Here it is – my Virgin London Marathon 2010 write-up

Grab a cup of tea and a biscuit, because it’s going to be a marathon write-up (ha ha) and plenty of photos!

With each photo, click on it to get the bigger and better version. All were taken by Steve, except where indicated or are taken from obviously someone (me!) running the race. Some of them may not load – I can assure you that they ARE there, it’s just WordPress is being crap and slow and doesn’t load them all each time. Try clicking on the caption to see the missing photos – they should open in a new window.

So. Sunday dawned, I got up, covered myself in Body Glide (fancy runner’s Vaseline!) got dressed, and went out the front door.

Heading off out

Under the tracksuit top and bottoms, was my full marathon kit, as shown to y’all on Saturday:

Anatomy of a marathon runner

The day had arrived. The road closure signs had been around for a while, so there was no escaping it now!

Road closures

I was expected to run this (as recorded by my faithful Garmin!)

Map of the London Marathon route

---

At the station, I bumped into a chap who was also running his first marathon. He’d won a competition by Adidas to get a place, so he was kitted out in shiny new Adidas gear. We chatted on the train until we reached our destination of Maze Hill to calm nerves! Once I got off the train, it was time to walk up the hill to the start.

Anxious runners walking to the start

My first task for the day was to hunt down Ruth from the Miscarriage Association, who was waiting for the charity runners outside the runner’s enclosure. I spotted her quite quickly, just as the heavens completely opened! She took some photos.. see here and here! I also chatted to Stephen, who was aiming for a super-human 3h30!

Before long it was time to head in to the runner’s enclosure. Showing the dudes at the entrance my number, I was finally allowed somewhere the general public wasn’t! It hadn’t stopped pouring with rain, and most runners were huddled either under trees, or on the bandstand.

Runners sheltering on the bandstand

I put on my heart rate monitor (it had been a source of drama the previous day when it went temporarily missing and turned out to be in the place we’d first looked and re-looked five times!) and handed my bag over to the baggage lorries. It was time to visit the toilet.. except I couldn’t see any toilets. All I could see were the female urinals, yep, you read that right. So I queued up there, and was handed a cardboard thing to go in, inside an enclosed area with dozens of women with their shorts half down. My use of the cardboard device did not go entirely to plan but the less said about that the better! The whole thing was quite private, except for the tiger poking his head over the top (causing much amusement!) as photographed later by Steve here:

Toilet-peeping Tiger!

So it was then time to line up at the start.. time had flown by! In my confusion I accidently ended up in pen 9 instead of pen 8 with all the costumes.

Everyone lined up at the start

Time passed.. the gun had long since gone off! Then somebody called my name, and it turned out to be Gemma, who was also running for the Miscarriage Association and we’d been exchanging supportive messages on Facebook since July but we’d not yet met. She had Moya, another MA runner too – I was delighted to meet them both! We collared someone to take our photo..

Me, Gemma and Moya at the start

Slowly we started moving forward. In fact, it took 25 minutes before we reached the start line.

The start line

We reached the front.. and we were off!

---

I’d read countless times that 90% of people go out too fast, and 30 seconds slower at the start saves 3 minutes later. So I was determined not to go too fast. With hindsight I probably did go a little too slow, but it was nice to talk to Gemma and Moya as we ran through the streets that were exceedingly familiar to me as it’s where I’ve lived for 6 years. There were a couple of early hills, such as this one.

Running down the hill outside Woolwich

The early miles disappeared so quickly. We were blessed with holy water, saw a bunch of pirates partying, was high-fived by some otherwise quite dangerous looking youths who were giving great support, saw a lady ringing a bell from her first floor window, saw countless small children enthralled by all the exciting costumes, passed all manner of exciting costumes (many of which made us wince!) and generally lapped up the atmosphere. I had my first “Go Rosie” about ten yards into the race! It was all good.

Soon we reached Woolwich, and I’d arranged to meet Steve and the children opposite the health centre there.

The children waiting for me to run past

He watched the Elite Men run past..

Elite Men

Quite a lot of time later, Gemma and I decided to saunter past!

Gemma and I approach Steve and the children

I gave the children and Steve a kiss, and headed off again.. having done the slowest 5K of my racing history!!

Disappearing down the hill at mile 3

Along with a slightly tender ankle, my right foot had gone curiously numb.. a first for me. I realised it could possibly be because of a wrinkle in my sock. So I stopped briefly to take my shoes off and sort it out, then caught the others up. The last big hill (not that big compared to most!) arrived!

Running past Woolwich Dockyard

And down the other side..

The not-really-bent-like-that chimney between Woolwich and Charlton

---

Still on familiar roads, we headed towards Greenwich. I passed a lady carrying an enormous backpack in army uniform and expressed my sympathy. She expressed her regret at ever agreeing to do it! We reached Greenwich, but alas, I failed to spot my supporter there, who had waited for me but not realised I’d be running past when I did and had probably left seconds before I arrived.

