Keri Pearson - Frankfurt Marathon Report

My slowest marathon but my biggest and best marathon achievement.

I’ve been struggling the last 4 weeks or so with feeling mentally exhausted and to run a marathon to your full potential, you’ve got to have a full cup, & a lot of other things on your side on race day and my cup is definitely almost empty, I think deep down I’ve known this for a while and knew this after the York 10 mile but have continued to keep going.

The glass half full  side of me told me once I finished work on Friday and got to the race day I would pick up, in reality, I felt even more exhausted once I’d finished on Friday, and as my body attempted to relax, the thought of running Sunday, 26.2 miles was leaving me more tearful rather than excited, such was the level of exhaustion I felt, the travel only exaggerating it. My Garmin were stats screaming at me to rest. (I apologise and thank all those on the end of the should I/ shouldn’t I messages on Saturday).

It was incredible hard to put myself on that line on Sunday knowing I had nothing to give but I also wanted no regrets. (Also knowing it could be very silly idea and exhaust me even more).

So…..

I stood on the line

I attempted a pace that would give me a tiny PB for the first 15k, i initially planned to just try this for first 10k but stubbornness set in.

However at 15k I knew I felt tired but I was both early and in control enough at this point to let my HR drop to the bottom of zone 1, knowing I could run 2.5 hours comfortably at that heart rate rather than drop out. I really wanted a medal to take home to Finn.

I really enjoyed it from this point, soaked up the atmosphere, took it all in and enjoyed the moment, which is what many of you said to do!!!

At 30k, I still felt really comfortable so gradually picked it up and then ran near what was my target pace for the last 5k, even took a beer on at the last drink station.

I am really proud of myself this weekend to make the right decisions to ensure I got the best out of the day, rather than chase a time!

I’ve learnt a lot this marathon block, including on race day & have loved it. It’s not all about times, I think I can hand on heart genuinely say I value the process rather than the outcomes. Too many focus on the outcomes, when in reality for the majority of us, it’s a hobby and you just need to enjoy it. I experienced things in the race yesterday you don’t normally get too when you are so focused on times & felt the true achievement that a marathon is.

I’m still the fittest I’ve been thanks to Daves plan, the race yesterday proved to myself I was stronger than I thought, and challenged myself in a different way. The plans I have for the remainder of the year will on only build upon this fitness, so exciting times ahead.

Until next time!