Done!

It's Monday 22nd April and it's all over! 5 hours and 11 minutes.

I am a bit stiff and creaky but nowhere near as bad as I thought I'd be which is a great relief!

So how was it? Well, it was pretty tough going towards the end but mostly I felt good.

I found the heat quite difficult - I'm used to rain and snow and yesterday I got sunburn! I just wasn't sure how to deal with it actually being warm! The first 19 miles or so went well, and to see family and friends along the way was a highlight of my life, let alone the day. It was very very special - thank you for coming. Craig and Jack managed to find me at three different points along the way which was amazing and very emotional.

Huge thanks also to all of you supporting from home, watching the tracker and playing a seriously challenging version of Where's Wally by looking out for me. The support you have all shown me throughout has been incredible and I have gratefully relished all of it.

After that it got tough. The crowd was amazing but in truth I found it a bit overwhelming. I tried to listen to music to get some focus back but I couldn't turn it up loud enough and I was also afraid of running straight past someone who had gone to a lot of trouble to come and support me! I felt like I was still going well - I was after all overtaking a lot of people who were walking - but the time tells a different story! As was the fact that I was overtaken by a Rhino, a bottle of beer, a camel and what I think was some kind of Mr Man - or was possibly hallucinating by then. Had I kept a better eye on my watch I think I could have got it overwith more quickly and if I'm totally honest I'm a wee bit frustrated with myself that I didn't do that. But hey - I got there in the end!

It was an incredible experience. Tower Bridge was every bit as fantastic as people say it is. The tunnel was awful - people strewn all over the place in all sorts of trouble. I found that hard to see given that I would have quite liked a lie down at that point. I had a quick stretch and walked for about a minute. Felt quite faint and thought "this is annoying" and realised the only way was to keep running - and as I ran (slowly!) out of the tunnel there were some magnificent and very special friends and suddenly it all got a bit possible again.

Most wonderful of all though is to have raised a total I never imagined possible. I was hoping for £2000. When I did that thing you do where you wonder 'imagine if...' I had secretly dreamed of getting closer to £3000. Your incredible support and generosity has in fact raised £5375. Unbelievable!! I am thrilled, humbled, grateful and proud. Thank you.

I can fully identify with John Bingham's quote;

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."

A marathon has been something I had very vaguely thought maybe would be an amazing thing to do, usually once a year whilst watching it on TV and tucking into a bacon sarnie. A thought repeatedly buried a few days later. My courage to do it came from one man and I am proud to have achieved this in his memory.

For you Grandad.

Take care all and thanks for coming along.

Love, sweaty socks and tiger balm

Lizzie
xxx

12 hours to go!!

I really need to get to bed!

But it's been a while since my last post so before I (hopefully) get some sleep the last week or so has involved:

Shock, sadness and sympathy for the bereaved and injured in Boston - my heart absolutely goes out to you all.

Some running - some of it even in the sunshine!! Just about perfect conditions for tomorrow which is great.

A great experience at the expo picking up my number.

A lot more tears - the donations and incredible messages have continued to pour in. At the time of writing an unimaginable five and a half thousand pounds has been raised. Even a coffee morning at which I hoped to raise twenty or thirty pounds brought in an amazing £211. I am grateful beyond words. My aim was to make a horrible thing that happened to a great man something that good could come from - and thanks to all of you it has.

I will be carrying all that love and support with me. And especially carrying with me my beautiful Grandad, my Granny, Great Uncle Ken, Jo's Grandad, Rebecca's grandparents, Jane's Mum, Caroline's Dad, Phil's Mum, the Richardons and above all my wonderful family and the hope that we can find out how to make this horrible disease a thing of the past. Thank you for all your donations that are helping the great work that goes towards that goal, and to supporting the families who need support. You are all amazing!

See you at the finish line....!
xxxxx

Sunshine

This time in two weeks it's all over!! Eeeeek!!!

