Yet again I have chosen to raise much needed money for Willow Wood Hospice in Andy's Dad's memory, whilst I take on challenges for myself for the year.

2012 is 'Marie's Triple Challenge' year.

I am running Manchester marathon (yes, 26.2 miles) Done: 04:12:06

Swimming 1 mile in Windemere (Great North Swim) Done: 01:03:03

Jumping out of an aeroplane (with a parachute, of course)Done: Bloody Hell it was scary!!

Manchester will be my 3rd marathon and I am hoping to do it in under 4 hours. My training starts 2nd January for 17 weeks. The BIG DAY is April 29th. I will regularly update this page with a blog on how my training is going.

Having never swam outdoors before (except in the sea) or swam wearing a wetsuit, I'm a little nervous about this one. I could probably swim a mile at the baths (64 lenghts at Glossop pool), but I believe it's a lot different in open water. Training for this will begin properly after I have completed my marathon run. I will do the great north swim on June 24th, hopefully in about 1hr 15 mins.

This has got to be the hardest section of my challenge. I cannot train for it. Success does not depend on my commitment. I have to trust someone else has packed the parachute correctly & I am terrified of heights (or drops). I will be doing a tandem parachute jump (yes I will be throwing myself out of an aeroplane from a great height!!). Not sure how I managed to get talked into & agree to this one!!! I'm hoping to get this over & done with before July (not booked a date yet but it will definately happen) *Now booked for Tuesday 5th June. Aaaargh!!! CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER. Grrrrr. Re-booked for 17th June. Sleepless night & feeling sick to the pit of my stomach all for nothing & got to go through it all again.

June 24th: Today I completed a 1 mile swim in Windemere. Before it started I was genuinely scared of drowning. Upon seeing the amount of kayaks there along the route eased my fear a little & nervous excitement kicked in. Although it was cold at first once I got moving it wasn't too bad. Along the way I got chatting to a couple of lovely ladies facing their own challenge & their stories were inspirational, one who'd suffered from cervical cancer last year. I only got cramp twice in the 1st half, but on the home straight it kept hitting repeatedly. But I never let it stick around too long & continued on my way, completing the mile in just over an hour. Okay that's not an amazing time, but it was a spectacular & exhilarating experience & I think I may have found myself a new hobby :-)  £667 raised so far.

I'VE DONE IT!!! On Sunday I completed my skydive. Although it was the most terrifying thing I've ever done & I hated every second, I'm glad I've done it, but would NEVER do it again.

27th June: Ok. now I've recovered from the immediate shock (& sickness) of it, I've realised it was the most amazing experience I've ever had. I can't believe I actually allowed myself to be shoved out of a plane 14,000ft up & fall at over 100mph for 40 seconds before the parachute was deployed. I have to keep watching the dvd to prove it to myself. When I watch it, my heart races, I feel a bit nauseous & I get tears in my eyes. I'd recommend it to anybody :-)

2 June: The time is nearly here. In just a couple of days I will be strapped to some fella who's gonna 'safely' get me from the plane to the ground by parachute. OMG!! (a thought I'm having more regularly recently). Just gotta keep myself busy for the next couple of days to take my mind off it :-0     £655 raised so far.

Swim training, May: I actually experienced, the terrifying, open water swimming last night at Salford Quays. OMG. I'm sooo out of my depth (haha!!) I've been going to Glossop pool each week since my marathon run, but I really wasn't prepared for the reality of it. I've got 4 weeks to practise face-under-water technique & I'm going back to Salford Quays the week before the 'Big Swim'. It may be a very long, slow 1 mile swim!!!!

Ok. So I've now decided learning to swim with my face under the water & learn front crawl this late on is unrealistic. New plan: get around safely :-)

Week 1 of marathon training done. I've done 6 runs this week totalling 37 miles. It's been a very muddy week & the trainers I've worn are all filthy. Had a very strange experience Tuesday evening, running in the dark at Phillip Howard running track with my headtorch on. Kept losing the track & couldn't really see very well, but it was good fun. I've got achy legs, but hopefully that means he 'less is more' plan is working. Only 16 weeks to go. £100 raised so far.

Week 2 complete. I've run a total of 40 miles this week, including a speed session, some easy runs & a race pace run (supposedly). I find it really hard pacing myself, good job there'll be pacers on the day. I've just got back from a nice 10 mile run on the hills, where I ended up in Rowarth. T'was lovely, apart from the uphill bits, OUCH!! 15 weeks to go. £205 raised so far.