Heading into Greenwich

We were soon at Cutty Sark, and the first (aside from the start) BBC TV camera. They were packing it away.. hehe.. that’s what you get for starting right at the back and not running my usual speed! Greenwich was packed, and a wall of sound. So many people yelling my name! Gemma spotted her family, then hurried on. At some point between Deptford and Greenwich, I lost Gemma when I picked up the pace a little – but in the end she didn’t finish too far behind me.

Heading out toward Deptford, I’d made arrangements to see Steve with the children, and this time his parents too. They were waiting for me! (Photo taken by Father-in-law Julian)

Steve waiting, camera ready, with the children

Sure enough, I spotted them and they spotted me!

Spotting the family in Deptford

This time I gave everyone a better kiss, saw how delighted B was, and then started back up again!

Me and my mother-in-law in Deptford

The next bit was horrible, as I knew it was going to be. From all my training, I knew that around mile 8 onwards, things started getting horrible as my body woke up to the realisation I was in it for the long haul. It doesn’t help that this part of the marathon course is around Rotherhithe and Canada Water which is pretty bleak at the best of times. I started getting a new pain deep inside my thigh going up into my hip which did not help matters. My knees were doing fine though!

I went through the first of the run-through showers, which were basically water sprayers. Got a bit wet but it didn’t matter. I was also being chased by a shark (photo taken by Julian) which amused me as everyone was yelling “Look, a shark!” although I never saw it in person myself.

Shark

This stage lasted forever.. to be fair it was about mile 9 to mile 12.. a good 5 miles and it did take an hour. It’s funny but even now, the next day, I can’t remember much about it because it was so featureless and uneventful, beyond remembering that it was painful (I texted Steve to have ibuprofen ready at our next meeting) and dull. The knowledge I wasn’t even close to halfway was rather discouraging. However I kept telling myself that this was always going to be the hard part and that helped a little.

Before too long I was running through Bermondsey, and I’d arranged to see my brother and sister Jake and Emily, and he’d brought along his girlfriend El as well. Sure enough, I spotted them! I was delighted to see them, managed to give them all a hug (apparently I didn’t smell too bad!) and then carried on along my way.

---

The next part has been completely wiped from my brain but somehow I suddenly realised, as if I’d just woken up, that I was running along Tooley Street, which I knew very well as the road that runs alongside London Bridge (having worked in the area for 4 years). I also realised that I had RUN all the way from Woolwich, our nearest local town out in Zone sodding 4, into central London. Not only that, but I’d run 3 miles before even reaching Woolwich. I felt smug.

Then I turned the corner and saw..

Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge!! And what an amazing sight it was. I’d heard that people get emotional upon seeing it and I could never figure out why exactly as it’s not even quite halfway, but today I understood it. Can’t explain it though! Anyway, I ran over that damned bridge, videoing it (badly!) as I went. The crowd was huge – so many people calling out my name and those around me. I was sad to reach the other side.

Then came the horrible bit – where you see the runners at mile 22 or something crazy running in the opposite direction, much faster, and worse, 10 miles further ahead. It is.. demoralising. Things started hurting a lot more. It seemed to take forever for me to reach Steve who was just past mile 13. In fact, he spotted a friend, another Steve, not far in front of me.

Friend Steve on the Highway

Then he spotted me. I was in a lot of pain by this point from my hip. And quite dehydrated as I’d not seen a water station for yonks and the sun was blazing now. Far from the perfect rain from earlier.

Me in pain on the Highway

As soon as I spotted him, I perked right up!

Hurray for a friendly face!

I had some of his water, and swallowed the ibuprofen. I didn’t want to leave! It was nice to not be running. I had to stop to do all that, so when it was time to run again I was in AGONY. I hobbled off looking and feeling very sore. But the ibuprofen helped around 20-30 minutes later and a lot of the pain went away. So glad I got him to bring some along – yes, there is a tiny tiny risk of kidney damage, but I was willing to take it.. most runners do.

After half a mile or so, we reached Narrow Street and the start of the Docklands area. Lots of people were walking, in fact most were at this point. It was hard to stay strong and resist the urge to walk, especially as my body was aching so much. Finally, around mile 14 or so, I broke down mentally and walked.. I’d basically convinced myself I needed to wait for the ibuprofen to kick in and make the pain go away. It was a good bargain.

So I walked/ran for a little way until I hit Westferry Circus, whereupon me, and almost everyone else, just walked. Free from the crowds cheering our names, we could walk disgracefully and nobody would know. It felt good, and a little naughty!

---

So it was time for the Isle of Dogs, and mile 15. I was very pleasantly surprised to spot my in-laws and my children coming out of the tunnel at Westferry, as I’d thought I must have missed them half a mile or so earlier where I’d been expecting to see them (I got the DLR station and the roundabout confused) Cheered me up a lot!

Just before I spotted the in-laws at Westferry

Julian took these two photos, including me greeting the children but I think my youngest was asleep! B was waving her flag she’d found.

