report from the frontline

So it’s been a week and I feel sufficiently recovered to write about the mission that was the half-marathon.

Man it was hard work, for a start it was really hot, like about 40 degrees actually it was about 22 but it felt 40.

And I’ve done big runs before but this one was the worst by far, it took the longest and it was the hardest and I counted every kilometer and there were 22 and a half of them. And I had big hopes for doing a marathon after the successful completion of the half marathon but I think we can safely say those plans are shelved.

So the first problem was the heat the second problem was the carbo-loading. An interesting side note the night before I ate so much pasta I had stomach cramps and couldn’t stand up straight and said to Jamie ‘You have to take me to the hospital, I can't walk.' and he said ‘It’s just gas’ and I said ‘not it’s not, I have a serious stomach problem. And the he said ‘not it’s just gas’ And I then said ‘no it’s not, oh hang on, yes it is.’
My stomach was so heavy it felt like a rock chained to my foot that I was dragging around and then because I didn’t want to add to my load I felt I couldn’t have water and I got dehydrated which lead to a frightening experience at about the 12th mile that I was going to faint, my head was spinning and I heard buzzing in one ear. In retrospect this could have been a fly.

Anyway I ran all the way because even though it wasn’t comfortable, my armpits were bleeding because of chaffing for god’s sake, at the end of the day you have to do 13 and a half miles and whether you run or walk them you still have to finish and at this stage I was running because walking would have only extended the pain.

And after all this I still beat my goal which was 2 hours thirty I did it in 2:24 and more importantly finished. There was a time when I could see the finish line and was running towards it and it didn’t seem to be getting any closer and my heart broke and then I ran past a man and he said ‘keep going Darling’ and then I cried. I don’t know why, I was very hot.

A special mention must go out to Emily who ran with me every step and stopped an waited for me and then ran beside me and encouraged me every step of the way without her I would have truly been doomed and definitely not made it round. She was my hero.

Also thanks to all those who turned out to support me and cheer me on.

Below are some pictures I don’t think they really capture how hard it was and how close to death I felt. But I did it and even writing about it has made me tired so I am off for another rest.


In other news, I bought some new track pants which I haven’t taken off for three straight days I even went out to brunch with friends in them yesterday. Jamie is horrifed I am happy.

Also it almost my birthday soon. I will be 29, I can’t believe it, can you?





Amy, emily and I with our medals that were made out of wood! cheapos. but we got free Mars bars.


Me from the side can you see my carb tummy?


Emily and I running and me smiling, this was not characteristic of the run as a whole.


xxx

What happened?

I started, a did the bit in the middle and I finished. Now I am home for a long rest.
xxxx

What time is it? Half-marathon time. Check it.

I am sitting freshly showered and carbed up ready for the race tomorrow. Let me start at the beginning. In April I thought for a laugh, that I would do a half-marathon because I am turning 30 soon and apart from a brief but glittering career in hockey which was cut short by a devastating injury I hadn’t really achieved anything physical. And I was bored and let’s be honest I needed a hobby after the wedding planning had finished. Should I also mention here that I could not run for 1 km. Yes 1 k and somehow I thought I was capable of running 22. And I am not a runner, never have been.

And it was hard. I started to run and after 3 minutes I could not breathe, at all. My face was red and I wheezed like an old man who smokes 50 a day. Emily was my self-appointed trainer and she had the patience of a saint. We walked than ran then walked and then one day I was running all the way.

The next big step was the first of our Saturday runs and I made the fatal error of eating before the run. By the time I got to 6 k’s I thought I was going to vomit and I was crying. Actually crying. And I am as tough as old boots, my shoulder pops out of it’s joint all the time and I just pop it back in. The man sweeping the streets was walking faster than me and he was pulling a trolley filled with leaves.

But I kept on trying mostly because Emily would have hounded me to my grave if I quitted. Once she pushed me so far I almost hit her. And I would of if she wasn’t faster than me and therefore out of reach. And the best bit of advice she ever gave me. It’s never going to get any easier you just have to do it. And that’s the truth you body will never liked by slammed against concrete for a long period of time you just have to do it.

And then all the clichés happened, I ran no matter what, through the rain , holidays and nightmare DIY, I had a bad day at work and then went for a run and felt better, I ran through muscle strains and blisters, I got up at 7:00 on Saturday morning to run 18 k’s, . And most worryingly of all when I didn’t run I missed it. And once I saw my reflection in the shop window and realise that when I run I am tipped forward by my boobs and my bum sticks out. I look like I am about to topple at any minute. Still I kept on running even my vanity couldn’t stop me.

So in six months I went from running 2 k;’s to 22. And you know what it’s not even a big deal I just do it. My body had amazed me and beside there gets a point where you are so tired there’s nothing else left to do apart from run, stopping doesn’t make it any better. In fact it makes it worse because your body remembers was resting feels like and tries to make you stop but letting all the blood flow to your feet.

And the reward for all that hard work came on Monday when I began carbo-loading. Which I re-interpreted to junk food loading and I ate a couple of chocolate éclairs and then felt sick so I ate healthy carbs but just a lot of them and now I have a swollen belly like an Ethiopian and I can’t really bend over or move. I have eaten pasta for every meal since Thursday and it’s not a good feeling. I hate pasta and bread actually and every type of wheat based product. Except cake of course. I will never hate cake. It goes against my religion

I am excited about tomorrow, hopefully the training and the carbs carry me through. Also hope that it doesn’t rain, blisters don’t re-appear and my knee strain behaves itself.

Wish me luck.
xxx

Urgent update!

Just had an email from my sister. She said Dad had read by blog and was still going on about the pole! How it was good quality and that I should not have thrown it out. Seriously if these are the genes I have inherited I really have no hope.

In an interesting twist in the pole story it has not been thrown away Jamie has it. He has put it in a place where I can’t find it. (I have tried to hunt it out but I can’t find it) I feel deceived.

And you know what they say about marrying a man who is like your father.



Above is a picture of a pole similar to the one currently illegally squatting in my house. Apart from this pole is darker and has broken end.
If you see it let me know!

xxxx