Mission completed!!!!

Well I'm very proud and relieved to say that I did it!! All 26.2 miles of hell!!! It was every bit as hard as I thought it would be, and the scorching temperatures didn't help the cause at all! Nevertheless we all made it around the course in once piece (just about anyway!) and are glad to have survived to tell the tale!

We set off from the city centre at 10am in lovely warm sunshine, full of nervous excitement and anticipation! You'll notice that Kat has a t-shirt on that says Sarah on it.... unfortunately Macmillan didn't get her a tshirt in time so she wore my old one from the Great North Run a few years back (see these things do come in handy when I don't throw them out!), and this led to much hilarity on the route as the crowd shouted "go on Sarah" "well done Sarah" "keep it up Sarah" all the way around! You might also notice that my number is black and not pink like the others which was a massive error on my part for not checking we had all put the same predicted finish time! This meant I had to covertly sneak into the pink pen or risk running the whole lot by myself, which didn't seem too appealing! Fortunately though it was fairly relaxed marshalling compared to other events and I wasn't the only one being naughty and breaking the rules!!!

The first 10 miles flew by as we took in the city sights and the lovely seaside views as we headed out to the coast. I was looking forward to seeing our lovely crew of supporters who were heading to the 10-11 mile mark, but unfortunately they missed us by literally minutes as they had been held up getting there. I was abit gutted but plodded on to 13 miles, happy to reach the halfway point and be feeling OK, but quickly had to push the thought out of my head that I still had at least another 2 hours of running to go as that was just terrifying!!! As we headed out of the towns into the countryside, the crowd got fewer and the heat got hotter! It was literally horrendous. Kat and I vowed to get to 18 miles without stopping, and at the 18 mile point we got to turn around and head back for the finish which psychologically was a huge boost.

Shortly after we got some slight shelter for a couple of minutes as we briefly ran through some trees, however, it was all getting abit tough and we took the decision to walk for a few hundred meters due to a combination of aching muscles, headaches, dizziness and general overwhelming exhaustion. Walking didn't feel great by any means, it was abit like an out of body experience but it gave us the break we needed to be able to push on and finish. We saw quite a few people laid out at the side of road, either being sick, unconscious or on drips which gave us a harsh reminder that this was a serious test of endurance which was being made even tougher by the 23C sun beating down on us! The wording on the event information kept ringing in my head: "The Edinburgh Marathon is not a fun run or a walk.An endurance road race of this distance is a serious athletic undertaking and should only be undertaken after doing the appropriate level of training". No kidding!!!


I'll be honest with you - it was horrendous. From about 16 to 22 miles I really, really struggled. I don't think I would ever have given up, but it was tough. Proper tough. Boiling hot, no shelter, no breeze, trying to drink enough water but being worried about drinking too much as that's not good for you either, I think at one point I started to lose my ability to think too as I just couldn't get the right words out! Fortunately though I had Kat with me throughout and we kept each other going chatting about random stuff and trying to distract ourselves from the challenge ahead. We were clear though that this would definitely be the only marathon we ever do!!!! Ticked that box - no need to put ourselves through that again!!!! At one point we passed a man in a giant bear suit, 'Marty', heading in the opposite direction - he hadn't even made it to 15 miles as we passed him on our way to 21. If I was feeling hot then my god he must have been sweating buckets in there! Good on him though! 

Once we got to 23-24 miles we got a renewed energy, suddenly the end felt within reach and it seemed achievable again. The crowds spurred us on and someone had an M people song blaring out "what have you done today to make you feeeeeel proud!" - Kat and laughed both in humour but in sheer overwhelming emotion and exhaustion and we had to get abit of a grip and not cry otherwise we risked not being able to see where we were going and falling over!!! The last mile was amazing - the crowd were fantastic and we both ran with huge smiles on our faces, to lots of shouts of "go on Sarah", directed at Kat - haha! As we rounded the corner into the finishing area, our family and friends were spread out along the fence screaming and shouting when they recognised us - it was such a buzz to see them!!! As we crossed the finish line, hand in hand, Kat and I threw our arms around each other and said "thank god that's over!". Seriously though, it was a very emotional and proud moment and the hairs are standing up on my arms and I've got tears in my eyes just thinking about it as I write now. The sheer relief and exhaustion was overwhelming but it felt like a real achievement for everything we had gone through on the day. Our finishing time was 4hr40 which if I'm honest I'm slightly disappointed with as I wanted to do it in under 4hr 30, but there was literally nothing more I could have done on the day. I received a hilarious text from the event organisers informing me of my time:

What?!?! Do it AGAIN next year?!?!?! You've got to be kidding me!!!! We got our well earned goody bags with our tshirts in an had our medals presented by a man who put it around your neck for you. At the time I thought it was abit like having a medal presented at the olympics which was a nice touch but in hindsight I think it was more about not being able to physically lift the medal and put it around your neck after all the exertion! It was pretty heavy!!! 

We found Emma and Gary in the finishing area who had done an amazing run - poor Emma had suffered throughout her training with all sorts of injuries, and Gary was struck down on the day with a leg muscle strain which meant he ran most of the second half of the race in a lot of discomfort. It was good to have us all back together in one piece and successful in our mission to finish, although I did hear Gary say at the end that he was going to do it again which was funny as at the 16 mile mark he most definitely said he was never, ever doing it again!! 

