From 2008 to 2009 I used to live in France. During that time I had a break from work and time to do some other things. So I set myself the goal to run a marathon, my first one by the way. For me as a smoker it was pretty hard but after months of training, the big day was on May 17th 2009. You want to know what it was like? Well here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG1gz4jOKIA&feature=related
6.00 am: The Wecker (alarm clock) rang. Though I went to bed early, I didn´t sleep well and the Nacht (night) was short. As I woke up I thought „sh…“. But some seconds later my body was full of adrenaline.
7.00 am: Abfahrt (departure) to Cancale. There was a storm, it was cold and it rained cats and dogs. This was going to be a lot of fun! 10 km ahead of Cancale there was a Stau (traffic jam). I had to park my car outside because the parking spots close to the start were already taken. So I had to walk quite a long way. I arrived just in time and fortunately the rain had stopped.
9.00 am, start: 5,000 Läufer (runners) were standing so close that it was like attending a heavy metal concert. I could hear the sound of the starter´s gun. The distance between me and the starting line was approx. 300 m. As the race was going on, my running area was getting a little more spacious. I was so nervous, but I started slowly and my Puls (pulse) was ok by then.
km 10: So this is the feeling when you´re running a marathon! Unbelievable! Hubschrauber (helicopters) were flying around, motor cycles equipped with cameras passed by and hundreds of people were standing on the wayside…cheering up the runners, playing instruments and holding signboards for their friends and families. I saw the second stand with drinks. Although I wasn´t durstig (thirsty) yet, I drank half a liter. I was following a guy who carried a banner with “3:45” written on it. I thought: “this is my time…and it´s easy to keep up with him”. So far, so good.
km 21: Halftime! But it was hard to imagine doing the same distance again. The asphalt hurt my Knie (knees) and I was told to stop immediately. But the pulse was ok and the 3:45-guy was just ahead of me.
km 26: We just left the Dörfer (villages) so there were no more people cheering. That was a pity. Besides the battery of my mp3 player was leer (empty). From there on there would be no more music.
km 30: Slowly I was getting exhausted. I took drinks at every stand and I tried to stimulate myself with energy gel and Traubenzucker (dextrose). But it didn´t seem to work!
km 35: I didn´t run this far at once in my whole Leben (life). So from there on everything was new to me. I was dead beat but I comforted myself with the thought that there were „only“ 7 km more to go. But every km seemed to last longer and in fact seemed to be longer in distance!
km 38: My knees and muscles were done. There was no way I was able to do an Endspurt (final spurt). The Lücke (gap) between me and the 3:45-guy was getting bigger and bigger. I thought he should just run slower…Still four endless km to go. I entered the last Gerade (straight). The Mont Saint Michel, which is the finishing line, seemed to be directly in front of me…so fight, fight, fight!!!
km 40: I reached the bank that connects the Mont Saint Michel with the Festland (mainland). Only my Gehirn (brain) was still running. And even my brain didn´t want to run anymore. Every minute seemed to last for a Stunde (hour). I could see the finishing line…
km 42,195: After 3:46 I hobbled over the finishing line and I was just glad to be there. Game over! All of the runners moaned, hobbled or had to vomit…
I did it!!! Unbelievable!
After some minutes I met my Freunde (friends) and family and I was just glad, happy and done!
Video (with French introduction): http://www.runinlive.com/999/video.html?idVideo=110
