With the anticipation of my upcoming trip to Rome for my marathon, I'm not sure if I had enough training to run the marathon. It's been months of expectation and maybe a lack of training due to illness, the weather, or work that has got in the way of my training.
My life is not the same as it used to be. Sometimes life teaches us a lesson either we let it affect us or we get back up and face the challenges.
I chose to be positive and not to worry about things too much. Every Saturday during the park run, I questioned myself whether I still had it in me to do the marathon. Well…I answered my own questions, and yes I still have the willpower to do it.
A few days before flying to Rome I started feeling unwell. You see, working in a retail you can catch everyone's illness. Everyone is coughing or sneezing in front of you and I'm praying I won't catch anything before my marathon.
But then I had this COVID kind of symptom and I felt terrible. The worst was the constant headaches. I did a test luckily it was NEGATIVE…that was a relief. The headache continues though.
Arriving in Rome worried I picked up my bib anyway. I'm not going to run the marathon if I'm not well enough for security and health reasons.
Rome is just an absolutely gorgeous city. The Colosseum was amazing. The Spanish steps, Trevi fountain, Piazza Venezia, Piazza Navona. It's just freedom to walk around without any worries except the marathon itself.
Saturday I did my first international park run and do you know how excited I was? Massively excited I was and pretty happy that day. No pressure but just the enjoyment of it. Very dry as well…and it's just like back in the UK the park runners are mostly British 😂
I went to a few churches to pray believe me or not. I prayed that 'Lord please let me start and finish the marathon safely' and I promise I will behave myself.. yeah as IF!! Maybe the gods were listening because that Sunday morning I felt ok except for the headache.
This is the day 'the marathon day' I can do it I told myself while eating yogurt. Whatever will be will be! Would you believe that I only had one toilet trip? How amazing is that…
I felt like a midget threading through all the tall runners. I can't get into my start line if I'm going to be polite. With my broken Italian, I asked an Italian runner who got the same colour as mine if he could help me.
Both of us are not lucky when it comes to height 😂 all I did say…Scusi, scusi, mi dispiace, grazie grazie. Lasciami passare per favore. Well, they understood me very well because I got to my start line very quickly.
I did meet some Filipino runners with a quick hello and a wish of good luck. I chatted to every person standing beside me.
As the fun began… being scared kicked in. I was in a foreign country running a marathon and for a minute I was terrified but then realized that I was surrounded mostly by British runners.
Oh c'mon, I'm already here why not enjoy the moment? Got to nearly 10 miles and realised I was doing well despite the headache.
Also, at that time I realised that I'm not good at running on cobbles, I'm over conscious that I might trip.
Halfway through when we got to the Vatican that I remembered vividly, I looked up then said Lord if I get a PB today I will stop running after this.
Well…the big guy up there didn't believe me and said 'You little liar you have no plans of stopping from running'😂😂 and guys that's where my struggles started😢
When I thought I was doing well…well..the heat started to affect me. I started to focus on my headache. I started to annoy myself with the way I was breathing. Seriously…get yourself together.
The 3.35-minute pacer caught me between 32k and to tell you the truth I was disappointed but I'm still happy, you know why? Because I'm still running and able to see all the beautiful streets of Rome.
For the last 5 miles I suffered from cramps, I walked, jogged, and ran. I can see the Colosseum and I can see the finishing mat. I tried my very best to do under 3.40 but it wasn't meant to be.
For the first time I didn't think of any photos of what it was going to look like😂 but just to finish safely.
It's not always the time but the enjoyment you get after the run. I still have that excited feeling.
It was nice to be away for a few days and just watch the world go by!!
Rome, I'm coming back one day!!