I felt pretty horrific after the finish and had to lay down on the grass for a prolonged period whilst I debated whether I was going to be sick or pass out. Amazingly I only had one small blister and the rest of me seemed to all be intact, although my back felt badly bruised as thought I'd been kicked by a horse or something!!! After forcing down a rehydration salts drink, a packet of plain crisps and a portion of chips I finally felt able to move and think about heading up for the bus back to the city. Unbelievably this was over a mile away and up a HILL, which took us ages to hobble and stumble up! We finally arrived home at 10pm and after another packet of crisps, two yorkie biscuits, a bar of dark chocolate, a chocolate milkshake, and a diet coke I finally felt vaguely normal again! 


I've woken up this morning feeling absolutely exhausted and unable to put any weight on my left ankle which is now a funny shape and colour for some unknown reason but so, so relieved that it's over and proud that we all did it and raised so much money for our various charities! 

When I started this blog, I said this would be my first and last marathon, and I don't think anything has changed. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Nothing at the moment could make me want to do it again but I am immensely proud to say I've done it as I never ever in my life thought I would so to have ticked it off before my 30th birthday feels amazing. 


So I'll sign off by saying thank you for reading, thank you for supporting me and thank you to everyone who has sponsored me! If you haven't yet, it's not too late you can go to www.justgiving.com/sarahwalkermarathon to donate, or you can text SOSW83 £1 to 70070


THANK YOU & GOODBYE :)


Sarah xxx

Time to PANIC!!!!

So there's a week to go to M-day! This time next week I will be pounding the streets of Edinburgh, chugging through the 26.2miles to (hopefully) the finish line! Feeling a mixture of excitement (?!?!), nervousness and fear but overall I can't wait to get it over and done with! For weeks, months really, I've been thinking about the day and worrying that I won't get enough training in etc, but now the training is done and all I have to do is turn up at the right place and the right time and keep my fingers crossed that my legs comply and the weather is kind to us!

I ran yesterday for the first time in a week having rested all week due to the pain in my calves / shins. My leg hurt for the whole 8 miles and isn't too pleased with me today so will hope that it forgives me by next week otherwise it could be a loooong day! Panicking abit about what's wrong with it but all I can do now is hope that it will be fine!

My race pack has arrived so it's all official now! Bit gutted that I'm in a different start zone to my friends - don't fancy running all that way by myself and with no music..... but hopefully we will get something sorted! Seven sleeps to go.... better get carb loading (surely the best part of marathon training)!!!!

Taper time!

FINALLY! It's time to taper - woohoo! All the weeks of trying to clock up as many miles as possible are over and I can start to ease off, reassured by the fact that I've done (hopefully) enough mileage over the past 4 months to see me through on M-day! It actually feels abit weird to not be thinking about how I can fit in an hour run here, a two hour run there etc etc - maybe I'm actually missing it?!??!

Had a moment of madness the other day.... I saw that the ballot was open for the 2013 London Marathon and I quickly clicked on the link and read all the details.... sounded amazing and I was daydreaming about what it would be like to do such a famous run.... then fortunately before I finished typing in my details I realised that I was clearly losing my mind! Another marathon??!?! Erm I don't think so! Certainly not in April as I will be spending most of January on honeymoon or generally chilling out in post-wedding calmness! But maybe one day.......? Haha what have I turned into?!?!?! Maybe I'm a running addict?!? Will have to wait and see how I feel on 27 May - I bet I'll be glad I managed to resist signing up :)

From fear to nervous excitement?!?!?!

So today I've had a bizarre experience - I actually felt a *little bit excited* about doing the marathon! I think a combination of relief at completing 18 miles (wooooohooooooo) without too much trouble combined with a break in the torrential rain we've had all week and the niggling migraine I've had the last few days, but also watching the London marathon on TV. Seeing all the runners plodding through the streets for their various charities cheered on by the crowds, and the sheer relief and elation on their faces at crossing the finishing line actually made me feel a little bit excited that in 5 weeks time (yikes!) that's (hopefully... fingers crossed, touchwood etc etc) going to be me and my friends! Today was probably the first day I've actually felt a tiny bit confident and reassured that maybe it's possible to do it! Am also hoping that my legs are coming round to the idea too as my knee behaved itself the whole way round today - long may it continue!

I think it is almost definite that I will cry at the end - I'm not really a crying sort of person but I don't do tired very well and I can get quite overwhelmed by things like this! I'm pretty sure I'll soon get over this though when my other half will no doubt tell me I'm being a weirdo! He's also told me not to take too long to do the marathon as he'll have to wait around at the end - haha!

The sponsors keep on coming which is just fab - I think I have over £500 now already if I include the money my family have raised offline by putting the thumb screws on everyone they know - so exciting when I set out hoping to get £200-300, maybe I can push it even higher now if people keep on being so generous!!!

My next task is to sort out my outfit for the day - shorts / cropped leggings / full length running tights is one dilemma, but I also need to find a top and decorate it in some sort of Main project logo if possible! Plus I need to decide whether to stick with my trusty new socks or to go for the fetching knee high compression socks (in pink or black!)?!?!? decisions decisions!!!!

Nice of Ellie Goulding to drop by (via my earphones at the end of the run) to congratulate me on my furthest ever run (18.4 miles) and my longest ever duration of run (2hrs 50 mins!) - am hoping Paula Radcliffe might call in at the end of the marathon.

The impossible seems possible - believe!!!!!

