Run > Race

10st 5 1/8 before race, 10st 3 7/8 when I got home. Came 218/850 4/23 in age group. Did a PB and broke a record that has stood for me for 2 1/2 years. This was a fantastic achievement, but especially by Kathryn who did a great personal best despite being very ill for the last 3 weeks. In fact I told her on Wednesday that she shouldn't run! For the first time I thought we took a risk with our health and we both agreed to drop out if we felt at all unwell. Was very aware of Claire Squires who died at the London Marathon 2 weeks ago and I was really concerned that we may not finish. So our achievements were brilliant and we were both relieved and thrilled at the end. This sets us up really well for Edinburgh in 3 weeks time. Got off to a slowish start because of crowds of runners and a tight start but soon caught it up. Knew I had to average 7.45 or better to get a PB and stuck to it well. Was starting to struggle towards the end but then the last half mile or so was a welcome downhill. Course was quite good with no real hills, just a few inclines. Had a High 5+ gel 20 mins before start with about half a bottle of Lucozade sport. Had a gel at 5 miles and a + gel at 9 miles. They gave isotonic drinks in a cup at about 7 miles, which was the only time I stopped to drink (on a railway crossing! - no train in sight). Maybe with the right sort of preparation I could average a 7.30 pace to qualify for New York?! Cals 1502. No HR for some reason. Laps 7.43, 7.51, 7.41, 7.26, 7.31, 7.43, 7.41, 7.54 (isotonic drink stop), 7.43, 7.45, 7.46, 7.58, 7.47. Kathryn did 2.04.19 and came 724/850 but 3rd?/3 in age group. Kathryn's laps 8.46, 9.16, 9.16, 8.51, 9.13, 9.33, 9.38, 9.49, 9.37, 10.02, 10.03, 10.10, 10.03.