Friday was the last of the big runs. It was a bit of a departure from the schedule but having missed the long ones back during Footgate I just felt I needed to get one more decent distance under my belt. So I did a 13 miles in what was yet again freezing cold, wind and yes, you've guessed it....snow. I mean, really?! It was quite hard going which worried me a bit - how can I do twice the distance if 13 feels so tough - and feels way tougher than when I did the half marathon all those weeks ago and am supposed to be fitter than that now? Hmm. Will just blame it on the weather I think. 

A nice route though on the Groombridge to East Grinstead cycle path. A flat route. Flat is good!! I was momentarily distracted from my weather related grumpiness when I ran past a field of people camping. Camping???!!!! I happen to like camping but seriously - it is waaaay too cold for that kind of thing. Camping is for August. People of Britain - snow and camping equals not ok. Get yourselves somewhere warm with some walls.

Also felt very bad on that run as had been very grumpy due to snow before leaving the house which was very unfair to my lovely Mum who was spending that few hours looking after the boys and dutifully making sock puppets and keeping them entertained. Sorry Mum! Mum also brought me one of those sporty restore your energy type drinks to try - which was very nice of her, but again I was all grumpy and said "but it's blue". I'm sure it's fantastic stuff but I just can't see how something blue could be good for me. But it was actually quite good. Only drawback was it made me, um well, burp a bit. Sorry to say but no other way to put it. So might have to shelve the blue drink just in case I happen to get stopped by the BBC as it would never do to burp at Sue Barker - that's like treason or something?!

Back to the schedule since then and that meant a 90 minute run on Sunday. Knees were a bit unhappy with all this running about so I did half of that on the cross trainer. And now, rather excitingly, I don't have to do more than an hour. I like this tapering malarkey. And now I'm the kind of smug arse who says things like "only" running for an hour. "Just an hour. Pah!" Still, it won't be long before normal service is resumed and the prospect of running for an hour has me reaching for the biscuits/excuses/other pressing matters that are way more important than exercise.

Of course there is also one more run that is quite significantly more than an hour but am trying not to think about that. Pace wise my running app kindly informs me that I am running at around 9.30 per mile (that's minutes, not hours) so looking at taking about four and a half hours. My, that sounds like a long time to be running!

Donations and messages have continued to come in in a way that has been profoundly moving and heartwarming and I couldn't be more grateful. I now have so very many reasons to get round this thing - it has been unbelievable. Thank you.

Some great advice coming in with those too. Alan, your advice regarding ensuring that in the unfortunate event that all thpse miles gets a bit much I am well prepped to aid bystanders who are trying to help me while the emergency services are on their way has all been noted. I will wear said white shirt with arrow pointing to where my heart is. Alan also gave me the following advice. 

"Also, you may want to think about putting an X over your lips w/ the inscription "Don't even think about it!" since it has been shown that mouth-to-mouth (M-T-M) resuscitation isn't necessary or more beneficial than chest compression alone.  Plus, you don't want to start gagging when some old guy w/ a beer breath is trying to administer M-T-M."

I'll be taking all the advice on board - thanks Alan. Although I will have to add a make exceptions for Ryan Gosling clause to that last bit. You never know...

A few of you have asked whether Craig is running too and the answer is sadly not. We had always hoped to do this together but he has quite literally found his achilles heel so long distance running is out for him at least for now. He has a plan to do his big thing though. And to be honest to have both somehow got this training done would have been really tough - just not enough hours in the day. So on marathon day Craig will be having to keep our boys entertained in the middle of a huge crowd where it's miles to the nearest loo / place to eat / something that would entertain a child - so believe me he has by far the hardest task on the day! Friends and family will be with him though so am sure it will all be fine!

It was sunny today! And yesterday!! This is good. Not too much sun - a heatwave would be unhelpful. But sunshine makes me actually feel like going running rater than wishing I was on the sofa - so more of that please. Marathon or no marathon we are all enjoying the sunshine!