Week 3 of training over with. Total milage for this week was 39 miles. I think the plan I'm following is definately working. This week's 'long' run was just 8 miles this morning but the week's milage has taken it's toll & it felt more like I'd ran 20 miles by the time I'd finished. It probably didn't help that I ran up Derbyshire 'unlevel'. Think it may be time to bring out the jelly babies for next week!! 14 weeks to go. £205 raised so far.

Week 4 completed. 43 miles this week. Had a lovely run on Friday in the snow, even though I did get splashed with a very icy cold puddle by a passing car. I've just returned from a 12 mile run. Ran along path towards Woodhead from Hollingworth, then cut down onto resers near Crowden. My nice white running shoes are no longer white. Well it had to happen some time!! The 3 pound I'd lost a few weeks ago has managed to find me again, I'm NOT impressed. Therefore, no jelly babies for me this week. 13 weeks to go. £205 raised so far.

Week 5. And it's snowed. Lots!!! Been and ran 8 miles in it this morning. Took me 15 minutes longer than it normally would. There're cars abandoned all over Glossop & lots of people pulling small children & shopping on sledges. I really enjoyed it :-)  42 miles in total this week & I've lost that 3 pound again. It's going to stay off this time. 12 weeks to go. £225 raised so far.

Only 7 weeks to go until GMM. The last few weeks have gone past in a blur. I've had a few extra rest days than in the plan (naughty, naughty) but I'm pleased with how well it's going & feel strong. I ran 8 miles in 1:10:25 this week, which was great & I'm feeling very positive about being able to run Wilmslow half marathon in under 1:50 in a fortnight. £325 raised so far.

5 weeks until 'M day'. Another week of training complete. I've ran Wilmslow Half marathon today & although it was boiling I still managed to do it 1:53:31 (my PB, woohoo!) 52 miles ran in total this week. I'm feeling good & strong at the moment & ready for the big day (after a taper of course).  I have bought my wetsuit & managed to pour myself into it. Now I just need to test it out in water! I have also paid the deposit for my skydive. I've just got to phone them to book my date (((quakes with fear))). £365 raised so far.

29 days to go. I've had achy legs all this week from last weekend's half marathon but training is going well. I even treated myself to an extra rest day yesterday, maybe I shouldn't have though because I kept waking up last night with leg cramps (maybe it was my legs going into withdrawal!!). Now I've got a nice 2 weeks off work & taper time is getting closer :-)  My skydive is now booked. But let's not think about that.

18 days to go: It's getting very close now. 56 miles ran in training last week. I can't believe the miles I've racked up. I just hope I manage to hit my target time. Also looking forward to watching The London Marathon on 22nd April. That should really get me in the mood :-)   £395 raised for Willow Wood Hospice so far.

4 days to go: Just spent the weekend in London supporting my sister running the marathon there (well done sis!) Enjoyed spectating & cheering people on, only trouble is I came home with lower back pains & a cold. I think sitting for a long time on the train followed by carrying my backpack around London & sleeping in an uncomfortable bed all contributed. And I must've caught cold germs off the tubes. Having said all that, I'm sure I'll be fine for the BIG DAY!!! Looking forward to going to pick my race number up later this week :-)  £525 raised for Willow Wood Hospice so far.

1 day to go: Well! What a week. Woke up yesterday with a stomach bug & had to spend the day in bed. Feeling better today, but very tired after a day at work. I've decided not to do my last couple of training runs today & tomorrow to give my body time to recover. It'll probably mean that the time I was aiming for probably won't happen too. But as long as I make the finish line I'll be happy(ish). £595 raised for Willow Wood Hospice so far. Over the last 18 weeks I've ran 96 training runs totalling 726 miles. Tomorrow's 26.2 miles takes me over 750 miles of running!!

Race day: Well that wasn't bloody easy...felt fine up until mile 14, then we had to run along some lanes in Dunhan Massey (I think). They were full of very large, unavoidable, deep puddles of freezing cold water. Then the cramps kicked in!! Tried to stretch them out but wouldn't go, so I ran (& I use that term loosely) the last 10 miles in agony. getting worse as the finish line approached. had to stop again at mile 25 ish (at which point I leaned against a tree, defeated. I very nearly cried) but was encouraged on by Jayne, & finally made it to the finish line. £602 raised so far. 1/3 of my challenge complete.

I am paying all costs (entry costs/travel expenses/equipment costs) myself so that every penny I raise in sponsors/donations goes to Willow Wood Hospice. It costs about £2million per year to run the hospice so any contribution you can offer, large or small, will play an important part in maintaining and developing the service, which is committed to patients requiring palliative care during the changing phases of their illness.

Thank you for taking the time to visit & read my charity page.

        Marie x

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