Greeting the children

Spurred on, I started running again. I sent a few updates on my phone, and one little sod yelled out to stop using my phone. I am afraid I may have replied with a four letter word followed by “off” as an instinctive reaction. Because yeah, obviously I was using my phone just to muck around and chat to a friend rather than anything important(!) given I was running a damned marathon!

I suddenly realised that I was approaching mile 17, and the infamous Runner’s World Supporters Stand at Mudchute! I’d joined a support group in the weeks before the marathon on the Runner’s World website, and had been chatting away with my group, Group 3, for some weeks on a forum. I’d even dropped off some sweets at the expo a few days earlier for them to give me. When I turned the corner and saw the Runners World stand all laid out in the distance, it was hard not to cry. I suddenly realised that this whole marathon thing was real – here were the people who had been online being so supportive, and I was going to meet them!

I staggered up to my support group and greeted them. They were wonderful and gave me a big hug, a very reassuring chat, and were very pleased to see me. You girls ROCK! I took a photo, of course..

Tickled Pink and the Divine Sossidge

Unfortunately, I still had 9 miles left to run, which was a bit of a bummer. So I said my farewells, and headed off. I’d arranged to spot my friend Amy and her son Felix (and boyfriend Dave) at a pub somewhere between mile 17 and 18, but I never saw them, which was a disappointment.. must have been rotten timing. I was feeling down about that then I suddenly remembered and was encouraged by the thought of the Miscarriage Association’s support stand at mile 18. It seemed to take forever, and I walked briefly for a hundred yards before running again, but finally I saw it.. what a wonderful sight it was!

I stopped, chatted to Ruth and the other supporters (thank you all so much for being there!), had a few jelly beans and again realised I was going to have to run a bit more before stopping. Drat. Off I went, into Canary Wharf.

I’d arranged to meet Steve outside of Waitrose. Unfortunately I don’t know Canary Wharf very well overground, only underground (there’s a vast underground shopping centre and general stuff down there) so I kept thinking I’d passed Waitrose and hadn’t realised, and started feeling quite sad. The wind really picked up, and I was exhausted. I got more abuse from spectators for updating my Facebook Fan page. But then I turned a corner and..

A lot happier!

I was very relieved to spot Steve and the family again!!

Thank goodness for stopping

Julian captured my exhaustion quite well:

Exhausted in Canary Wharf

Steve opened a gel for me, and then it was time to go.

Do I really have to run again?

---

Things got tougher after this point. There was quite a bit of walking involved for the first time. I got sick of hearing “Run, run as fast as you can, you can’t run away Gingerbread Man” as clearly the Gingerbread Man was behind me. He must have been so sick of hearing that. Heck, I was sick of hearing “Rosie!” “Go Rosie!” “You can do it Rosie!” “Keep going Rosie!” I mean, it’s LOVELY supporters are cheering you on, but when you just want to curl up in a corner and go to sleep, the sound becomes cruel and mocking even though the intentions are good. With every person I usually acknowledged them with a smile and a thank you, but I think that drained me even more. I just wanted it to stop!

I realised I got fewer cheers if I walked, so I was more encouraged to walk. Hardly anyone was running so people were so impressed by runners they’d cheer them on. It’s a weird state of mind at mile 20 or so, y’know. Some of the supporters yelled out my name like they were machines, and I eventually stopped acknowledging those, instead saving my energy for the ones who really made an effort and looked like they meant it. Some were very sweet. There were lots of sweets and oranges on offer too.

But there was still 10K to go. “Only” 10K, but it’s been said that 20 miles is the halfway point of a marathon.

Then out of the corner of my eye I saw someone waving more frantically than the others. My brain finally twigged that it was Suzi, one of my best friends, that I was sure I’d missed a while back at the start of mile 20 but actually she was at mile 20.75 or something! Suzi is the Very Famous Author of the Very Fine book NeeNaw – Dispatches from Ambulance Control which was released last month. She also moonlights as a St. John’s Ambulance volunteer, so she was fully dressed in her uniform, vaseline, bandages (she helped Jordan last year!) and plasters at the ready.

I was so relieved to see her – apparently 5 minutes earlier and she’d been super busy so I was very lucky! We had a big hug, then we asked one of her colleagues with vaseline on his hand to take a photo (not a wise idea!) but fortunately one of her other colleagues without vaseline appeared to do it instead!

Suzi and me

Alas, there was more running to do, so I had to set off again, which was not good. There was a noisy London Pride London FM stage playing stupidly loud music that made my eardrums hurt but apart from that, I don’t remember much about this bit again.. a bit of a blur of roads that never ended, people yelling my name, quite a bit of walking, but also a lot of running. It has just disappeared from my brain. Probably for the best.

Mile 23 appeared. I don’t remember it all, in fact I don’t even remember taking this photo!

Mile 23

Then things started looking up – people were frantically calling my name as opposed to calling out in a cackling monotony – it was people I knew!!

