There’s something special when running a race in your hometown. For many years, I had wanted to run the Stockholm Marathon again but every year, something had come up. I had either been ill or injured. Being there as a spectator, I thought: “next year, I’ll be a part of this race too”. This year, I had not registered in advance since I was not sure about my hamstrings and gluteus muscles which had caused me troubles for the past year. This problem had prevented me from running as much as I usually run before a marathon. However, one week before the race, I signed up! I decided to run, to have fun, and to be a part of this fantastic race. This year, I would stand on the starting line and make it to the finish line!

Pre-marathon

During winter, my training went up and down. I ran and sometimes it worked just fine, and I could even run long distances. But then the pain came back, and I had to slow down, again and again. However, when I couldn’t run that much, I did other exercises (yes, I have tried resting but that didn’t work at all). In March, I went on a training camp for one week and there, I regained hope of running the marathon in June. During that week, I ran more that I’d ever run before. The turning point was my attitude to pain that totally changed after reading an article (see my previous blog post).

Unfortunately, I got sick in April. One week with no training at all and you might think that this would not affect my marathon training that much. But it was hard to come back because (I must admit) my pain had come back. Even though I tried to ignore it, I had difficulties lifting my leg when running. So, I cut down on running and went back to the fitness center. I had almost given up on running in Stockholm on June 1^st but thanks to two marvelous colleagues, who encouraged me, I finally registered. My colleague Anna said, “You will regret it if you stand there again as a spectator” and that made me realize that I just had to run.

The race

How to plan the race with too little long runs in your legs? Well, my first thought was to take it easy from the start. However, Anna had another idea. She said that it would probably be better to start a little faster because the last 10 k would be tough no matter what. Also, the last part of Stockholm Marathon is hillier than the first part. So, wouldn’t it be better to have some margin and extra time for the last 10 k?

That was a good plan and we decided to run together for as long as we both felt good about the pace. Even though we both just wanted to be a part of the race, have fun and finish, we still had this hope of finishing below 4 hours. Therefore, we planned to run in a pace of 5:10 per kilometer (approx. 7,2 per mile) as long as it felt all right. We started in group E, so the first kilometer went slowly anyway. We had the pacers with the 3:45-flags just in front of us for a long time (meaning finishing in 3 hours and 45 minutes) and that also kept our pace in a fair speed.

I can really recommend running with a friend, a colleague or just some fellow runner. Anna and I had a really good time. We encouraged each other; we talked a little bit but not too much. There was this perfect understanding between us, so we ran close to each other and enjoyed the atmosphere.

We ran the first half in 1:50. It was comforting to know that we had extra time for the last half. However, we both needed to slow down a bit. At 25 k, Anna needed to walk, and she told me to go ahead. For me, it’s difficult to start running again if have started walking so even though I was tired and there was a hill, I knew that I had to keep running and so I did.

Now, the toughest part began but I felt mentally strong. At 30 k, I was exactly at the time of finishing in 3:45. I began to have confidence that I would make it below 4 hours. My gluteus pain had been slightly there all the time. However, I had decided not to focus on it, and it disappeared now and then. At 25-30 k, it was aching, but I just ignored it and strangely enough, I hardly felt anything the last 10 k. It was not the leg that prevented me from running faster than I did; it was more the lack of long runs that now started to show. However, I never hit the wall. Even though the last 5-7 kilometers were physically tough, I felt happy and strong mentally throughout the race. When I crossed the finish line at 3:50:18, I almost cried. I could hardly believe it. I had done it! I had run the Stockholm Marathon and faster than I’d thought possible. Anna came in just 6 minutes after me so we both made it below 4 hours with margin.

The best about Stockholm Marathon was the spectators. I had forgotten that so many people show up and cheer on the runners. This was so encouraging, and I was grateful for each one of them. When you run in your hometown, there is also a greater chance that people you know will cheer on you. As a member of a running club (IF Linnéa) I got support from other members along the race which was amazing! Many friends were cheering on me (runners, colleagues and other friends); some of them I knew would come but many others surprised me. A fellow runner said to me “you have so many wonderful people cheering on you” and I realized how lucky I was. THANK YOU EVERYONE!

Post-marathon

After the race, I felt euphoric. It lasted for many days (I am still happy). But my body was troubled. Not that it hurt, it hardly did; it was more like a restlessness, like ants in my legs. The first two nights, I barely slept. This has happened before but not always. I just think that it was due to lack of training and that 42,2 k (26,2 miles) was a little chock to my body. However, it was worth it and now, 5 days after the race, I took my first run and my body felt recovered. The strange thing is, that my gluteus muscles feel much better after the marathon.

If I can do it, you can do it! It’s just a matter of mindset.