Four seasons

Well that was erm.... interesting! Just been for a 12 mile run that pretty much involved every type of weather possible! I set off in light rain that quickly turned to heavy rain during the first mile (two men on bikes were even hiding under a tree for shelter and looking a little sheepish as I ran past!), then stopped and became rather blustery (saw the same two guys later trying not to fall off their bikes on an exposed part of the route they were sharing with me!), then it was boiling hot to the point I was thinking about what layers were removable, and then finally the last mile I got hail stoned - nice! Just spoke to my marathon partner Kat who tells me that she's just done a 15 mile run in baking sunshine - how does that happen that the north-west is nice weather?!?!? It's never been nice all the times I've visited but she even sent me photographic evidence!

Knee news is abit up and down this week - did 10 miles on Wednesday - hardly any pain at all - today it was fine for the first 4 miles or so then was almost unbearable by the end - damn!!!! Kat is having similar problems though which in a weird way reassures me (sorry Kat!) but it makes it seem more normal and therefore more manageable! Bizarre how my mind works I know but there you go!

On the charity front, I'd like to remind everyone who I'm raising money for and why it's so important to try and support them! The Main Project have recently rebranded with a swanky new website and some new services to support young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families. The clubs and events they run for young people not only give parents a respite break but also help young people to develop their socialising skills and have opportunities to undertake activities that otherwise they would struggle to access. Check out their website / Facebook page etc and if you can spare a quid or two to support this fab charity then it would be much appreciated! You can sponsor me anytime 24/7 at http://www.justgiving.com/SarahWalkerMarathon

Thank you :D

Conspiracy theories

I'm starting to think that the powers that be are trying to tell me that this marathon is a bad idea! Having overcome most of what the fates have had to throw at me so far, I was massively disappointed for my long-lost acquaintance of hay fever to make a surprise reappearance this week after a 10 year absence! Cue lots of lethargy, blocked sinuses, headaches and puffy eyes - great!!

Since I last wrote, I managed to struggle through a 16 mile run last Sunday - it was frighteningly difficult considering it's still 10 miles short of what I will need to do on M-day itself! A particularly warm day didn't help the hay fever, plus then I managed to time my 2 mile home-leg on the beach with high tide so the sand was squishy underfoot - not good for my tired legs! My catastrophic thoughts of being swept out to sea from being unable to scramble up the sand dunes away from the sea because I was so tired kept me going - I didn't dare stop!!! I found that the last 4-5 miles were so hard going that I lost my usual politeness of getting out of the way of people. No chance passers-by - I can't possibly move to the left or right, or down a curb or onto the verge - anything like that would need more energy and upset my rhythm so you're going to have to get out of my way or else I'll run right over the top of you! It's not often that I feel like I don't want to stop - the temptation is always there to just stop and catch my breath or stretch out abit, but no chance this day. I knew if I stopped I would just have to lay down on that very spot and hope that someone found me before I died of starvation or cold! Slightly melodramatic as I did have my phone on me, so I could've just called someone but you get the idea! By the time I got home, Ste - who had ran the first 6 miles with me and was showered and fed by this point - stood and clapped my stagger into the garden. I must have looked rough because he even got me a glass of water! I also found out from this run that I don't think I can really stomach the carbohydrate energy drinks as I spent most of the last few miles trying not to throw up as a result of my experimentation! Bad times all round but hey ho at least the miles were done.

For added entertainment and to add a new source of worry - the niggle I have been feeling in my knee has gotten much worse. From my descriptions over the phone to my best mate/marathon partner/personal physio, it seems that I have aggravated my ITB which is the strip of muscle down the outside of my knee. So now every time I run for longer than 2-3 miles it hurts. A lot. And then I stop running and it's fine. Erm - what the hell?!?!? Looking on the internet for more info on this (as you do with all medical conditions for reliable advice - lol!) I came across an article about the 5 most common running injuries. Turns out I have 4 of the 5 at the moment to a greater or lesser degree - only one more and I've got the whole set!

I've struggled through three shorter runs this week in order to prepare for a longer one yesterday. The training plan I've been following said I needed to do 15-18 miles but I was anxious after the pain I've been in on shorter runs this week. To cut a long story short (and I'm sure you're sick of my moaning by now!) I  managed 14 miles before I had to admit defeat as my leg was about to give way in a most un-ladylike manner in the streets of saltburn! I'd ran 6-7 miles to redcar (somehow ending up in the starting area of a 10k road race en route!) before being joined by my faithful running partners Ste and Joe for the return leg back to Saltburn. My knee was fine for the first 2 miles but then ached for the rest to the point that by the end my hip, back and ankle were all feeling like they were in cramp - nice! It was so frustrating as my blisters were all fine (vaseline = magic!), I had plenty of energy and didn't feel hungry (porridge for breakfast is the way forward & jelly babies en route to keep me powered up!) and the weather was perfect for running (cool, gentle breeze and the odd bit of drizzle), but my knee just wouldn't comply any longer so I had to give. Very, very annoying and abit worrying with the run only just over 7 weeks away! All the advice for ITB problems is to reduce your mileage or take time off running all together - neither of which I can do so I'm just going to have to plod on and hope for the best! The foam roller Ste got me for my birthday is definitely going to come in handy now!!! Pass the deep heat and the ibuprofen please!

Survival of the fittest

So I survived the ultimate fitness weekend! And what a fab weekend it was! Managed an 11 mile run on the Friday morning before we headed off to Sherwood Forest, of which the first 9 miles went great - sub-8 minute pace, but then the headwind for the last two miles back on the beach was too much for my lungs and legs to take and my pace dropped off dramatically! Was good to get the miles in but possibly wasn't the best preparation for the weekend ahead!!!

