Tuesday 19th April
This is going to be very difficult to write. Even if I were able to put my feelings into words I don't actually know what I do feel. I expected elation, relief, maybe a 'post exam' dip, maybe a few tears, pride in the achievement perhaps. And I suppose there has been a little of each.
A broken man
Friday night - 2 days to go - and a right ankle the size of a rugby ball.
I expected to be a physical wreck, but other than the knee which never did forgive me and some late damage to my right ankle which made the last 3 days pretty tough I don't seem to have any physical damage. Certainly I wasn't the skinny creature I expected to finish as. Quite the opposite in fact - if anything I seem to have put weight on. Which just goes to show what I have always suspected - the combination of reduced chablis intake, restricted diet and copious amounts of exercise are not the recipe for weight reduction.
So how do I feel? I suppose sad is the closest I can get. As to why.....well certainly I had some lovely times in the villages of the Somme and the Marne and I'm sorry those bits are over. Even the awful bits on the main roads were tolerable because I knew they would soon be over. But that is no reason to be sad. I will visit the areas more leisurely at some point in the future I'm sure.
It might sound bizarre but actually I think I feel a little sad because I'm sorry it's over. Perhaps I'm sad because I have to think of something to do now? There were moments of real joy when I crossed the line - and particularly the sight of the Leatherne Bottel crew and my friends standing under the Porte de Noel was a great lift. But it just seemed very very strange to stop running. It seemed wrong.
For the record it was 657km door to door. 11 and a bit days of hell. So why I am laughing? I wish I could say.
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