One down.... 3 to go!So that's the Edinburgh Half out the way and how was it I hear you ask? Tough. There's no doubt about that and although I'm glad it's over I'm really happy that I did it.
Anyway, it started over at Meadowbank Stadium and as with all these things it took a while to get going. It was really cold so everyone was crammed inside the stadium instead of going out to the track. Eventually, the call went out that the race was due to start so we traipsed out into the grounds and froze for 20mins before eventually the croud started moving.
All to soon, the start line was upon us and with a click of the stopwatch and pre-emptive salute to the camera we were off. Within minutes Matt had opened his stride and left Arfon and myself in his wake - we wouldn't see him again until the switch-back when he must have been about a mile and a half infront of me. By the 3 mile stage I was feeling good - bored actually. Arfon was falling behind slightly and so I was stuck with nothing but my ipod and my shoes. Till this point I'd overtaken nobody and everyone else seemed to be running faster than me including 7 army blokes that had massive packs on there back (and it would take another 2 miles before I could drop them). I grabbed a quick glup of water from the water station and threw some over my head - cause that's what they do on the telly - and squirted some glucose gel into my mouth. It actually tasted not bad. Not sure if it helped any but I felt better for eating it.
I didn't see any more mile markers for ages until I reached the Racetrack at Musselburgh. A bit of a teast that - being able to see the finish but realising you're only just over half way there as the 7 mile marker drifts by. From there till the return leg was a test of mind over matter. It was soooo tough running away from the start line knowing that I would have to run all that way back again. What made it worse was that I passed Isla's mate, Sara, and then Matt who we already on the home stretch. Matt and I had a comedy relay lucozade baton swap which made me chuckle for 100 metres or so which was light relief. About half a mile later I wished that I hadn't given Matt my remaining lucozade!!!Soon after that I was doubling back towards the Racetrack and I couldn't be happier. It definitely put a spring in my step but unfortunately it seemed to have the same effect on everyone and the girl I'd been using as a pace maker also picked up her pace. Shortly after that I saw Arfon and we had a "high five" for encouragement.
The remainder of the race became a bit of a blur. Lots of people were walking although numbers overall seemed a bit thin on the ground. I was really disturbed by the number of folk who were doing the run/walk thing and despite running the whole way I couldn't catch some of the walkers. I guess my running pace is so slow that these freaks can out-walk me. I remember grabbing another bottle of water at about the 11 or 12 mile mark but I felt sick drinking it so just chucked it over my head and this time it made sense.
Soon the finish line was in sight for the second time and this time it wasn't a tease. I'd already done some mental arithmatic earlier on and knew that if I'd been consistant with my pace then I was going to come in under the time I wanted so seeing the line spurred me on to eek out the last bits of stamina and chop off a few more seconds. 
As I approached I saw Isla and KP cheering me on and got in an opportune "high five" for the camera before putting on a pathetic final sprint over the line. Matt was waiting for me with a grin and after some well deserved juice we got a hold of our medals, bananas and t-shirts. All in all I felt good. Legs were not bad and no signs of cramp and my joints felt (and still feel) fine. Could I have run further... not sure about that but I'm happy I completed the race, running all the way with a smile on my face at the finish and surely that's the main goal of any race?Here's the details of the race...
Applicants - 4700
Finishers (within 3 hours) - 2469
______Position___Category Position___Time
Matt:___2107_______801_________2:12:09
Zain:___2371_______848_________2:28:21
Arfon:__2431_______861_________2:41:55
Next time we've got times to beat so I guess there's nothing for it but to get back out on the road again... but not till Wednesday.
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