Friday night we went to the welcome class - an hour of zumba and bookia to get the blood pumping! Saturday we were up and out early to do bootcamp - a real beasting involving running through the woods stopping off periodically to do triceps dips and press ups, followed by a series of torturous squats, jumps, runs, planks and other painful exercises to burn those calories! Favourites included wheelbarrow races with your partner (although my partner was too wriggly and I couldn't keep hold!) and resistance running where we had to run away from our partner whilst they pulled back on a resistance band around our waists! By the time that was over I was exhausted but it was straight off to running club for some hill work and sprints! We then got a short break to devour some lunch before hammering the hilarious Kardy's dance party (check it out here - absolutely brilliant fun), an adrenaline pumping Body Combat session by 'grand master' Justin Riley, and a choon-filled zumba old-school class! No rest for the wicked though as we then had to quickly get home and get reem-ed up for the TOWIE party! It took a few glasses of wine and shots of jaegermeiser to be brave enough to leave the villa in my outfit so we were quite merry by the time we arrived at the party! It doesn't take much to get you tipsy when you've been exercising all day believe me!

Fortunately I didn't go too wild and managed to get up the next morning without too much trouble to fill up on bacon and sausage sandwiches ready to take on the days classes! Managed to fit in zumba, body attack (yes it is as bad as it sounds!), zumba toning and zumba party with a quick swim in-between whilst I skived off hula fitness (decided I didn't quite have the coordination for it!). By the end of Sunday we were starving and aching from head to toe but smiling from ear to ear! I've honestly not laughed so much for a long time, and the atmosphere was just fab - totally addictive! Was relieved to not come away with any injuries and still being able to actually walk as I need to keep on running this week! The weather is lush too so that will make it abit easier to get out there this week (I hope!). Need to do a 15-16 miler at the weekend.... hoping the increased fitness from this weekend will help me through it and all the long runs that are to come!

Change of tactics!

Well this is turning into somewhat of a roller coaster ride! There's more highs and lows in this marathon training than in Jack Bauer's typical day! The plan seemed to be going OK last week and I decided to mix it up abit with an off-road almost trail-type run last week along the cliff tops, dragging the lads along for company. There were some pretty scary points where the path got too close to sheer drops to the sea and the rocks below for my liking but on the plus side it made you not dare stop and also kept the pace up!!!!

Sadly, from the next day onwards I felt horrendous. Two nights missed sleep due to coughing my head off didn't help me to feel any better when I was already feeling pretty lousy. So the 15 mile run didn't happen - bad times! I was still up for giving it a go the night before until my better half pointed out that I looked and sounded terrible and that I must be pretty stupid for even thinking about it. When I woke up on the saturday morning I could barely get out of bed and walk downstairs, never mind run for 2-3 hours so I gratefully wimped out and laid on the sofa instead. It's thoroughly annoying, not to mention anxiety provoking, that my immune system keep rebelling against everything I'm throwing at my body at the moment. I know I'm doing too much but there's nothing I can give up and so I'll just have to keep going! So - I'm changing tactics! Going to try and be nice to my immune system and I've been out and invested in some multi-vitamins and a whole load of fruit to try and refuel my body! I know that I'm not alone in my trials and tribulations though as my friend's bodies are also rebelling in the same way - poor Emma is struggling with her rebellious leg again and is starting to worry she might not be able to do the marathon. I really hope she can because I know how badly she wants to and I have every confidence she can do, as long as her leg starts to comply!!!!

Went for my first run for a WEEK (yikes) last night and it wasn't too bad although the cough immediately returned (booo). Going to try and get a longish run in tomorrow before heading off to Centre Parcs for 'The Ultimate Fitness Weekend' where basically I'm going to torture my body into submission with zumba, body combat, boot camp, running, cx works and god knows what else!!! Hmmm - Better pass the vitamins - I don't think my body is going to be friends with me come Monday morning!!!

Lesson learnt!!

So I've learnt some important lessons today: firstly, to not put off doing my washing as this will end up in me having to go for a 13 mile run in socks that give me a blister at 4 miles (ouch!) and secondly, don't go on said run without a drink as this would just be stupid. Needless to say today's long run was hard work and my feet are not happy with me (the left one seems particularly furious!) and I've got a banging headache from the dehydration. Ooops! I guess it's better to make these mistakes now than in 11 weeks time though! The pain was slightly eased by the final leg of my run being on the pier (cue an interesting GPS map of the run which makes me look like I can walk on water!)....

... the reason the pier cheered me up so much was because of the latest addition to it! Incase you didn't know, Saltburn has its very own "guerrilla knitter"who goes around "yarn bombing" various places / objects in the town. I often go past the teddy bears having a picnic on the promenade and it always makes me smile! The latest addition to the pier is nothing short of epic... if you haven't seen it already you NEED to go and see if for yourself, no photo can do it justice! Just make sure you wear sensible socks and take a drink :)

This week I've got two 4 mile runs and a 7 mile run to fit in mid-week, and a 15 mile run to do at the weekend - the furthest I've ran so far - yikes! Hope my feet forgive me by then! Better go and fill up on vast quantities of chocolate to help build up my energy stores for the week ahead :) 

Back in the game

OK so it's been an up and down week! Tuesday was my birthday so for ultimate smugness I went out and did 7 and half miles in preparation for a day of bridesmaid dress shopping and excessive consumption of cadburys giant buttons and pancakes! I was lucky enough to get The Grid from my fiancé - a foam roller for torturing, erm I mean helping your muscles after a run (I did ask for this by the way, not just a random pressie!).

