As part of my Ironman training I decided to enter the CSOB Bratislava marathon in Slovakia. It was unfortunate that I had an ankle injury from the end of January until the end of March. It was difficult to train as my ankle was healing very slowly. My motivation was down as I was so behind my marathon training, but at least I kept training with swimming and cycling. 2 weeks before the race I changed from the full marathon distance to the half marathon distance as they did a few races on the same day - full marathon, half marathon and half marathon relay.
On the race day I was nervous. I even couldn't finish eating my breakfast. I also didn't know how my ankle was going to be during the run. In the morning I prepared my homemade energy drink (water, pinch of sea salt and raw honey) and organic jelly beans. I carried them with me in my lap belt. My parents as well as my sister came along to support me. It was an emotional moment, especially when I gave them a kiss before my start.
The weather on the day race was slightly cooler and windier than the day before but still good for running. The route for the half marathon was 1 big loop going through town centre and by the river Danube.
The race started slowly as many people were running it. 2386 people turned up for the half marathon. After 1km people had spread out so I started run a bit faster. I had my watch on so I could see what my current speed was. Every time when I saw that I was going slow, I picked up and I ran faster. All the way through people were cheering, as well as my family. The good thing is that I noticed. Sometimes it is diffucult to see your relatives in the crowd. My sister at some point ran beside me. This gave me a buzz. In three places along the route were live bands singing and playing. I also can't forget about the food and drink stations. There were 7 on the course so everyone could have what they wanted. I used took water as I had my energy nutrition with me.
During the race I felt strong and I was really enjoying myself. I love running so much. Luckily my ankle was not hurting at all. At about 17 km I started feeling tired and from that point I was counting kilometers. The kilometer between 17th and 18th last for ages. I had my last drops of my energy drink as well as jelly bean to kept me going. I was telling to myself that it's only 4 k to go which should be easy for me. I also started run a bit faster and tried not to slow down. Last 500 meters I started sprinting. I also could hear my parents and my sister shouting at me. It was my last push and then I crossed the finish line. My time was 1hour 41 minutes and 19 seconds. I was very happy with my time considering my injury and not training enough. It's only 1 minute slower then my personal best. I have also ended up 41st out of 495 women.
Straight after the race I met my relatives and celebrated my finish of the race. Loads of hugs and kisses were involved. I felt like a superstar. I can truly recommend this event. It was very well organised. So now it'stime for me to continue my Ironman training and I'm really looking forward to it!. ;0)
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