Jacqui and a different Rosie

Jacqui is a great friend of mine from a ladies running community online and we’ve met several times, including at my brother’s gigs where their drummer knows Rosie (pictured!) In fact I went for a run with Jacqui just a week previously around Regent’s Park. It is an indication of how shattered I was that I couldn’t even remember her name. Normally it’s faces I can’t remember, but this took the biscuit! I did remember after a few seconds but it genuinely surprised me how messed up I was despite thinking I wasn’t that bad really. It was fantastic to see her and Rosie and again annoying to have to run away!

I hadn’t been going long when I heard my name being yelled out excitedly again. What was this?? Two supporters within half a mile of each other? Yes, it was!! It was my friend Miriam (a fellow moderator on a huge women’s only community plus the women’s only running community) and another friend, who I’d not met before, Hazel, and Matt. I’d been running with Miriam (with Jacqui) only a week before.. I was a lot less exhausted then! I was absolutely thrilled to see them all – they’d been tracking me online so they knew I was nearby!

Again, the time with them was gone too quickly, and it was time to go again. Down into the Blackfriar’s underpass. There, me and everyone else did a new type of Walk of Shame. With no supporters, again we could walk unmolested by the crowds. Far too many of them had been yelling stuff like “Go on, you can run”, “Stop being so lazy”, “Kick those legs up” and “Get going” – not necessarily mean things, but when you can hardly walk let alone run, it’s seriously upsetting. These people were in a tiny minority, and the vast majority of supporters said wonderful things, but you remember the words that hurt far more than the words that encourage. Damned pity. So yes, this was a welcome relief from those sort of comments. I walked all the way under that blessed underpass, and up the hill the other side.

Then I decided to run. It was about time, and aside from one brief point at around 24.5 miles where I walked, I ran the rest of the way apart from stopping briefly to talk to people. It was weird to think that I had just over 2 miles left.. the distance home from nursery which often seemed like quite a long way but now seemed like a short walk in the park.

The sun was blazing down, and there was a constant wall of sound from the supporters who were 4 or 5 people deep at this stage. I wanted to take photos and update my feeds, but I feared more negative comments from the crowds, so that was the end of my updates.. sorry folks! My last one was from the safety of the Blackfriars underpass at mile 24.

I kept on running – partly spurred on by why I was doing this. Knowing that all those people who had donated their precious money to such a special cause – I wanted those people to be proud of me rather than just finishing like a damp squib just walking especially if there was no reason (e.g. injury) for it. I could push through exhaustion. I was thinking of the reasons *why* I’d chosen the Miscarriage Association – not just for me, but for all my friends who had lost babies and needed support, many of them needed that support a lot more than I did. I wanted to put the effort in for them.

I’d arranged to meet Steve opposite the London Eye, around mile 25, and finally, eventually, I got there.

Not spotted Steve yet

As soon as I saw him I was so relieved and had a lot of smiles. Everyone kept saying how smiley and chirpy I was, but that’s because I had seen people I knew and cared about! It gave me energy!

Hurray!! Husband!

I was so near the end so I couldn’t stop for long. I got myself ready and prepared to run again.

Last mile to go!

Off I went, greatly spurred on. And extremely surprised to spot my brother and sister and brother’s girlfriend at about mile 25.3 – I’d thought I was supposed to see them at Poplar and was disappointed to think I’d missed them, but no – they’d made it to the end! Jake took a photo – they all remarked I still didn’t smell too bad, and then, yet again, it was time to saunter off.

I’d hardly run a few hundred yards when I heard my name called out yet again! To my surprise I spotted Marina, a friend whose son I had photographed recently.. she’d been looking out for me at several points around the course, following my Twitter, and had kept missing me. I was so thrilled to finally catch her – it was great to see her! After stopping for all too short a time, there was still 0.8 miles or so to go.

And I ran. And ran and ran. And completely picked up the pace by about 3 minute miles. I wasn’t that sore (well, my feet hurt a bit) as my hip pain had gone, my knees were merely unpleasant, and knowing I didn’t have to save energy any more meant I could just go for it. I heard my name yelled in that tone that indicates they know you (you get to know the difference!) and spotted a work colleague of Steve’s, Damion, waving frantically! Then there were the signs – 800 metres to go, 600 metres to go. It sounded like a long way. Then a bit further there was a “385 yards to go” sign instead of the 26 mile marker.

And there, right in front of me, was the finish line. I heard my name called yet again by somebody I’d never even met but knew of online and had seen a photo of only last week (hi Hannah!!) but I was too far away to stop.. and there wasn’t far to go.

I checked that there wasn’t anyone really unsightly for my finish line photo (heh!) and then just went for it.

---

The weird thing about crossing the line after this race, unlike all the others, was that I wasn’t out of breath. I was just very, very tired. I could have run further. It was very odd. Normally when I finish a race I have given it my all aerobically but this time it was my muscles that were sad. I didn’t feel elated, or even particularly relieved. In fact I didn’t feel very much at all, just pleased to be away from the people I didn’t know yelling my name perhaps!