Ive been starting to get a worrying ache in my Achilles and the bottom of my foot recently. I mentioned it to the podiatrist on Wed and he's given me some stretches to work on and apparently I need to invest in a tennis ball! Surely I cant be falling apart just because I've turned 29 now and my body is now in its 30th year?! All my joints are getting clicky so standing up from being sat on the floor sounds awful - its happening - I am getting OLD :O

Anyway, back to running! After my smug run, things didn't go as well, I've still not shaken off this cold properly and I'm feeling exhausted and unmotivated - not good! Had Friday off work on annual leave but woke up with a migraine - great! After a few cups of tea, a morning in my pyjamas and the amazing migraine zapping tablets I have found, I managed to drag myself around Saltburn for a slow, torturous 4miles, but at least it was done!

I'd resolved in my mind that this weekend needed to include a long run so Sunday morning I was relieved to wake up to lovely sunshine & feeling much better! I headed off to Redcar where I met our friend (& best man at our wedding) Joe who ran back with me, clocking up an impressive 7 miles himself. After an attempted sprint finish down the last road to our house which ended in Joe nearly throwing up in the street, I convinced him to try The Grid, which he described as "the worst pain ever". Good eh! The hilarious end to the day was that I dropped Joe back off at home and commented that his good lady wife, Karen, had gone out, to which Joe reassured me that there would be a spare key for him so off I went. Two hours later and I've just got a text saying he was locked out and had to run to his in-laws resulting in his blisters getting bigger and him having to sit around in his father-in-laws dressing gown until Karen turned up with some clean clothes - haha!! Anyway, I'm pleased with how this morning went and hopefully I can get back on track now and push on over the next few weeks! Fingers crossed!

Speaking too soon.....?!?!

Well I think it could possibly be karma? That will teach me for being so smug and positive after the half marathon effort that I breezed through! Did a speed session in the gym the following Monday.... and then it's all been downhill - in the metaphorical sense not the literal - I wish! I've managed to acquire a lovely cold / sore throat / chesty cough combo which meant that by Thursday I could barely get out of bed and get dressed (eventually managing to do so by 11am - thank god for a late start that day!). As part of my birthday celebrations I'd arranged for a group of my friends to come over this weekend from their various locations in the country, including the three other mentalists who are doing the marathon. So the plan was that the four of us would go for a long run on Saturday morning and then meet the others for lunch, drinks, dinner etc etc... but that didnt quite come about!

What a bunch we are! Somewhat thankfully for me, none of us could manage the long run we had planned due to a bad knee (Kat), horriffic blisters (Emma) and work (Gary), plus my horrible cold, but at least I wasnt the only one skiving off! Kat and I decided to compromise and go out and do a gentle, short run but when I woke up and saw the torrential rain and blowing gales I was less than keen to get out there! Thankfully, by the time she arrived and I'd opened my presents (yey!) the weather had brightened and we managed to get out and do a respectable 5 miles with my lungs and her knee holding out quite well. It's always a difficult decision whether to rest or to push yourself when you're feeling run down and rough, because I dont want to get behind in my training, but I dont want to make it worse either if a few easy days could sort it! Anyway, we were feeling quite please with ourselves so took the opportunity to eat a massive plate of fish & chips and then spend the rest of the day in the pub with the rest of the gang - ending with a drunken game of Just Dance and Jaegerbombs. And so my plans yesterday of getting back out for another run today are on hold due to feeling rough again - but dont have any sympathy - it was self-induced! - But well worth it :) Here's hoping for a more productive week this week!

Half-way there!

Well it's been a mixed week in terms of marathon preparation! In terms of getting sponsors and support for the MAIN Project, things are going very well indeed! I've had loads of people contact me having seen the article in the paper and offer to sponsor me. There have been a number of noticeable themes in peoples comments..... 1. what on earth is going on with your hair in that photo? (yes I know, thank you!),  2. You're only 28? I want to see your birth certificate! (erm thanks very much u cheeky sod! I am nearly 29 though to be fair!), 3. do you always wear make-up to go running in? (no - of course not but I thought my usual running look of bright purple face wouldn't look too appealing in the paper), and 4. 26 miles? are you mad? (Yes).

On the running side, however, things haven't been progressing quite so well! After my 9m run in the snow last Sunday I was left with all sorts of aches and pains Monday and Tuesday so I just went to zumba those days and left my running shoes at home. Wednesday and Thursday went by in a blur due to long days and endless hours in the car because of terrible conditions on the roads and before I knew it it was Friday and I didn't want to run last night because I had planned to do a long run this morning. So we went out for a pizza and a bottle of wine instead! Hmm not the best week of marathon training, but interestingly this gave me more motivation and energy (probably both driven by fear and guilt) to get up at a reasonable hour this morning and head out for a long run. And run long I did! Half a marathon to be exact - and do you know what? It wasn't even that bad. For YEARS I wanted to run a HM in under two hours but struggled with the training, my confidence and the belief that I could do it. Now, I just get up on a saturday morning go for a nice little jog to redcar and back and low and behold I've done it again. When I last did the GNR in Sept 2011 I did a PB of 1:48, - we hammered the first 9 miles at 8min pace before I hit the wall and struggled through the last four miles with Ste's encouragement! Today, I feel that I took it pretty easy but in the end it was only 9 mins slower than my PB! Could this be progress?!?!? I hope so because in 15 weeks time I'm going to have to run twice as far!

Fame at last.... *gulp*!