It's getting late and my pact with myself is to be in bed by 10pm in the lead up to this. So off I jolly well pop - see you soon for a getting ever closer update!

Night
xx

Snow and Sponsors

Evening!

Just sitting down to catch up on a bit of blogging with a glass of red. Wine is of course an essential part of my training regime - almost as important as chocolate, and a snow plough!

Having arrived pretty late to the Twitter party in the last few months, amongst all the stuff I'm looking at from a work point of view I must admit to following a few just for the giggles. None make me laugh more than the fake Queen (Elizabeth Windsor, @Queen_UK if you're interested) and her post today was:

'Dear the weather. Just to confirm, it's APRIL. Regards, the Queen.'

Couldn't have said it better myself! It has snowed all day. Not settling, but nevertheless snowing. (No this is not Groundhog Day - it is I promise a new entry to this blog) I fear come marathon day if it's even a teeny bit warm we'll all be dropping like flies from dehydration having got used to running in the freezing cold!

Still - managed to sneak a run in. Indoors! Never mind a treadmill to protect my foot - it's all about protection from the elements now! A friend had my boys so that I could run - just one of the huge number of ways people have shown their support is the way friends and family have helped me to shoehorn this into my life!

The response to sending out sponsorship messages on facebook and by email has been absolutely overwhelming. Not just the generosity of the pledges, but the lovely words of support have been just incredible to read.  It feels like every time I check my phone there's another lovely message. I had hoped to be working towards £1000 by now, and am at almost twice that. Unbelieveable! It's not helping with the crying though frankly! There is a lot of weeping going on - it's getting embarrassing - it's out on the road, it's in the gym, it's on the train when I see a message - this blubbing is getting everywhere!

And joking aside for a moment - I am truly, profoundly and deeply grateful. Thank you so very very much.

Not to mention really excited to raise a serious bit of cash for this cause. This is all such an amazing experience in ways I never imagined.

My Mum's local quiz night raised £30 last might - and several made their own personal donations too which is fabulous. The cakes also raised £30 which is brill.

Thoughts are now turning to what to wear? I see you rolling your eyes but this is a genuine concern for several reasons...
1 If it is warm, the clothes I've been wearing and which have kept me a remarkably, and thankfully, chaffing free zone, will be too warm, so I will have to wear something different and could be in all manner of scratchy trouble!

2 Do I wear something bright on my head so that people can spot me?

3 If I wear something easy to spot that could mean that I am captured on film forever with sparkly deely boppers on my head. Although to be fair, I think there is footage of that from the eighties from when I wasn't being ironic or attempting to be highly visible so I guess it's already out there.

4 I go red when I run. Very red. Very red indeed. I need to hide my face otherwise St Johns ambulance will be running after me the entire way assuming I'm about to keel over.

Right - off to stretch a bit, foam roll a bit and send some thank you messages.

Cheers all.

L
xx

Hello!

It's Bank Holiday Monday (marvellous - there should be more of these - especially the day after the marathon!) and there is a great deal of chocolate in this house - surprising when you consider how much has already been eaten!

So, I did my 19 miles on Saturday. The big one before the big one! And still it snows! I couldn't believe I was still running in snow, albeit little flurries that weren't 'landing'. But snow is snow, and to snow it needs to be cold. Can't complain too much though as clearly there are parts of the country that I wouldn't be able to get out of the front door, far less trot around Tunbridge Wells moaning about my sore legs!

The first half was fine - from then it was pretty tough going. I'm not going to deny there were a few tears! Many of you reading this will know I love a cry - so no great surprise really. When I got home I bumped into a neighbour and attempted to answer her question and managed to half speak/half blub a load of nonsense. Her words to my husband were "Your wife is broken!"

It is hard going though. More so than I imagined. I was literally trotting like an idiot by mile 17 and was longing for a sign I could hold explaining to the passing traffic that I was running like a newborn fawn because I was on mile 18 and I don't usually look like this! Two days on and I'm still pretty achey - yesterday involved swearing under my breath whenever I had to walk downstairs. But it does feel a teensy bit possible. Incredibly daunting that I need to add another 7 miles to that total - but also that little bit possible.