The other side of the finish line

I had my photo taken officially, then expressed disappointment when I saw the results board and saw I hadn’t won after all. A marshall asked me if I was alright, and I had to explain I was sad I hadn’t won. Thankfully he cracked a genuine smile rather than whisked me off to the ambulance! Then I picked up my goody bag (HEAVY) and finally my kit bag with spare clothes etc in (HEAVY). Let me tell you, non-marathon runners, carrying two heavy bags after doing 26.2 miles is NOT NICE.

Goody bag, for the interested, contained such things as water, sports drink, Mars bar, foil blanket (yay!!), weird flavour rice crisps, two herb sweets, some lo-salt salt(!), charity literature that probably cost the charity six million pounds, a bright red t-shirt with “LonDONE” written on it and probably some other not particularly exciting stuff.

It took forever to walk down the mall to the meeting point and to see Steve. He took lots of photos.

The reason for running - I wanted a foil blanket of my own.

With my medal

Final pose with my medal

And what does the medal look like?

Front

Back

So after eating my protein bar (it was quite chewy so that was hard work!), we headed on over to the Crypt, where the Miscarriage Association was having a gathering, involving some free soup and a roll and a soft drink for me. Ruth took a photo of Steve and me. I could barely eat as I have no appetite after running. We said our goodbyes, and got on the train, and after we had picked up the children during a frantic swap with the in-laws at Greenwich station, I got home. The end.

Well, sort of. You’d probably like to know my time!

5 hours and 45 minutes and 49 seconds.

45 minutes slower than what I really wanted, and 15 minutes slower than what I’d have been really happy with. But still faster than what I’d have been disappointed with. Perhaps that explains the numb reaction a little? I mean, I was glad to finish, but the time was.. meh. I think if I’d gone a little faster at the start and not stopped to talk to people I could have done better, BUT, maybe going slower at the start explains why I was one of the few people running along the Embankment at the end.. yes, I really was in the 10% who don’t mess up at the start. Leaves me wondering if I could have done better though.

Here’s my pace chart:

My pace (click for larger)

As you can see, I was pretty steady until mile 14, didn’t walk at all (most stops are to briefly say hello to people etc). Then it was mostly running until mile 20 where it all went a bit crap. But I did run from mile 24 onwards!

Here’s the actual minute miles:

Pace breakdown

Never dropped below a 16 minute mile, which is good, as that’s super fast walking pace. I love how the last .2 mile was the fastest by far. Heh. And I didn’t walk too much.. only 14% of the way from some stats elsewhere in my software. The rest was all running.

Anyway, that’s that. I will continue this blog as I seek out new and interesting challenges, and I will probably continue running. Who knows if I will run another marathon? I think my next one won’t be London. The supporters were distracting if a time is what you seek, and if I did it again, I’d be doing it for time. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the atmosphere of the marathon – the opposite in fact, I loved it! It was hard combining having a great time with thinking about getting a good running time if that makes sense. I like to keep these things separate!

Today I am very sore, I may have lost my big toe nail, I have blisters on my blisters on another toe, and the small of my back hurts. However, my knees are fine after all that!

In summary? Despite the grumblings you see here in the text, it was in fact an amazing day, I had a wonderful time, I am very proud to have completed it (especially managing to update things like my Fan Page with photos etc on the way round) and even more proud to have raised so much for a wonderful charity.

Thank you so much to everybody who was out there watching, and also very much to those who have sponsored me (will do a final roll call of that in a few days) and thank you very much to the Miscarriage Association for letting me run for them. If you still haven’t sponsored me and would like to, it’s not too late. http://www.justgiving.com/barnpops – every amount, no matter how small, is very welcome!

My journey from bedrest, to the start line on Sunday. A summary of the last 9 months!

Now the End is Nigh and I’m fretting about not being fit enough and all that jazz, I thought it might be nice to look back and see how far I have come and review my journey from bedrest to where I am now. A “clip show” before the finale!

So, taking “My Starting Fitness Level” as a guide, here we go:

“The last year has seen pregnancy, not only with the four months of strict bedrest, but I was confined to a wheelchair on the few times I was allowed out. Worse, I suffered from SPD as I did in my first pregnancy, which is when the body produces too much of the hormone relaxin in pregnancy, which makes the ligaments relax and can cause intense pain in the pelvis and lower back. I needed the wheelchair even without the bedrest, and could hardly sleep at night due to the pain. I gained a lot of weight with this pregnancy. Add to that the associated exhaustion and responsibilities of a newborn (and my toddler) so I am not as fit as I would like to be. Still, I have been walking a lot, and I am getting some fitness back!”

Here I am in my wheelchair and stick in September 2008

---

My first “run” near the start of July:

“I warmed up by walking to the edge of the Thames. We live about half a mile from the river, and there are plenty of great trails alongside the river to run on. The walk was my warm-up. Rather conveniently, the Thames has a series of big red signs which are sort of evenly spaced (anywhere between 50 to 250 yards between them, usually averaging 150 yards) which presumably are used for people to give to the emergency services to help locate them should disaster happen. So I base my run on how many red signs I can run. I manage 3 red signs right off the bat, but as I reach the third one I’m starting to feel dizzy. Okay, I’ll walk for a few. Then run another one. Walk another one.

