20 miles done

Hey people,

I hope you're all well.

This time 3 weeks this will all be over and I will be able to get some well earned rest!  Had my long run yesterday and hit my 20 mile mark! YIPPEE!  I won't pretend that it was a walk in the park - although some of it was as my legs were killing me.  I had my carb jelly things that I got from the sport shop which, compared to last week, did give me a bit more energy, but the problem this time was with the pain in my muscles.  I thought that my calf muscles were going to explode!  Luckily they didn't and I managed to make it back to the house and into the bath.  What a treat that was!

It was warmer yesterday than it has been of late and, to be honest, I will be praying for a cooler day and maybe the odd shower for Marathon day.  It's so refreshing when you feel the rain cooling you down.  Do a rain dance for me y'all....

As we get closer the nerves are starting to build a bit.  I didn't even sleep very well on Friday night as I was a bit worried about the thought of attempting 20 miles the next day.  I did it though so that has given me some confidence.  I'll just have to find out what you can do about the pain in your legs when you get to about 18 miles.  I need to keep going to get that medal.  I'll probably have to walk a little way, particularly towards the end, but as long as I cross the finish line (and I will!), I won't care.

I am now over the £1300 mark with the sponsorship so thank you all again.  Not too far to go now.

Righto, off to bed now.  Sleep well and I'll see you soon.

Steven x

17.62....phew!

Hi Folks,

Trying to be a bit more committed to this thing now and keep you more up to date.

I did 17.62 miles yesterday and boy did it hurt.  My legs didn't seem to want to move anymore and I nearly gave up after 15 miles but my "power song" came on and pushed me to do the other lap of the park!  I have to confess I did walk quite a bit of the last couple of miles...  The run burned off 2490 calories and I think that is something to do with the fact I felt so knackered.  Losing all that energy and all I had eaten before the run was a banana.  Going to get some Gatorade as recommended by Rob and hopefully my 20 miler on Saturday will be more bearable.

The sponsorship is over £1200 at the minute so that is good news.  Still another 4 weeks of fundrasing to go so I should hit my target in time.  Lots of people have been very generous and it warms my heart.  I know it is a tough time for people at the minute with the recession etc but people still find a way to think of others.  We're not a bad bunch, us humans!!

As ever, thanks to all of you for your sponsorship and messages of support.  I couldn't do this without you all.  It is a really big thing for me to do this.  Those of you who know me will know that!!  I'm having to dig deep into my reserves of determination and drive to get it done.  I'm excited about the day but I won't pretend that there isn't a big part of me that is looking forward to the finish line!  I'll keep up with the running but I don't know if I'll see those distances again when it's over...

Thanks again.

Steven x

 

Runner Number 35759

Well, I got my runner number yesterday and it's 35759

Was reading through the Marathon News magazine that came with it and I am now really nervous.  Hopefully it will pass....

Because of my hamstring issue and not getting my running started as soon as I would have liked, I am worried that I haven't got enough done yet.  Don't worry, I know I'll do it - just last month wobbles!  I so don't want to hit a wall ;-)

The magazine has lots of information in it about the lead up to the race and the day itself and it's all quite daunting to say the least.  It mentions having a goal and a pace etc so I now have to tyry to work out how long I think it will take me and keep that in mind during my training.  The target marathon time should be double the half marathon and add 10%.  With that calculation, I am hoping to finish within 6 hours.  Of course, I would like to do it quicker and my half marathon time should improve over my next few long runs.  I have to finish within 8 hours or I won't get a medal!!  That can't happen!!

Anyway, the training is still going well.  Did a 3.5mile run last night and have my hill session in the park tomorrow in preparation for around 17.5miles on Sunday so all good.  The fundraising is creeping up too - £1156 at the moment. I'll send out another email today as it's a month to go!

Thanks to all of you for your sponsorship and support.  I won't let you down.

Steven

Sore Knees!

First of all, sorry that I am so crap at updating this thing on a regular basis.  I keep meaning to but get a bit side tracked.  Was at a 50th birthday party in Welling on Saturday and met Carly who is also doing the marathon.  I have just had a look at her blog and it's brilliant.  She's posting updates regularly and people are leaving comments and everything.  I suppose that is the one good thing about no-one reading this - no-one knows if I am writing in it or not.....

Anyway, back to the business of training and raising money.  Thanks to a few more very generous bods, I am now up to £1116.00!  Well over 1/2 way there now so thank you all for your sponsorship. 

Also I did my long run yesterday and that was 13.11 miles so over 1/2 way there on that too.  I'm really pleased that I now have that under my belt.  It wasn't actually too bad either.  Not pleasant obviously, but I've felt worse!  My calfs (or calves) don't hurt at all.  The main area that does hurt are my knees.  They started to hurt when I was about 1/2 way through the run but then eased off.  Killing me today though, but it's all good!  I managed it in just over 2hrs 37min.  If you want to have a look at my runs etc, have a look here - that's the site that all my runs etc are tracked on.  It's great for me to have a record of this and know what I need to do to beat my previous times etc. 

As the marathon gets closer (less than 5 weeks now), I am started to think a bit more about my timings and how quick I will be able to get round the course.  I have always said that my only goals are to complete it and raise lots of money but now I'm trying to work out how long it will take.  Not going to worry about it too much though.  It's my first one so will be my best time ever no matter how slow I am.  I won't use that as a reason not to try though!!

Going to have a five miler or a bit more this week and then another big one on Sunday.  I'll probably keep this up once the marathon is passed as I'm getting quite into it.  Never thought I would.

See you all soon and thanks again to you all for your generosity,

Steven ;-)

Nearly 1/2 way! Woohoo!

That is with the sponsorship - not the miles, although they are getting there.

I've been still hard at the training and getting the miles under my belt.  Because I had my hamstring problem I didn't get to start my running until quite late in the day so I'm not as far on as I'd like.  That said, I continue to make progress and have no doubt that I will complete this thing.  I got a few 5 mile runs in last week and and 8 mile one on Sunday past.  Considering I am not a runner, I am pretty pleased with this so far.  I will continue to progress and hopefully DEFINATELY will smash the 10 mile mark this Sunday.  That will leave me 6 weeks until the big day.

Rob at Go Commando PT runs a session in Greenwich Park where you run up and down hills for an hour.  It might not sound like much but, believe me, it breaks a man!  I joined his group last Friday morning (at 6.00AM) and have to say that although I was apprehensive, I really enjoyed it.  Enjoyed probably isn't the right word, but suffice to say I really felt the benefit.  It was good to be doing it with other people as I had to try to keep up with them all and some of them are really fast.  I had no time or indeed no breath to complain the way I normally would.  As Rob would tell you, I can complain.  Even when I can't breathe!! 

I'm not sure if anyone actually reads this so I may be just talking to myself!  Wouldn't be the 1st time...  If you do happen to read it, leave me a comment or some words of encouragement.  All are welcome - well, all except "Run Fat Boy, Run!"

So all that is left for this post is to say thank you to everyone who have sponsored me so far.  It really does mean a lot and gets me thinking that you all know how hard this thing is for me and are rewarding me by proxy.  BHF is a very worthy cause, as indeed are all the charities, but this one is particularly special to me so thank you all.  For those that have yet to donate - GET YOUR WALLETS OUT!!



Bless you all!

Steven xx

PS. Nearly forgot - total weight loss to date 12 POUNDS!!