The run to the Hare and back from our house is 6 miles. (One of these days I'll sod the training and stop at The Hare for a pint  -  and they do a fantastic Sunday roast). So the way I'm seeing it there is there is a Hare and back to go - surely I've got a Hare and back left in me??!!

I'm also told the crowd gets those final miles on the clock so am banking on that! Am sure it will be amazing. Especially when I see family and friends. Although again I fear there will be blubbing - except this time in front of thousand of people. I really need to not do my ugly cry in front of that many people!!! I know I've been emotional watching others in the past. I also know it's really hard to spot people - so huge apologies if you go to the effort of coming and I don't see you. I'll be sorting a venue for meeting up afterwards so hopefully catch any of you there at that point.

Feet are holding out ok. Stretching a lot! Really, a lot!!

Sponsorship is coming in and that is really exciting and a huge incentive as that's what this is all about. It will be amazing to raise a good amount for this fantastic charity.

The cakes I made on my course last week have been selling well - am chuffed with that. And local tweeters have been re-tweeting about them and has all just felt very lovely to have local community getting behind someone they don't know just because, well, just because. Thanks TW!

Right - time to go and send some sponsorship mails. Still finding it difficult to do the asking but there is really no point doing all this if I'm not willing to ask - so - here we go!

Thanks for giving this a read and for all the support.

Bye for now
L
xx

I saw the wonderful Matt Stanford again today - Osteopath extraordinaire! Got a bit of a ticking off about not stretching enough - so it's all about the stretching and the foam roller. Ouchy! Wise words from Matt though - not worth not being able to do it because I didn't do more stretching. I am still so surprised by how much time and energy has had to go into everything but the running - mainly the injury management! Matt has very kindly donated two sports massages to the cause to keep my legs going - a lovely gesture - thanks Matt.

Good hour and a quarter on the x trainer today - although am realising I need to seriously update my playlist. Songs I used to love are being skipped because I just can't stand to hear them again. Only the very finest cheese still making the cut - yes folks, I've been reduced to needing Kylie to get me round!! This is not OK. I need song suggestions and I need them urgently!!

Feet are sore but ok. Right shin is very sore - hence the need for the stretching. Bit of pain is alright though - was never going to not be a bit sore. I've got well into tiger balm though - I have no idea whether it does any good at all but that burny thing is marvellous!

My running vest arrived today. With it is a paper you can attach that reads "I am running for...". I cried at that point. Great vest though - hopefully will help you to spot me. Am wondering whether I should find a very very bright cap to help with that too - although am guessing everyone else has the same idea which kind of defeats the object. They also sent some of the right iron on letters for me to add my name to the vest - and some of the wrong ones. I've asked for more as I think people might find it hard to read / shout encouragement to Lizhba?!

I'm on a cupcake decorating course tomorrow - a birthday gift - and Greens cafe have very kindly agreed to sell the results on Friday in aid of my cause. Apparently we'll be learning how to make icing shoes - will be attempting icing trainers then!

See you soon.

L
x

Only 20 minutes?!

Now I am back following the plan I took great pleasure in following it to the letter yesterday. "20 minutes easy run" it said.

20 minutes easy run is what I duly did - and not a second more!

Feet, shins, calves - it all is just that little bit too achey for me to feel safe that it'll be ok - but much much much better than before.

I have taken to wearing seriously unglamorous footwear to walk to the train station. Yesterday I was in my old Toms. All very well as long as I keep remembering to take something to change into - turning up to a client in those would not be a good look!

Thrilled to see donations starting to come in - it's a great incentive to work hard at this. I'm very grateful  - thank you.

Calum has set the bar high on the foot jokes - surely someone can do better? Or should that be worse?

