title
04.13 – 04.19
date
Sun Apr 19 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
updatedAt
2026-04-20T19:36:45+01:00
tags
  • note

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04.13 – 04.19

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Life

I ate so many carbs I had a consistent mild headache for a lot of the week. I just about kept the maranoia in check, but I had zero interest in riding my bike to work, and studiously avoided sitting in meeting rooms wherever possible. Αα mercifully made a deal with us and agreed to stay in her cot for a couple of nights on the bounce. I was too edgy to be getting particularly high-quality sleep, but at least I wasn’t being repeatedly kicked in the nuts.

We took the train up to Manchester on Saturday afternoon. Σσ and the kids got off at Salford to go and stay with Trell and Dan. Sounds like our kids had a lovely time with their kids. I was a little bit sad to miss out on it.

I checked into a Premier Inn where I enjoyed the dulcet tones of thumping house through the night. Fond memories of Saturday nights out in Manchester from yesteryear with an altogether different set of vibes (and fuelling strategies).

After an inconceivably large number of trips to the urinals on Sunday morning, I got into the start pen and bumped into Oli from the club – that was really good to have a bit of a blether and calm the nerves.

I got slightly boxed in at the start, but I think that only served to stop me going out too fast, and went through the first mile in exactly the pace I’d been aiming for. I don’t think I found it particularly easy at any point, and by about mile 8 I started to wonder if I’d bitten off more than I could chew. But the miles kept ticking over, I kept slamming the gels, and I accepted every high-five on offer. A wall of Mancunians chanting my name at mile 18 gave me more of a boost than they will ever know and I’m eternally in their debt, whoever they were.

I knew Σσ and the kids were going to be at mile 22, but I hadn’t been paying attention and I nearly missed them. Fortunately they spotted me (at what I’d believed to be mile 21) and I got a welcome surge of adrenaline. Then almost immediately I got slightly despondent, wondering how I was going to get through another 5.2 miles with very little else to look forward to. As luck would have it, I’d somehow missed a mile marker (the fam had been at mile 22 all along), so the next thing I knew I was at mile 23, and then I knew both that I was going to be able to keep going at the same pace till the end, and that it was going to be exquisitely painful. I was right on the edge of getting cramp at mile 24, but somehow managed to style it out.

I crossed the finish line having stuck exactly to my goal pace, and (maybe the thing that I’m most proud of), having done so with a 27 second negative split. I had so little in the way of a ‘sprint’ finish available to me, I’m content in my absolute conviction that I couldn’t have shaved even another 20 seconds off my overall time. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever worked as hard for anything in my whole life and I’m now experiencing equal parts elation and relief.

Oli came over the line a couple of minutes later and it felt special to be able to share in each other’s emotion in that moment. His wife is expecting their first child next month – he got the move order of when to try and achieve a fast marathon right.

I think I’m mostly happy that I haven’t put (extremely long-suffering) Σσ through it all for nothing. Although that’s perhaps not how she sees it. I’m fairly sure she was genuinely delighted for me, but also presumably in no small part because of how insufferable I’d have been if it hadn’t gone well.

I had a mild panic about the colour of my piss after the race, until I remembered that I’d drunk a litre of beetroot juice beforehand.

Anything on the floor will be staying there indefinitely. And I’ll be reversing down stairs.

I read with interest that I could probably have a GFA place in the London marathon next year. And maybe I could entertain some ideas about what might be possible if I were to invest in some super shoes. I won’t be letting Σσ in on any of this privileged intel for quite a while.

I’m going to bask in the afterglow for as long as I can and hope that the blues don’t hit too hard when they inevitably roll around.

Running

See above.

2026-04-daps.jpeg neon adidas Evo Sl trainers with RUN and DMC printed on the sides
Race-day weapons featuring note to self