Thus my first “run”. A run-walk-run-walk-run-walk based on those red signs. After a while I decide I’ve hit my halfway point and head back home, run-walking again. Including the half mile warm-up there (and the half mile warm-up back) I’ve covered 4.21 miles in 57 minutes. “

Exhausting! So as you can see, I managed about 400 yards before collapsing on my first run, and ran/walk the rest, not running for more than 150 yards at a time. However by pushing myself so hard (running until I felt dizzy and then a little bit more) I was actually rapidly improving my fitness levels, far more so than if I’d just taken it easy.

Things got better quickly. By the time I’d been out five times at the end of July, I’d invested in a Garmin, and wow, what a difference!

“I got to try out my new GPS watch with heartrate monitor. Wow, what a difference! As I suspected, it opens up a whole new interesting world of statistics. You’ll be pleased to hear that including my warm up and warm down sessions, I am jogging or running for over 80% of the session already. Things can only get better! Looks like I did the 5K middle bit (without the warm up or warm down) in around 33 minutes 50 seconds.

I am also proud to announce that I ran for a third of a mile without stopping with my first stint. That is a new record by far. After that first stint I only walked for a very short distance before doing 0.2 mile and so on and so forth. It’s a huge improvement on the maximum 0.2 miles without stopping I managed on my first time out, and I ran/walked it 50/50 then. Now it’s more like 80/20. This is only my fifth time out!”

Then I had a breakthrough at the start of August. After reading a few books, I realised I’d been running too fast all along. I decided to slow right down, and immediately managed 5K without stopping. A miracle!

“I did the 5K in 32.5 minutes.. there is definitely room for improvement there and that is what I will be working on. I would like to beat the 30 minute barrier by the end of the month but I have no idea if that is ambitious or not. I’m so new to this I can’t even set my goals properly. On Sunday I wanted to run a mile without stopping and four days later I did 3.11 miles. The whole couch to 5K programme is supposed to take 9 weeks and you’re supposed to go out 3-5 times a week. Well, I started running on the 11th July. It’s not even four weeks later, and I’ve only been out six times and I cracked it. Not sure I could have gone a lot further, mind, but still! “

---

Not long after, I entered my first race.

“I did it – I’ve put myself down for my first ever grown-up race! As opposed to the cross-country ones I did at school over 20 years ago, that is. My race of choice is the 5K Adidas Women’s Challenge in Hyde Park on the 6th September – three weeks on Sunday. My aim will be to run it without stopping.. less than two months after I started running! I’ve managed 5K without stopping already so in theory it’s very possible. “

I also picked up an ankle injury, as I’d basically just picked the first pair of running shoes that had good reviews. I soon remedied that with better shoes – what a difference!

“Secondly, on Saturday I decided, after reading lots of books and so on, to get my gait analysed. This was something I had no clue about before I started running. Essentially is seems that we all run in our own way, and it is not a case of one shoe fits all. Different shoes are aimed at different types of runners. I took pretty much a guess based on what felt comfy when choosing my running shoe. It’s a great shoe with great reviews, but what is the point if it just injures me? Given my recent ankle injury, I realised I needed to be sure I was wearing the right sort of thing.”

In mid August, I started swimming.. first time out after not swimming in forever, I managed 2500m!

“Alas, today I only managed 2.5K (1.55 miles) without stopping, compared to last Thursday’s 5K (3.11 miles) without stopping. Not only that, but it took me 90 minutes to do it. However, I am utterly delighted! Why?

Because I did it in the swimming pool!”

Towards the end of August, my 5K speed really picked up with all the training (2-3 times a week)

“But the big thing is my 5K time – I shaved 3 minutes off my personal (and only!) best from two weeks earlier – 30:38! The last mile was very hard as I had been pushing myself a little harder than usual at the start (yay heartrate of 200.. I know when I’m getting near that as I start feeling sick!) and I lost a lot of momentum there, but still. It was a good time!”

Now I’d figured out that slow and steady gets you everywhere, I decided to drastically up the stakes, and at the very end of August, I went for the 10K!

“I did the 10K in 67:12, which included having to get through the odd gates here and there and probably losing a bit of distance on the GPS when I turned round. Not bad for a first 10K. I did a little extra just to be sure and it occurred to me that I’m only a few hundred yards short of a quarter marathon without stopping – not bad for 6-7 weeks training! However I do ache, and despite attempts to minimise the pain (I took a cold bath and later applied ice to the sore areas) I think I will be sore tomorrow. Still, from past experience it’s the runs where you really push yourself that you make the most progress.”

Just before my race, I finally cracked 30 minutes for a 5K in training:

“It was practically pitch dark when I arrived back at my start point, 3.11 miles later, staggering for breath as my heart rate went 4bpm above the threshold I try to stay under (although the average for the whole run was 3bpm under the threshold, so not bad!). My time?

29:18!!

Yep, I’ve beaten the 30 minute 5K barrier at last! Knocked a few minutes off my previous best time from a few weeks ago too. I would guess that the rain helped a lot, but also probably the nasty interval training I did on Sunday too. ”

---

The 5K race came round, and I was disappointed to not finish in under 30 minutes as it was so crowded.

