Story
All those weeks of getting up at 6.30 on Saturday morning, cutting back on alcohol and eating pasta are over for now. I can look forward to having a lie-in, eating chocolates and having time to go for a walk or a bike ride. So far I’ve been world-class at the first two!
Wilf and I travelled up to London early on Saturday morning to collect my number and timing chip. Later, by chance, I met a world record holder, Fauja Singh, who is 92. His record for the marathon stands at about 6 hours 40 minutes. Just hope I’m that good at his age.
Spectator support was as excellent as ever, but with the added bonus of Hazel and two of her friends turning up to help Wilf cheer me on. It was so warm that I made use of each set of showers on the way round: they spray a fine mist of water and are rather like going through a car wash, though mercifully without the large mops! The first sixteen miles went well, but a couple of miles later my knee started to feel as though it was cramping, so I walked until it eased. After about mile 20, I started to pass more people and managed to keep up the jog/walk fairly comfortably to the finish. My time was 5:26:37, faster than in 2001, and I didn’t feel exhausted. In fact, to my great surprise I was walking at normal speed on the way down to the PDS reception, where I took advantage of the post-race massage (e-mail me to see the picture - a candidate for a caption competition, I think).
The next day, I took full advantage of the hotel’s buffet breakfast and Wilf and I set off for the Tate Modern before coming home in the afternoon. Since then, I seem to have spent most of my time eating and sleeping, but now, a week later, that seems to be easing off. And just to give you something to think about: Fauja Singh’s time was 6 hours and 2 minutes. I’d better get out training!
Thanks for sponsoring me! If you haven't done so yet, then there's still time.
Wilf and I travelled up to London early on Saturday morning to collect my number and timing chip. Later, by chance, I met a world record holder, Fauja Singh, who is 92. His record for the marathon stands at about 6 hours 40 minutes. Just hope I’m that good at his age.
Spectator support was as excellent as ever, but with the added bonus of Hazel and two of her friends turning up to help Wilf cheer me on. It was so warm that I made use of each set of showers on the way round: they spray a fine mist of water and are rather like going through a car wash, though mercifully without the large mops! The first sixteen miles went well, but a couple of miles later my knee started to feel as though it was cramping, so I walked until it eased. After about mile 20, I started to pass more people and managed to keep up the jog/walk fairly comfortably to the finish. My time was 5:26:37, faster than in 2001, and I didn’t feel exhausted. In fact, to my great surprise I was walking at normal speed on the way down to the PDS reception, where I took advantage of the post-race massage (e-mail me to see the picture - a candidate for a caption competition, I think).
The next day, I took full advantage of the hotel’s buffet breakfast and Wilf and I set off for the Tate Modern before coming home in the afternoon. Since then, I seem to have spent most of my time eating and sleeping, but now, a week later, that seems to be easing off. And just to give you something to think about: Fauja Singh’s time was 6 hours and 2 minutes. I’d better get out training!
Thanks for sponsoring me! If you haven't done so yet, then there's still time.