LE 10 AVRIL 2011
Having already done five marathons I would have thought I would take a sixth in my stride. However I seemed to be more nervous about doing Paris than I had doing London last year. Perhaps it was the fact that I was doing it by myself and the fear of the unknown. I had actually been a spectator at the event five years ago when I should have done it but got the flu.
It was baking hot the day before and the temperatures were set to rise which made me even more worried with my track record of running (or rather collapsing) in the heat. But I was incredibly excited to be running a marathon in my favourite city.
I didn’t need to get up so early as our hotel was just off the Champs Elysee and on the doorstep for the ‘depart’. Although they cooked my porridge to my specification the butterflies in my stomach didn’t allow me to get much down.
Unlike London there was only one start point so I was rather further back with no celebs to spot. It was an amazing sight, a mass of runners stretching from the Arc de Triomphe far off into the distance towards the Place de la Concorde. By the time everyone had taken their positions in the pens I could barely see the arch of the ‘depart’. The only reason I knew the race had started was because we started shuffling forward. It took over five minutes to reach the start and then progress was rather slow.
My game plan was to start at a steady pace and not go faster than a 4.3 min/kil but I hadn’t anticipated such a struggle to get into a rhythm. As we went round bends we came to a standstill. Even at 5k there was a pile up as we approached Place de la Bastille. I completed 10k in 49 mins which was slower than planned but probably put me in good stead for the last 10k. At 15k I passed a 3.30 pace setter and was starting to get into more of a steady 4.4 to 4.5 min kil. I decided to stick to the kilometre markers as they came by more frequently and it made a change (yes I did realise there were rather more of them!).
The temperature was rising all the time but I followed Doctor’s orders and poured water over my head at regular intervals as well as sipping from a bottle which I kept in my hand. I got through about 5 bottles during the race and didn’t seem to suffer unduly from the heat which apparently rose to 27 degrees! The tunnels we went under on the way back protected us from the sun. I didn’t fancy the gels I had in my pocket so survived on a few jelly beans to get me round. Water was provided every 5k and more substantial refreshments towards the end of the course like bananas and oranges which I couldn’t face either.
The course didn’t cover as great an area as it used to when the runners covered all twenty arrondissements of Paris. We went from the Arc de Triomphe to the Bois de Vincennes passing Chatelet, the Hotel de Ville and the Chateau de Vincennes on the way out. On the return which was along a parallel road adjacent to the Seine there were many sights to be appreciated such as the Musee d’Orsee and the Notre Dame. Luckily I was already quite familiar with these monuments as by this stage my eyes were set on the pavement a few feet ahead. The Eiffel Tower however was hard to miss! The end of the route took us through the Bois de Boulogne where the Red Cross were doing a roaring trade getting runners through the last 10k.
My husband had a tracking device on his phone and so was informed when I passed the 21k, 30k and 42k. He was due to spot me at 28k but I was just too quick between 21 and 30k! I just heard his familiar voice on Ave Foch which pulled me through the last few metres.
I didn’t exactly do a negative split (about 1.42 and then 1.48 for the second half) but I was pleased that I didn’t hit the wall as I did last year in London. The famous words from Andy the guru of marathons ‘the marathon begins at 20 miles’ kept repeating in my head especially when I was still feeling quite comfortable at 18 miles and was tempted to speed up. My fastest split was between 21 and 30k. It was fun overtaking people all the time, although there were times even further along the course when we got bunched up.
As I crossed the line I wasn’t sure exactly what time I had done. I had set my watch but infact 7seconds after the chip. Even if it had been accurate I’m not sure I would have been able to throw myself over the line to get under 3.30 as the figures on my watch was too small for me to see!!
As I wandered through to the meeting area I felt a lot more spritely than I had done in previous marathons and had no need of the Croix Rouge. Some Parisian friends were there to meet me as well as my husband. As the finish was so close to the start I had no need to pick up a bag as in fact the hotel was between the two.
I got a round of applause as I came back into the hotel with my medal and t-shirt, although I’m not sure how much they appreciated what a ‘marathon’ was. The receptionist asked me if I’d completed the whole marathon!
Apart from a few war wounds (chaffing between the legs – ow and a huge blister) I felt great. Perfect recovery treatment was wandering around Paris, shopping and eating with childhood friends. Un weekend formidable!
Many thanks to all who shared the gruelling long runs with me; Janine, Gavin, Gareth, Patrick in particular. I would recommend the Paris marathon even though there is not quite so much ‘razzmatazz’ as London. I didn’t see anyone dressed up. The crowds were very supportive. I heard a lot of ‘Allez les filles’ as I was mostly surrounded by men as there were only 20% women. Even so I was rather surprised to be so high up in the field (184th) of women overall. The organisation was very slick apart from the crowding at the start. Next time I think I’ll lie about my finishing time and start further ahead!
Nicky Mowat