Running the Adidas 5K Challenge

“So! Two months ago I could barely manage a few hundred yards without feeling my eyes were going to pop out of my head and I needed to throw up! And now, less than two months later? I’m getting grumpy because naughty people ruined my 5K-in-30 minutes challenge which I ran at under a 10 minute mile pace the whole way (that’s 6.1mph – around double a fairly brisk walking pace!)

Really, I shouldn’t be too disappointed, given the bigger picture, should I?”

I was disappointed though, and ran the London Peace Run the following week, determined to beat the mythical 30 minute barrier. Again, I failed, thanks to the crowds and the fact the race measured long.

“If it wasn’t for the crowds on the South Bank, the hot sunshine or the stairs then I probably would have officially timed under 30 minutes. After all, when I ran 10K last week the *second half* of my 10K I did the final 5K in under 30 minutes, so I sure as heck can do it in 30 minutes with nothing tiring me out beforehand. I just can’t do it under race conditions. Now whether my races have been unfortunate or whether random obstacles are something I should expect for every race I don’t know, but it is starting to get very frustrating now!!

If the race was 3.22 miles then I would have beaten my 30 minute target by a second if I take a 5K split time (i.e. the first 3.11 miles). But all the same, my official recorded time is a disappointing time.. so yet again I have to run another 5K to beat my goal. “

So whilst still training furiously (and getting abuse from the locals for it!) the next week, I entered the Epsom Dash, determined to crack the 30 minute barrier!

“The course was EXACTLY 3.11 miles – 5K. Perfect! This time will count.

So what was it? Bearing in mind my 30:51 for the Adidas 5K Challenge, and 30:52 for the London Peace Run (surely more than 5K) run just last weekend..

28:10 by the official chip time, 28:11 by my Garmin. (I think I started the Garmin at the wrong moment!)

That’s well over a minute off my best ever time in perfect conditions in training – cool and flat and in the evening and perfectly healthy. Today I did it on a hilly course (lots of people complained it was a hard course!) with lots of sunshine and I had a cold and was behind on sleep, and on a morning run too. My average pace was 9:04 minutes per mile, that’s 6.6mph.

I’d done it!!!!

And even better.. I was 59th. Out of I am not sure how many people, but I saw numbers of at least 200, and last year 250 ran. EDIT – preliminary race results here suggest only 149 ran. Boo! Still, it’s not bad!

And even better still, I was the 14th woman to finish! 14!! Last year there were 135 women, and I know there were at least 75 this year, probably a lot more.”

Getting my medal

---

A week later, it was the Petts Wood 10K. I was delighted with 62:28.

“So, exhausted from holiday, fighting a virus, not much sleep and aching from several unfortunate encounters with a cable ski, some violent flumes and a whole lot of pole climbing, I was never going to be on top form for this race, my first ever 10K race! It was also a hilly race, through bits of woodland with narrow paths.”

The home straight

Not long after that, I invested in a Camelbak so I could take on water during long runs. I went for an 8 miler for the first time, and to my surprise during that 8 miler:

“I decided to discount the first half a mile as a warm-up, and to find my real 10K time I took 10K from half a mile in. An average 9:18 minute mile pace. For 57:54 altogether. Not only have I beaten my 1 hour 10K goal, I’ve thrashed it! I *can* do a one hour 10K! Admittedly in perfect circumstances and taking on fluids and jelly babies, but, my body did it!”

I then did 9 miles (stopping and starting for lunch) with the double pushchair. Then I even squeezed in a 10 miler (on my own without stopping).. it was really hard going though.

“As for the 10 miles? Well, once I hit the magic 6.22 miles (10K) I no longer needed to worry about pace so I really let it drop. Within a mile I’d dropped it by a minute a mile, and the final mile my feet were really aching. Not blisters, just soreness, as if I’d been out shopping for hours! That final mile was one of the slowest I’ve done without the pushchair in a long time. It’s safe to say by the time I got home I could not have gone any further. Guess I am not quite ready for a half marathon yet.. “

I did a 10K race – The Movember 10K – with Steve off the back of a virus. Appalling time as I was still unwell, but worse was to come.

Running together ** Official photo (c) IES Photography

“But yes, it looks like I’ll be out of action for the next 2-3 weeks as a bare minimum.. that’s on top of the 3-4 weeks I’ve been out already.

My fevers weren’t abating and my cough was getting worse and worse so I went to see the doctor again on Monday who immediately referred me for a chest x-ray. Turns out I have a shadow on the lungs, which indicates an infection. I forgot to ask if this meant pneumonia, some people say it does, some say not necessarily. Anyway I am on my second type of antibiotics already in the vague hope of shifting this infection.”

---

As it turned out, I was out of action for 3 MONTHS! By the time I started training again in late January, I’d lost a lot of fitness.

