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!

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 :)

The beginning....

So here we go... my first ever marathon and my first ever blog. What on earth am I doing!?! I've never ever thought about writing my own blog or running a marathon for that matter so I'm not quite sure how I find myself doing both! I've done 5 half-marathons so far in my little running 'career' and at the end of every one I've said the same thing.. "there's not a chance I could turn round and run back again!", usually followed by "there's no way I'll ever enter a marathon - that's just stupid!". Hmm not quite sure how I've gone from this state of mind to shelling out my hard earned cash to pay for the pleasure of dragging myself round 26.2miles of hell!

Well actually, that's a lie, I know exactly how it's happened - a bad combination of a competitive streak and peer pressure! When I heard that a couple of my close friends were signing up for the marathon I was tempted, but then when my best friend said she was doing it too, I couldn't not do it. It became something I HAD to do - something to tick off the 'list' before I was 30, I needed to do it if they were going to and it would be a brilliant thing to do with my lovely friends. All of a sudden it seemed like a really good idea. Other runners gave me lots of encouragement and reassurance about being able to do a marathon after I'd smashed my PB at the Great North Run in September, and before I knew it I was typing my credit card details into the website and my place in the Edinburgh Marathon was secured.

Then it hit me - what on earth am I doing?!? I can't run that far! I don't have the time or the patience to train for it! Uhoh!!!! And so I find myself facing this daunting challenge with no idea how I'm going to do it, but I do know that I can't back out - I can't quit now, I'd rather crawl the course on my hands and knees than change my mind about it (there's that damn competitive (?stubborn/ ?stupidity) streak again!).

So that leads me to the reason for this blog.... I'm hoping that by writing about my trials and tribulations (I know there will be many!) that it might help me through the torture the next few months is going to bring, help me keep laughing (not resort to crying), keep me motivated and hopefully allow me to get that finishers medal! So thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the journey!