Run > Race

Brighton Marathon
Probably almost perfect conditions - sunny and warm with a breeze that was only really problematic for a mile or two around mile 20 - on the way to the fish market.
It took us 15 minutes to get through the start and then it was up the hill amongst the throng - not too crowded, though.
I was determined to keep the pace between 10:45 and 11 m/m but yet again - just couldn't do it and was consistently slightly under. the first half of the race was very consistent, though.
Unfortunately, at mile 15 I had to make a loo stop and, although the queue was shorter than most I lost over 5 minutes. From this point on I knew I couldn't make my target time of 4:50 and my head wouldn't then let my body carry on regardless. I then spent the rest of the race doing mental calculations about what I needed to do to get under 5 hours. Basically, I knew 12 minute miles would do it. So then it was walk/run to keep within that pace. The last 8-9 miles seemed to go on forever and the official mile markers seemed to get further and further away from my Garmin's miles - which made my mental arithmetic slightly more challenging.
The support on the route was incredible, especially when you got to the front for the last 3 miles and it would be impossible not to make it to the finish. Sadly, Brad Pitt wasn't waiting for me at the finish as promised by one supporter but it didn't matter - I finished anyway - my first marathon. Yes, it does say 'first.' I need to do another to get under that 4:50 time and 'do better' by my standards.
Could I have done better if I'd managed to start off slightly slower? We'll never know - until I do another!

Split Summary
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1) 1m - 11:00(11:00/m) 152/172bpm 135cal 2.44/2.86/hr
2) 1m - 10:39(10:39/m) 134/145bpm 115cal 2.52/2.6/hr
3) 1m - 10:37(10:37/m) 136/142bpm 120cal 2.53/2.73/hr
4) 1m - 10:43(10:43/m) 143/149bpm 132cal 2.5/2.58/hr
5) 1m - 10:38(10:38/m) 143/153bpm 127cal 2.52/2.73/hr
6) 1m - 10:45(10:45/m) 146/154bpm 131cal 2.5/2.64/hr
7) 1m - 10:42(10:42/m) 148/158bpm 137cal 2.51/2.6/hr
8) 1m - 10:38(10:38/m) 149/156bpm 134cal 2.52/2.59/hr
9) 1m - 10:40(10:40/m) 149/155bpm 130cal 2.52/2.63/hr
10) 1m - 10:39(10:39/m) 152/157bpm 137cal 2.52/2.59/hr
11) 1m - 10:39(10:39/m) 153/155bpm 139cal 2.52/2.56/hr
12) 1m - 10:36(10:36/m) 152/156bpm 133cal 2.53/2.59/hr
13) 1m - 10:38(10:38/m) 153/158bpm 133cal 2.52/2.59/hr
14) 1m - 10:38(10:38/m) 155/158bpm 139cal 2.52/2.6/hr
15) 1m - 15:56(15:56/m) 149/161bpm 157cal 1.68/2.63/hr
16) 1m - 10:42(10:42/m) 153/157bpm 131cal 2.51/2.72/hr
17) 1m - 10:47(10:47/m) 156/159bpm 142cal 2.49/2.62/hr
18) 1m - 11:32(11:32/m) 154/158bpm 141cal 2.33/2.62/hr
19) 1m - 11:07(11:07/m) 155/158bpm 145cal 2.41/2.87/hr
20) 1m - 11:21(11:21/m) 154/159bpm 141cal 2.36/2.85/hr
21) 1m - 11:59(11:59/m) 152/157bpm 130cal 2.24/2.87/hr
22) 1m - 11:54(11:54/m) 151/156bpm 123cal 2.25/2.63/hr
23) 1m - 12:04(12:03/m) 149/158bpm 105cal 2.22/2.58/hr
24) 1m - 11:42(11:42/m) 150/157bpm 112cal 2.29/2.73/hr
25) 1m - 11:40(11:40/m) 148/154bpm 99cal 2.3/2.74/hr
26) 1m - 11:35(11:35/m) 150/156bpm 115cal 2.31/3.01/hr
27) 0.48m - 4:56(10:23/m) 155/159bpm 62cal 2.58/2.75/hr