We decided to set off from Wimborne on the Friday night to ensure a nice relaxing trip to the Expo and a solid night sleep on Friday knowing full well that Saturday night would be full of excitement and nerves! The Expo was great, plenty of useful freebies and a good pep talk from Liz Yelling and Paula Radcliffe. Friday nights sleep was not such a success when our air conditioning unit decided to leak through the ceiling at 3.15am! Not being able to move rooms we had to settle for wringing the towels out every hour or so to stop the continuous sound of running water. Anyway after 3hrs sleep I managed a complete a well deserved day of R and R followed by the last bowl of pasta of the week...thank goodness!
Race Day.....
Arriving at the start line having checked my kit bag 5 times I was ready to rock and roll. Having left my kit bag on the lorry the heavens opened, not expected at all, thank goodness for the trusty old bin liner! Despite this and 45 minutes queuing for the loos the excitement in the air was electric!
The first 6 miles seemed to come and go very quickly, I managed to keep my pace fairly slow at 11 Min/mile as was concerned I might go off too quickly. At every turn a new face would shout 'Go Debbie – you can do it' ….amazing how much adrenaline that puts into your body!
Running over Tower Bridge was so emotional, the crowd were louder than I had ever imagined, with the BBC camera up ahead I ran the second part of it with my arms in the air waving franticly....nope I wasn't on TV! After Tower Bridge I felt a surge of pain in my chest and breathing became quite laboured and tight...my hiatus hernia rearing its ugly head again, I couldn't believe it.....today of all days!! I kept my pace until 15 miles when I passed my friends and family then decided to split from Louisa and Sarah my running buddies as they were still on for a sub 5hr.
Dropped my pace to a comfortable speed trying not to double over too much, the only tack I found to ease the pain a little was to stop running when taking on fluids, a bit annoying but at this point the finish line was all I cared about. Having passed a screaming group of family and friends at 21 miles it was all about passing Big Ben, strolling along Birdcage Walk, waving to the guards at Buckingham Palace and trying to look good (hilarious thought!) for the cameras at the finish line.
The finish line was now in sight, I managed to gain a bit of speed....then Martin Yelling's tips kicked in...straighten your number...arms in the air and SMILE for the camera!! Which camera I smiled for I don't know but I DID IT! Crossed the finish line in a little bit of a disappointing time of 5:43 but most importantly I did it.
What an amazing day! The most emotional...painful.....yet best day of my life so far! To top it all I turned 30 yesterday too! A birthday never to forget.
On 21 June 2002 mine and my partner's life turned upside down.
Like any normal couple we were planning out first house and had just secured jobs having both graduated from University. On the eve of mid summers day Tom misjudged a dive and broke his neck suffering a complete C3/4 spinal cord injury, instantly becoming a 'Tetraplegic' or some of you may recognise 'Quadraplegic'. As a result he is paralysed from the shoulders downwards. Tom now requires 24 hour care, 50% of which is provided by me, not an easy thing for Tom to deal with in his early 30's.
After many a dark hour we have managed to rebuild our lives together and adjust to take on the daily challenges life with paralysis brings.
Tom is now an active member of Sailability in Ringwood and is currently training for the National Access Series in Rutland in June 2010. Sailing single handed is something we certainly could not have imagined 7 years ago.
Spinal cord injury (SCI) occurs in moments but it establishes a cascade of biological responses affecting not just the nervous system but also the immune and circulatory systems as well. The work being done by Spinal Research offers HOPE.
On 25th April 2010 (my 30th birthday!), with your help and with me running 26.2 miles we can help in providing that HOPE for many people suffering from spinal injury. At present there is no 'cure', but it maybe possible if we keep going.
Spinal Research for us is HOPE....... HOPE for the future.
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