By the way I absolutely get the donating anonymously - I do it too - but please let me know privately who you are so I can thank you.

I am now off to look on the net for some advice about what to eat. Still constantly hungry with this training and really need to vary my response to that with something other than cake and chocolate!

See you soon.

On my feet again

It's been a busy few days on my marathon quest. 

I joined the local sports centre so that I can cross train / cycle / treadmill / swim in order to protect the foot.

So, for the fourth time in this whole process I swam to get the cardio without the pressure on the foot.

I hate swimming!! I really hate swimming. Such a faff!! So boring. So cold. A woman in the changing room summed it up as I was about to head into the pool. She was in a cubicle and calling to her friend: "I'll be ready in a minute - my pants are fighting back!" Getting dressed after a swim should definitely count as exercise in itself.

At least I have now worked out which is the deep end. First swim I got to the end of my first length and did the swimming pool equivalent of a Del Trotter by putting my feet down, straight on to nothing, and sinking like a stone, then spluttering away and trying to look as though I was intentionally ducking my head under in that way that real swimmers do.

Goggles are a conundrum. Don't wear them and I can't see a thing and my eyes sting. Do wear them and they make me look like I've gone several rounds in a boxing ring by the end of it. Not only that, they make me able to clearly see the hairs, occasional tissue and just general bits of unidentifiable yuk that I'm swimming through. Also, got a way too clear a view when I caught up with an older gentleman (who was a dude by the way) doing the backstroke. He was an incredible swimmer - but his shorts hailed from the days before lycra. It was a view I am trying hard to erase from my brain!! Serves me right for getting all full of myself and swimming in the 'medium' lane!

Today was all about testing the foot on a run. I'd been feeling a bit like this was all a bit much and I'd missed too much training due to the foot and was not in a great place about it all. But had a fantastic pep talk on Thursday from my brother Steve, who quite rightly said "You've started thinking about a time...forget the time...this is about getting round it for the cause". He was spot on. ( After the half marathon I'd felt so good I'd started to think about the time I might be able to get through this in. Doing that in combination with then injuring the foot had allowed a lot of negative thoughts to creep in. So now I'm back on just finishing this thing - and if I want to start messing around trying to get times I can keep up a bit of the half marathoning in the future - I'm determined to do the TW half in under two hours now!) Steve also suggested I went for getting my body used to the distance again today and not try and run it all in order to protect the foot. So today was about getting 16 miles on the clock by both walking and running. I also did it on the treadmill in order to give my foot a softer landing.

I can honestly say it was by a very long way the toughest run yet. I found being inside and on the treadmill really really dull. Mentally it felt like it went on forever. I was frustrated not to run it all - and despite my promises to forget about time couldn't help being a bit cross that I was having to walk some. I was absolutely pooped. So much so on the drive home I had a bit of a blub! I also felt really queasy which was not good at all. Apparently motion sickness after that long on a treadmill is a real possibility... great... needed that like a hole in the head! Ah well - I did it - that's the main thing. 16 miles now officially on the clock.

Time taken - bloody ages. Time thoughts really really must go. Not least because on a run that long I'm going to have to make a dive for the portaloos at some point - that much is now very clear!! It also burned 1617 calories. I'm not a great one for calorie stuff - don't really get it - but that does sound like a lot of mini eggs! We'll see how the foot is over the next few days. It hurts a bit at the moment but an ache not a pain - and frankly everything aches.

So my attention is now turning to getting the fundraising things I've been planning in my head actually happening as with today in the bag the possibility of doing this is real again. There have been some kind offers from my pilates centre and the coffee shop I use as my alternative office - and will be having a coffee morning and a pizza night from here - so time to get going on all that.

All good. Bye for now.

xx

I ran today and my foot doesn't hurt! Not far - but it was running.

This is exciting news. No, really - it is!

All thoughts of doing this in a 'time' are even more abandoned than they ever were now - I'll be lucky to get round. But it does at least feel safe to start talking about it as a possibility again after two weeks of thinking this would all get deferred to next year.

