I was still officially in the Army when I ran this marathon, which was my very first marathon. I had just left the army but was finishing my leave.
Since I had just finished army, I had not the time to train specifically for a marathon. Despite army training being very rigorous, it was not geared towards marathon running. So I didn't train for my first marathon at all. Moreover, I had never even heard of carbo-loading and knew nothing about marathon preparation.
But having just left the army, I was super fit. As described in My Life in the Home of the Commandos, I had gone through crazy training not meant for normal human beings. So I was confident that the marathon would not pose too much of a problem. Nothing could compare with marching 35 km laden with heavy equipment after not sleeping for 4 days and nights.
I didn’t remember much about the run itself, except that I ran at a leisurely pace. For once, I could run without having the dreaded yell of a sergeant screaming into my ears. Honestly, I did not even feel the much-vaunted “wall”. At that time, I had never even heard of a “wall”. So maybe ignorance was bliss. Till today, I don’t understand why I didn’t hit the wall, since I did not carbo-load. My carbo reserves would have been depleted. But maybe my army training fitness compensated for that.
I finished the run in 4 hours 21 minutes. One regret I have today is that I did not exert myself. Perhaps I could have made it under 3 hours. But then again, after all those arduous army training, I think I could be forgiven for going easy.
P.S. - Here is a video clip of another runner's first marathon, with narration. Her thoughts and observations are worth a look. |
