Mission Accomplished - Melbourne Marathon 9-10-11

As Allan and I ran up to the finish line at the Melbourne Marathon last Sunday 9-10-11, we had no energy left but a very profound shared sense of achievement.  This was Allan's first full marathon since his heart surgery 5 years ago and my first full marathon - and this was a goal that we shared together and wanted to be able to complete together.  Throughout the year, there have been injuries and sickness - not to mention the freezing Canberra winter - which we have had to work our training schedules around. Obviously, for Allan, getting the nutrition right and understanding the stresses that such an event can take on the body was critically important.  For me, I was starting from a low base - but then I figured, we all have to start somewhere - all I wanted to do was start and finish and not worry about the time.

Throughout the year, I worked on core strength, knocked off a few more kilos, and we had a regular running schedule with increasing distances - I read everything I could get my hands on!  I was inspired by reading about both athletes and ordinary people doing extra-ordinary things.  It was quite handy with Allan having completed his PT qualifications - he taught me heaps.  Setting the goal of doing a marathon was quite important - it gave our fitness routine and information gathering a specific target. 

Experiencing the Melbourne Marathon festival was phenomenal - more than 20,000 runners.  On the Sunday morning, it was amazing to be among thousands of people in running gear gathering at the starting line trying to keep warm while waiting for the race to start at 7am.  Allan and I were way back in the pack - and as the race began, we could see the surge of runners stretching out in front of us for as far as the eye could see.  The event was superbly organised with St John's Ambulance officers riding the course on push bikes to make sure people were OK - and they checked on us a couple of times!  The volunteers at the water stations were fabulous - wonderful dedicated souls - always encouraging and we thanked them at every water station!  The day was a typical Melbourne day - with every season in a day - freezing, wet and windy which meant we each carried an extra top.  One of the worries we both had was Allan losing body temperature in the very cold conditions.  We knew that it would take us many, many hours to complete the course, so we each carried water, gatorade, gu's and a peanut butter sandwich - not exactly fine dining but we got the nutrition right!

As we made our way through the final stages of the course, people who had already finished were walking back past us already with their medals and encouraging us to keep going.  We ran for almost 36 kms, and then walked for a bit - I'll be honest and say at this point we were both doing it tough but we were determined to finish! As we approached the last kilometre, our daughter Sheridan who had finished the marathon a while ahead of us joined us.  My sister Maureen, who had finished the half-marathon a long while before, had spoken to the finish line announcer and told him the story of Allan's heart surgery, our fitness journey and our joint goal of completing the marathon together.  As we were nearing the finish line, Allan turned to me with a burst of encouragement and called "show me what you've got!"and with big smiles and ignoring the stiffness, pain and exhaustion we floated across the finish line - the announcer calling our names as we did! The St John's Ambulance officers who had checked on us a couple of times over many kilometres were also at the finish line to say "well done" - and we said "thank you for taking care of us along the way!"

I was quite intrigued by the physical and mental effects of the marathon.  Physical exhaustion - stiffness and pain - absolute tiredness like being jet lagged with not one ounce of energy left. I felt almost giddy with fatigue. My quads, calves, hammies and toes were all sore - my shoulders, triceps, biceps and pecs were sore to touch, and my abs were sore deep inside. We hobbled down to one of Melbourne's great cafes for an after race re-fuel - the awesome taste of the first coffee I had been dreaming of throughout the race.  But a couple of hours after we finished, the hunger really kicked in - and during the night after the race we all got up at various times to snack.  For me, it took about 36 hours for the hunger to subside.  But the body's ability to heal is amazing - there is still some soreness in my legs but this has really reduced and my energy is back.

I am grateful for having shared this goal and achievement with Allan - everything is possible.

We are both grateful for the love and support of our daughters, my sisters and all our friends - we love sharing our journey and being part of other people's journeys  Through our journey we are inspired by many phenomenal people, many of whom have their own challenges in life.  Many people have asked, "what's next?" Perhaps there will be another marathon - there will certainly be many more half-marathons!!  But we also like trying new things - so who knows, the next challenge might be a "new thing'.