So tonight my mobile rings whilst I'm at work and it's my grandparents, both talking at the same time down the phone as usual, but I managed to decipher that they were trying to tell me that the local paper has published the article about me running the marathon for the Main Project (click here to see it!). So I frantically searched the online paper and then nearly drowned in a wave of cringing as I see my face grinning inanely back at me. Fortunately the 'close up' shot that was in the printed edition of the paper has been left out of the online article so thankfully that won't be hanging around in cyberspace to haunt me for the rest of my life! I'm pleased at the publicity it's generated for the charity and the money I'm trying to raise, but it's taught me a valuable lesson in checking what your hair looks like when you're running and not just when you're standing still! You'll have to have a look now to see what I mean haha! The night only got stranger when I got home and looked on Facebook, only to find that several of the local community groups had already spotted the story and broadcast it to all their members! Might have to start wearing a disguise when I go out running now!

Snow fun!

Well today's run was interesting! Full-on blizzard conditions yesterday whilst I was sat watching Boro in a bore-draw meant that it was nearly bedtime before I could actually feel my fingers and toes again! So I'd funnily prepared myself to be heading off to the treadmill this morning to try and get a long run in. I was sorely tempted to skive off and stay in bed but the fear of it being only 16 weeks TODAY until the marathon made me drag my lazy backside downstairs and pull my trainers on. It was then that I saw a couple of people out running in the snow - and so the competitive streak struck me again! No way could I wimp out and go to the nice warm gym if there were other people out running in the snow, so I got changed into some more appropriate gear to brave the elements and headed out. Now I'm not much of an expert when it comes to running in the snow, but I've found out that the nice crunchy stuff is quite good for running in and there was a nice sprinkling of it awaiting me!

Now, I'm quite used to people looking at me like I'm abit strange when I'm out running, probably something to do with the bizarre clothing combinations of clothes I wear, the shock of seeing my make-up-less face or perhaps the slightly worrying purple / luminous red colour I tend to go when out pounding the streets. Today, however, was in a whole new league. People looked at me as though I was actually insane (which I probably was I realised after the first mile or so!) By the time I got to the next town and splashed through a few slushy puddles, I was thinking I might have made a bad decision. I opted to stick to flat, straight roads to try and minimise the likelihood of breaking my neck. I have to say though that there was no danger of getting bored running in the snow, I was on high alert the whole time, scanning the floor and horizon for signs of icy patches that might lead to an embarrassing fall or even an untimely death. By the time I got to 6 miles though I'd had enough so opted to hit the beach earlier than I would usually just to get away from the stress of having to watch my every stride and having to hold back from hitting the ground too hard. It certainly was a relief to be on the non-slip sand (although there was some snow on the higher parts of the beach which never fails to amaze me!) and the last three miles went surprisingly quickly despite the monotony of running toward the pier that never seems to get any closer! There were a surprising number of people out on the beach enjoying the crisp, clear day although I didn't see any other runners so all their looks and smiles of pity / sympathy / horror were saved just for me!

Needless to say I was glad to get back home in the warm, away from the knowing smiles of people who have clocked my madness! Have been slightly pleased with myself all day though that I did go out in the snow, as though that counts as extra points somehow - ridiculous I know!

I also had some strange looks yesterday as I ran up and down the road in front of my house (in a running vest despite it being -4) whilst the photographer from the paper took photos of me for the article they're hoping to run soon. I'm pretty sure he got the shots he needed the first time but then he just wanted to make me look and feel even sillier as the local dog walkers and residents watched on in amusement / disbelief. It was only after he drove off that I realised I hadn't asked to see the photos so god only knows what they look like! I guess I'll have to wait and find out when it's in the paper....... uhoh!

Oversleeping.... ooops

So this morning I had planned to get up early and do 10k before I headed out for the day. Unfortunately my arm had other ideas when it reached out and repetitively pressed the snooze button on my alarm clock - oooops! So I ended up with less than half an hour to get a run in - no chance I would be able to get that distance in with the time I had! It was tempting to roll over and snooze for another half an hour but reminding myself that I'd regret it later I dragged my lazy backside out of bed and pulled on my kit to head out into the freezing morning air. I think the combination of being very cold, very tired and very late led to the obvious decision to do a speed run. Recently I've been trying to get the distance in (apart from when I'm messing about on the treadmill playing my silly mind games!), so I thought I'd take the opportunity to mix things up abit. When you're trying to go as fast as possible it always helps to go at times when there are loads of teenagers milling about who have the potential to mock you so it was perfect then that I managed to time my run with the entire teenage community heading into school for the day! The result of this was a quick 5k at sub 8 min speed and even time for a cup of tea when I got back - every cloud and all that! Maybe I'll have to oversleep more often :)

Productive weekends!

Well I've had a VERY productive weekend for once! Went and ordered my wedding dress yesterday after getting the seal of approval from my best friend and then we spent the rest of the day looking at other wedding related stuff whilst catching up and giggling about all the exciting things that are happening at the moment as well as getting a little bit hysterical about the daunting task of the marathon which is now only 17 weeks away!

So despite eating a huge curry and washing it down with a few glasses of wine last night, we dragged ourselves out of bed at a very reasonable time for a Sunday morning and headed off for a run. Fortunately the weather was kind to us and although it was cold, the wind wasn't cutting us in half and we soon got warmed through once we were on the move. We took it at a nice steady pace (probably our marathon pace) and managed to quite easily complete 10 miles. It feels strange to be writing that as having only ever trained for half marathons in the past, running 10 miles has always been a huge effort in training and felt insurmountable at times, yet bizarrely it was relatively comfortable and not too strenuous to do the 10 miles and I didn't need to collapse in a heap on the floor when we got back. Perhaps there's something psychological about knowing that it's only a fraction of the distance we're going to need to cover on race day but it was definitely comforting to be able to do the 10 miles without feeling like my legs were going to fall off or my lungs were going to burst! I love being able to chat to people when I run and it was a rare but lovely chance to do this with my bezzie as she lives so far away now we don't get to run together much anymore.

