April 27th 2009
I did it! - in four hours and 27mins I completed the 26.2 miles (according to my watch I even put in an extra half a mile dodging around the roads..).
It was an amazing day, very warm, extremely tough with the most incredible support around the course
Thanks to all of you who sent me emails and texts, and who watched for me on the TV, tracked my mileage and sent me notes of congratulations, all of which kept me going the whole way round.
Special thanks to Patrick, for putting up with my obssesive data reviews, constant droning on about runs and for coming out on my long practice runs with gels, drinks and malt loaf to keep me going!
Thanks to Simon and Maz, for all the training advice, support and confidence you gave me to get across the finish line
And to Fiona, for keeping me company on my runs, training with me and supporting me through the four months
Most of all thanks to all of you who donated money, to help support HEART UK, a fantastic charity that does amazing work to support families and individuals across the UK.
Many thanks for joining me on my journey, hope you enjoyed it - at least you can walk up and down the stairs far better than I can this morning!
HUGE THANKYOU
Sarah
x
Having endured the FLM in 2008, and raising a fantastic £2000 for H-E-A-R-T UK, with all of your help, Pat and I considered running it again in 2009.
We decided to split the roles this year - Pat has decided to take on the role of coach, kit washer and supporter, whilst I get the job of tackling the 26 and a bit mile route, (hopefully this time without the rain and hailstones) to raise money for H-E-A-R-T UK.
H·E·A·R·T UK is a national charity for patients and their families which combines the rich skills of research scientists and the caring and knowledgeable attention of doctors, nurses and dietitians, in order to support all those at risk of inherited high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease.
Please support me in my run, by donating money below.
I will update you on my training progress, which started at the end of september with a fairly hilly half marathon in Windsor! - now all eyes on Newlands Corner - a 10K hilly scramble, (how else would you want to spend Valentines day??) and Reading half marathon (end of March) and thanks to my friends who have agreed to train and run it with me!
February Update
Having clocked up 75 miles running in January, the training has been tough so far, with the snow and ice causing lost time- (and one spectacular fall!) so was feeling somewhat lacking in mileage when Fiona (my training buddy and saviour on nights I wouldnt get up the hills) and I turned up at 8am on 14th Feb at Newlands corner for the G3 event. For those of you that dont know the area - Newlands Corner is a vertical challenge for walkers never mind runners! - with the temperature below freezing and the floor still iced over, we set off on this 10K very hilly challenge. very pleased to say, that despite the mud, the cold and the climbing we had to do, we completed it in 1 hour 18 - which was a couple of minutes ahead of our target. (see photo - we had no idea what we were letting ourselves in for!)
Sunday saw that strange 'cant quite get the legs to co-ordinate' movement, so I set out for a gentle jog to see if I could losen off the aches and pains, concious that I had missed the long run the week before - and was pleased to get back just under 2 hours later, having completed 12 miles!
24th Feb
It is getting serious! attended a 'fullpotential' training weekend with Liz and Mike Yelling (olympics, commonwealth etc etc - these people run really fast!) to get some insight into how you should consider approaching the marathon. The two days was packed with lots of new information - great to give me an opportunity to bore Patrick to death with my newly drafted training plan (he hasnt yet discovered it will involve him being on a bike with a stopwatch next to me) and was very pleased to complete the two training runs.
Realised it is now just under 9 weeks to go, the nerves are starting to set in as I have realised that now the sunday runs need to be getting up into 3+ hours! - also intend to increase my training overall to six days a week... who needs sleep anyway!
Reading half marathon in March is the next milestone, will let you know how we get on.
30th March 2009 - Reading Half Marathon Write up
It was an early start yesterday morning, with the added confusion and stress of the clocks changing, trying to work out if the phone would change on its own, or if we would miss the race! anyhow, all was ok, and Fi and I were ready to go at 7.30am
We were taken to the race by Simon, who is our running guru and who had volunteered (begged) to get me round in less than 2 hours.
After a frosty start, the sun came out, making a last minute change from long to short sleeve running tops - and suddenly we were off! - A good steady pace for the first 3 miles (including up the first of three hills) and then Fiona was off - with a target time of 1.55 she needed to get ahead.
Josh sped off too, but unfortunately had some problems on the route and didnt have a very good run on the day.
The whole race was fairly uneventful - although with 17,000 runners, it was busy throughout and you were constantly jostling with other runners. At mile 10 we caught up with 'Rocky' - running with a stereo and very motivational music from the film - that got me to mile 11! - then I started to struggle and wanted to give up (I think it was seeing the masses around me started to walk) but Simon - thankfully, was having none of it, and with his gentle persuasion - on we went!
At mile 12 we saw Fiona - shouts of 'move your arse' gave her the final push she needed to get over the line in the stadium in 1.53.32 - exceeding her expectations and meaning Rob hadnt got there to see her ( she was just too quick!) we followed some 3.5mins behind - also getting a PB and exceeding expectations - in 1.57.02. (15 minutes faster than 2008!!)
Thanks to Simon for getting me round and to Fi for all the training runs :-)
Four weeks until london, one more long run in the diary (18-20 next weekend) and then its the taper - A 10K race the week before and that will be it - the 4 months of preperation will be over and I will be at that Red Start at Blackheath! (nerves and excitement definately setting in now)
April 2009
Some knee problems halted the last planned long run, so only 16miles completed, but after some sports massage (not fun!) and a couple of days rest, I have been back out running and managed a half marathon this weekend, (thanks to Fiona for doing most of it with me) - thats it for double digets now until the 26th!
Dunsfold 10K race was this morning, lovely day but very cold at the start, hadnt banked on the bracing wind at miles 3 and 6 which slowed me down, but I came in at a respectable (well I think so) 53:54. knee held out although very sore at the end.
one week to go, this time next week it will all be over (I hope, as writing this at 7.30pm, if I am still going something has gone very wrong!). so just a couple of light runs, lots of carbs and will try and get some rest towards the end of the week. Patrick cant wait for it all to be over!
thank you all for your continued support, I will be in touch after the marathon!
Sarah xx
April 26th - I did it - see top of email
Sarah
x