“Glancing through my previous runs I would estimate my cardiovascular fitness is somewhere around mid to late September time (so I’ve lost around a month to six weeks there) BUT my bones and joints and feet and so on? Back to August time at least. Hopefully they’ll catch up quickly. On the plus side, according to Runners World, I was supposed to run 10K today in preparation for the London Marathon. It’s just I’ve missed out on a quarter of the training already, whoops!

It goes without saying that my previous plans for hopefully doing a sub 4:30 have gone out the window and I would be happy with sub 6 hours now.”

The next week was even harder.. mentally. The enormity of the task in front of me was a huge challenge, as I attempted 8 miles:

“My times were quite a bit slower than normal.. heck, I ran 8 miles back in October and it took me 15 minutes less. I was out there for close to 90 minutes, running continuously. For the last 45 minutes of that, not only was I not enjoying it, it was first uncomfortable and then horribly uncomfortable and heading towards super painful. It felt like running through treacle, especially when there was a head wind. I felt dizzy at times, especially if I had to slow down to run through bushes to avoid large puddles. I got snowed and sleeted on. Some dogs savagely attacked each other just feet from me as I ran past. And when I got home I was too exhausted to even have a shower at first. My blisters are back. My foot arches are sore. I’ve killed my regrowing toenail that I killed last time. I know I am going to ache for the next few days, then I’ll have to go out again on Wednesday evening.

Foolish doesn’t even begin to describe it. I need my head examined. But I am not quitting, whether I get support or not.. I am far too stubborn for that – when I make a promise, I make a promise especially when it comes to other people’s money and charity. It’s just more moral support would make it a lot, well, more tolerable!”

In the middle of February, I finally hit half marathon distance. Still not loving it.

At the end of February, I went for a 16 miler. Officially my worst ever run.

“That’s another long run in the bag. Well, I say “run”. This time I pushed myself too far, and for the first time ever in training since I worked out how to run, I had to walk. Admittedly in total it was only a mile’s worth, and I only started doing it at mile 13, but I think I’m pushing too much, too quickly. It didn’t help I was only supposed to run 15 miles but in a moment of insanity I decided to try for 16 miles.”

---

I had two weeks off due to a bad neck, and then it was time for the Silverstone Half Marathon. It went better than I was expecting, and I ran it in 2 hours 22.

“All in all, an enjoyable race, in very interesting (albeit dull for non-F1 fans) surroundings, with good opportunities for personal bests. If I ever run again in the future, I’d definitely want to do this race again.

I was particularly pleased with how well I managed – I am wondering if perhaps my times were getting so dreadful with my other long runs because I was over-training. Certainly my knees caused me no bother and after the first half a mile my feet behaved themselves too.”

Waving my misbehaving phone at Steve

The good times weren’t to last – the following week at the end of March, I aimed for 18 miles but found myself in the most pain I’ve ever had from running. I only managed 16, and ran/walked 3 miles of that.. but learned a lot of valuable lessons.

“Horrible, just horrible. That’s the polite way of describing my long run today. I have never been in so much pain before when running, and I failed to run the distance I set out for as well.

In a vague attempt to see the silver lining, I learned a lot of valuable lessons though, lessons I won’t have to learn on marathon day.

I intended to do 18 miles, but would be happy with 16. Glad I stuck that caveat in otherwise the whole run would have been a write-off.”

Thankfully, April started out better, with my final long training run. I wanted to do 18 miles.. and do more than 13 miles without stopping. Well, I did better than that!

“Home was in sight, and 20 miles and 3 hours 56 minutes and 58 seconds after leaving home, I reached that front door – the final mile 12:20. So not only had I run the whole darned twenty miles without stopping (four miles further than I’d gone before, and amazingly SEVEN miles further than I’d ever run in one go before) but I’d managed to do it without dropping my pace too horribly – my pace varied by 1 minute 40 altogether, more like 1 minute on average if you take away the extreme data points. My average pace was 11:50.. compared to the 9:25 I’ve done for 5Ks before it’s shocking, but this was 32K so yeah.”

---

Which has left me feeling very positive about the race THIS SUNDAY! Not a 5K, not a 10K, heck, not even a half marathon. Or even a regular marathon, but it’s The London Marathon itself! The whole point of this journey and this blog. Erk.

I have one final visit to the sports physio on Thursday, but aside from that and a lot of carb loading, I am DONE!

If you’re going to be watching on TV or at the sidelines, I’ve set up a Facebook Event with the full details. Feel free to say you’re coming even if you’re only watching on TV!

---

Bringing me onto the final topic which I’ve got a bit behind with! A HUGE THANK YOU to Ruth, Bea, Steve Haslam (who is also running!), Nikki, Sheri, victoria, Laura, Christine, Joe, Sarah-Ed-Kitty-Tia, Vicki, Michael (second donation, and wow- thank you!!), Claire-Ian & Lewis, Arkady, Jessica, Marina, Laura (a second one!) and Rachael. So many people, so much generosity. I am extremely grateful and humbled by how kind everyone has been.

If you’ve been meaning to sponsor me and haven’t got around to it yet, here’s the link again!