We finished the last couple of miles by returning to Saltburn along the beach. I'm always struck by how lovely and picturesque it can be running along there on a clear day and it makes me feel lucky to live so near the sea. Here's the view we had as we ran along the beach.....

The downside of running along the beach (apart from getting sand in your socks and increasing the chance of getting chased by an excitable dog) is that you have to somehow get from the beach back to the road, which in Saltburn leaves you with three choices: Walk up the (very steep) bank (to illustrate in a car you need to be in 2nd gear maximum to get up, usually 1st gear as you go around the bends!); run through the valley gardens and then go up an almost vertical path to the playground at the top; or run up 100 or so steps up the cliff edge. In summer you have the option of going up in the Victorian cliff lift but the shame of having to do this has always prevented me from queueing up and parting with my 20p! Having tried all of the aforementioned options and found all of them equally as impossible, I'm currently favouring the steps option and so we dragged ourselves up them without too much trouble I'm pleased to report and were able to enjoy the view from the top!.....

So productive weekends are the way forward I feel. Now I just need to keep this going for the next 4 months and keep adding on the miles - easy! Well, I hope so!

Feeling like a celeb!

Well I've had some rather exciting and new experiences this week and feel a little bit like some sort of minor celeb! Firstly, I've been luck that a gym in my local town, Heathwise Fitness, heard about me doing the marathon and that I was raising money for the MAIN Project and so they have very kindly offered to give me free membership over the next few months whilst I'm training so that I can use their treadmill when the weather is too bad / too off putting to get out and get the miles in I need to! They have also offered to put in the first £50 sponsor money and to ask their members to sponsor me too - absolutely brilliant! Healthwise is a local gym, not a multi-million pound mega-gym and I can imagine in the current economic climate they're struggling to survive and keep their heads above water like a lot of other businesses so it's even more lovely and exciting that they have offered to support me and the charity in this way! Thank you!

My second pseudo-celeb experience is that I've just been interviewed by the local paper who have heard about my fundraising as they are currently running a series of articles about fundraising for the MAIN project and so would like to do one on me too. I don't think I've ever been interviewed by a newspaper before and it's a strange experience thinking that you have to choose every word carefully so as not to say anything silly. Thankfully it wasn't too scary and the lady who I spoke to, Emma, was lovely. They want to come out and take a photo of me in my running gear though so I think I'll have to check a few outfits out in the mirror as I'm pretty sure that I've never looked particularly good when I'm going out for a run (especially with the knee high bright pink compression socks on) so I'll have to find the least ridiculous combination!

Feeling surprisingly healthy and lively this morning despite a hard 10k run around Gateshead last night with my friend around a route we like to call the "bum blaster" due to the ridiculous hills the first few miles offer up! Nice views of the Angel of the North to try and compensate for the pain but last night it was shrouded in mist which made it all feel abit eerie as though I was in a bad dream or something! We also engaged in another of the daft running games I get drawn into - trying to get to your target distance when you miscalculate it! This involved us running round and round the block when we got back to her house to get up to 10k - stopping short of this is just not an option! I'm pretty sure I splashed in the same puddle about four times - doh! We're hoping to beat our time (and calculate the distance better) next week so watch this space......!

Mind Games

Running away in the gym today (bit too dark, icy and windy outside!) it came to my attention that I play a lot of mind games when I run to detract from the boredom and to keep me going. This got me thinking about whether I'm alone in this, or whether other people do their own games and if so what are they?!? I once read that Paula Radcliffe likes to count during each mile so that she knows how far through the mile she is at any point, but I guess she probably doesn't have to count as high as I would given that she will have finished a marathon, had a shower, eaten a three course meal and been to the supermarket for her shopping before I'll be hitting the 20 mile point! Also, I don't have the discipline for such a game, my mind would wander (ouch my knee hurts!.... hmm what shall I have for tea?.... is that dog wearing a hat?!?!) and I would quickly lose count, obviously defeating the object! So what games do I play? Well as I go along and spot these weird mid games I like to play I'll try to give you an insight to some of my current favourites.......

The first game is one for outdoor running and what I have entitled "Recycling Intrigue": This is a game to be played on bin day, and it needs to be an early morning run before the bin men have been. Basically I enjoy running around the various estates noticing the types of things people have in their recycling bags / boxes - sounds dull? Believe me it's actually fascinating! For example, the people who live in the massive dream house who you presume are millionaires but have a huge number of 'no frills' type baked beans in their recycling. Then there's the types of cereal people eat (can be determined on cardboard recycling day).... I have a theory that the type of cereal people have reflects something about them, in terms of their age, their lifestyle and their outlook on life etc. Try it - and see what you find out about people! The recycling day between Christmas and New Year was nothing short of entertaining and possibly one of the highlights of the bin-day schedule, all the bottles and tins people had out on display on the kerb was captivating, looking at the trends as you go from street to street, estate to estate - it kept me going through a 11 mile run without too much boredom so it must have been good! I realise that this probably makes me look slightly mad, but I bet next time you see someones green box or bag of cardboard outside their house that you have a sneaky look as you pass :)