So,  waaaaayy behind on the training schedule and new trainers that feel a bit funny, but all in all a good day.

So now the blog is working - but linking it to my sponsorship page isn't.

Oh well.

So this may not be read by anyone, ever, if I can't get it working -but shall crack on anyway.

It's the 11th March. 41 days to go.

At the moment it's touch and go whether I'll run this thing at all due to an injured foot. Getting ahead of myself though. The story so far....

The Alzheimers Society called in October - on the night I was celebrating my birthday to be precise, to offer me one of their marathon places. I burst into tears (I do that a lot) as I know they get a lot of applications for their places and had assumed I hadn't made the cut. I was, and am, so thrilled to have the opportunity to do something to honour my lovely Grandad.

I was also very very scared!

Having kept my fitness up but not started long runs I started to follow (thanks to my lovely friend Faye who is also running this year) a 16 weeks to go training plan in January. I stuck to it to the letter - well nearly - I was swapping in a bit of swimming (which I officially hate - eeeuwwww to swimming!) and cross training (thank you to my lovely neighbour Teresa for letting me use hers) when there was just too much snow meant that even the weather didn't stop me from sticking to my plan! Also had the loan of a running machine from my fab friend George so when the knees have ached too much or the ice has been too dangerous I've been able to run in her conservatory to my hearts content and get a natter and a cuppa afterwards - marvellous! Have had to time it to avoid my wobbly arse putting her builders off their lunch mind you!

And all was going really well. I was even enjoying running for an hour and 45 minutes in the rain. I felt like Forest Gump I tell you. 8 weeks in the plan instructed me to complete a half marathon which I duly did. The Tunbridge Wells half marathon to be precise. Absolutely bloody freezing and an enormous hill halfway through but I really enjoyed it.

All was looking good and then an injury to my foot has seen me limping/moping around since 2 days after the half marathon. I've been trying to keep up the fitness with swimming and cross training but it's been a struggle to fit in - and a horrible cold has only made it worse. So have been on a bit of a downer and fearing I won't make it to the start line let alone the finish.

In the last few days though I have seen a brilliant Osteopath, (thank you Matt Stanford) changed my trainers, sorted out a donating page and am working on the assumption that I will do it. I have yet to run on the bad foot - that's for later this week - but I guess if I can't do it this year I'll just have to defer to next year. So there we are.

So far I have learned...

1.I can run further than I ever imagined and still feel good.

2.I still hate swimming.

3.Goggles make swimming easier and harder. Easier because your eyes don't sting. Harder because you can see what you are swimming in. Bleurgh!

4.Drivers that swerve so they don't splash me are lovely. Drivers that enjoy splashing me make me chuckle because the wicked part of me thinks she might do the same one day. So that's a win win.

5.I am pretty slow. Although not as slow as the guy in the Bagpuss costume. Just about.

6.I will not ever run in a costume.

7. Running a lot means I can eat more cake.

8. Not that much cake. I think I may be the only person training for a marathon who has put on weight. Am reining that in right now.

9. There is a phenomenon known as 'Runner's trots'. I am in good company to have experienced this, am I not Paula Radcliffe?!

10. Music helps.

11. I need to change my playlist now I know every song a bit too well.

12. I am chuffed with how far I've come. I'm scared I can't do it. I'll be seriously hacked off if I don't even get to try.

13. If you stop, it is REALLY hard to get going again. Support is totally brilliant (learned that doing the half - it gives you such a boost) but on the day I will not be stopping to say 'Hi' as will never start again. Apologies in advance to any of you who are there.

14. There is no 14 but however ridiculous superstition is I can't have thirteen.

See you soon for a foot update.
xx

Step 1 - getting a blog started

The first hurdle seems to be getting this blog page to work and to connect to a fundraising page.

Grrrrr!

Glad though, that the marathon doesn't involve hurdles. That would be getting silly!