the fall.