In the gym, however, it's obviously considerably more difficult to look at people's rubbish so I have to occupy myself in other ways. If there are other people around, perhaps running on treadmills alongside me, I like to try and run slightly faster than them. This has an added layer of danger however as it involves a degree of sideways spying on their display which can lead to problems if you don't keep your balance very well - there have been times when I've nearly tripped over or been thrown off the treadmill by not paying enough attention to what I'm doing! If I'm running solo, however, I like to try and set myself little challenges like sprinting for 30 seconds then recovering for a couple of minutes, then trying to go faster the next time round etc etc, or trying to run up hills but keeping the same speed going. I find that messing about with the buttons in this way stops you from being overwhelmingly bored (and thinking about all the aches and pains etc!) and makes the time go much faster. Playing this sort of game has made me realise just how competitive I can be, particularly with myself, I don't like to do less than I did last time, or run slower, but almost end up daring myself to go faster and faster each time. Sad I know but hey ho it passes the time and makes it feel like a proper workout!

I'm pretty sure there are loads of other strange things I'm already doing to pass the time but I just don't realise it! Hoping I can find one that will keep me occupied for 26 miles so that ideally I don't realise how tired I am, how long it's taking how much my feet/knees/back hurt etc etc - I'll let you know if I find one!

Blown away (nearly!)

Just got back from a rather tough 10k morning run with my new running buddy - the lovely Sam :) We spent the first two miles running straight into the (very strong) wind which resulted in us feeling like we were running on the spot at times! It's really hard to get your breath and feeling like you're being pushed back the whole time makes it all the more difficult, but when you turn the corner and get out of the wind you feel like a champion, as though running is suddenly effortless and you're just gliding along! Well that is until you come to a nice big hill or something! Anyway, despite the wind trying to sabotage our efforts we battled through and still made it around in decent time. Time for a nice cup of tea now I think! Seems like a strange thing to have when you come back in boiling hot but I do look forward to a lovely brew when all the hard work is over!

Piling on the pressure

Just back from a lovely morning run - a surprisingly enjoyable 6 miler, returning along the beach. It was a perfect morning for running - not too cold or windy, the sun shining and clear skies, and the run itself was actually quite enjoyable! I have to confess, I don't often find running enjoyable. I usually find it really hard work, sometimes quite boring - especially if I'm running on my own, and I just don't really like it that much. You're probably wondering why the hell I do it then - I often ask myself the same thing! I suppose it's partly because it's free (apart from my addiction to buying new kit!), and it keeps me fit, stopping me getting too fat, but then there's days like today, days when I love being outside and making the most of the beautiful area we live in, days when I don't feel like every single step is a huge effort, days when it's actually nice, possibly even fun, to be running. Days like today keep me going and renew my enthusiasm for running - and I wasn't expecting one of those mid-January! 


I did wimp out of trying my new trainers again though and reverted back to my old faithfuls for fear of more blisters, but also partly because I didn't want to get my pretty new ones covered in sand :D 


Anyway, more importantly, I've decided to run the marathon to raise money for the Main Project - so definitely no going back now (as if I could even if I wanted to!) as I have a charity to support and sponsors to motivate me! If you haven't heard of the MAIN Project before, it's a local charity in the Teesside area supporting children and families of young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). As a psychologist working with lots of children and young people with ASD, I know that the families I work with find the support offered by the MAIN Project invaluable but without continued financial support, the charity is in danger of having to cut some of the brilliant services they offer to young people and their families. So..... any sponsors would be greatly received by both me and the young people and families who access the Main Project - if you would like to sponsor me you can do so at my just giving page (click this link!) 


Thank you :)

New trainers :)

So, I've finally got over the doom and gloom of going back to work, and am able to walk again after getting over my first 'boot camp' session last week (ouch!) and so I can no longer justify not going running, especially as I've got new trainers - woohoo! These babies are going to be my vehicles for getting round the marathon course come May so I stuck with Nike as my last three pairs have been fab, plus these ones are all geared up for keeping my feet dry during the inevitable running in the rain I will have to put myself through over the next few months! I love buying new running kit - I could spend endless hours in my fave running shop, Start Fitness, looking at all the lovely tops and tights and shorts and jackets and socks and accessories and..... well you get the idea! Plus having new stuff makes me want to get out there and try it out! ;)

It looked like quite a nice day for going running - not too windy and not too cold so off I headed in my lovely lovely new trainers for a nice little 5.5 mile jaunt to Marske and back. Sadly this wasn't very good planning as by the second mile I my trainers were starting to rub and by the third it was raining and I was too far from home to stop / turn back so on I went. Back home now and my feet are not very happy about the new trainers - huge blister alert! Doh! Was abit stupid to not try and wear them in abit first so I will have to persist! Just not tomorrow as I think anything other than slippers is going to be painful! Grrrrrr!  Not the best start to my running year but hopefully it can only get better!?!?!?

Goodbye 2011.... HELLOOOOO 2012

Happy New Year!

I'm very excited with all that 2012 has to hold... as well as taking on the marathon challenge I'm also getting married this year (eek exciting to say that for the first time!) and doing a PGDip at Uni, as well as working full time... so it's going to be busy busy busy :O YIKES! 

Last year I set myself the challenge of running 625 miles (1000km) in a year, but as usual I left things to the last minute and had to run 18 miles over the past two days to get to my target before midnight! This resulted in me running in the rain yesterday and having to limp the last 2.5miles due to my knee protesting at my stupidity! So my new years resolution needs to be to stop leaving things to the last minute!!! 

I'd better get cracking with this marathon training then.... but not today... one too many glasses of wine last night and my knee still isn't friends with me.... maybe tomorrow then ;)