26th September 2011

I HAVE DONE IT!!!! :) 

Yes that's right, yesterday I achieved what I set out to do and completed Run To The Beat 2011.

Left home at 6:30am with Lee, Mum and Dad and caught the train and tube into London, arriving at The O2 around 8:15am. Visited the Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research tent where lots of smiling volunteers greeted those who like me, were running in aid of their charity.

I was getting a bit nervous while getting my race number ready and putting on the sun-cream as it was the first half-marathon I've done without Leebo by my side at the start line. 

I said my good-byes and headed to the bag drop off area and then onto my 'pen' to queue up for the start of the race. 

Radio 1 DJ Reggie Yates was on the decks as the race started at 9:45am, however I didn't cross it until 10:20am due to the volume of runners with a faster predicted time than me!

The first 2 miles flew by and it was nice to see my supporters at 1.5 miles as I hadn't expected to see them so soon. Felt alright up until mile 7 when I felt myself flagging after a fair few hilly parts of the course and the heat too. However, my family were there to spur me on at 7.5 miles and Dad managed to pass me some wine-gums which helped me on the way!

Great to have the various musical acts and DJ's playing on our way round (although I'm clearly getting old as I didn't really know them!) including Annie Mac and Calvin Harris.

Lots of spectators were cheering me on, thanks to me having my name on my t-shirt. It really boosted me! Had to laugh at the American who shouted, "Go Kay-dee! That's brilliant smooth running!" Clearly I am perfecting my running technique... :D

Loads of support along from mile 10 onwards - thank you Karen Lambert for shouting at me on the mega-phone!! And of course the Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research cheering station was buzzing as they hi-fived their runners on the final part of the race.

I made it across the finish line in 2 hours 10 minutes 52 seconds. Although a bit slower than previous half-marathons I've done, I was interested to see how much faster I am getting towards the end of these long runs - my faster mile for example was mile 11 in 9 minutes 27 seconds - just need to work on being faster at the beginning now!

Received a nice big medal at the end and headed back to the tent for re-fuelling with crisps and sweets, before heading home. 

Really proud of being part of this race and chuffed to bits that many lovely people wanted to sponsor me. To date, over £200,000 has been raised for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research through this year's Run To The Beat so a HUGE THANK YOU for helping to make this possible. 

Love and thanks,

Katie xxx

 

This September, I'll be taking part in Run To The Beat 2011 - London's Music Half Marathon which starts and finishes at The O2, following a 13.1 mile course around the Greenwich Peninsula. And to keep the 17,000 or so runners going, there will be plenty of musical entertainment and top-notch bands playing along the route - which I'm SO looking forward to! :)

 

I am proud to be 'running to the beat' for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, a brilliant charity which funds groundbreaking and life-saving research into better treatments and cures for all blood cancers including leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma. www.llresearch.org.uk

 

Fundraisers are known as The Banana Army, thanks to their bright yellow t-shirts (and some dressing as bananas, but not me this time!!) www.beatbloodcancers.org/bananaarmy  I will however be sporting my day-glo t-shirt with pride, so if you fancy coming along to support The Banana Army, look out for me! It would be great to see you there cheering me on :)

 

If you can't make it on the day, then you may wish to sponsor me instead. Just click on the 'Donate now' button and follow the simple steps to make a donation towards my target. Every penny really does count, so please don't feel that a very small donation won't make a difference. I'm just grateful for any sponsorship that my friends and family are able to donate and thank you all for helping me to help Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research.

 

 Keep checking back for updates on my training! :)

 

With love and thanks,
Katie x

 

  

UPDATE! 24th September 2011

Well, the time has come.

 

The big day is tomorrow and there is nothing more I can do now! After last Sunday's appalling run/walk, I've made a real effort this week to eat lots of healthy carbs... pesto pasta. jacket potatoes, couscous... etc. Plus I've added a few Mars bars into my diet... apparently Paula Radcliffe gets through a fair few of these so if it's good enough for her... :D Obviously, this does mean keeping up the exercise but being sensible, so as not to use up all my energy and I had Palace on Tuesday night so Alice gave me the chance to be active then. On Wednesday, I went for a steady 5 mile run and felt great!!! Like I was flying. I was so relieved as I really was worried I wouldn't feel like that again. Rest day Thursday - although the huge pile of ironing felt like a workout! And Friday, I went for a speedy-ish 4 miles, again feeling good. Rest day again today and looking forward to a big pasta-bake and X-Factor in bed tonight ready for an early start tomorrow. Leaving at 6:30am for London's O2 and I'm so excited :) 

 

THANK YOU FOR EVERYONE'S GENEROSITY! It means a great deal to me that my friends and family have supported me with my fundraising and that Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research have benefited from those very kind people :)  

 

Will let you know how I get on....
Love Katie xxx 

 

 

 

 

UPDATE! 19th September 2011

So, only 6 days to go now and I'm looking forward to getting in a few shorter runs this week and eating lots more carbs!!! I realised on my 12 mile run yesterday that I clearly hadn't eaten enough last week. I went out for 6 miles on my birthday and chose not to have a curry so I could enjoy some cupcakes made by my nieces :) And the fact I was attending a wedding on Saturday meant the usual 'watching what I eat so I fit in my dress' saga but er... not ideal when training for a half-marathon - I was flagging at 3 miles and by 6 I was walking!! Picked it up again at 8 miles, but gutted I had to walk again to do the full 12 miles. Leebo was his usual lovely self and kept up his encouragemnt while I was being a whingy old cow, haha! I just hope it's like when you have a bad dress rehearsal, the opening night tends to be great...  Oh, my charity t-shirt arrived too this week! (see pic) Getting it personalised for the day so if you're in the crowd, give us a shout!! 

 

Thanks again for all your kind donations and support. K xxx

  

 

UPDATE! 5th September 2011

I have been getting into my training over the last few weeks, thanks to a few varied runs - including a couple in Norwich! Not TO Norwich... that would be impressive... but thanks to a week on the Norfolk Broads with the better half and the in-laws, I did a nice little 3 miler around Wroxham and 5.1 miles on a wet Saturday morning inStalham. (Both of which are lovely places, should you ever be up that way!)

Late on Wednesday, I went out with Lee to attempt 10 miles. This however, proved too much too soon and I could only manage 7 and walked for a couple of miles after that. I had a better run on Saturday morning. Only 3.1 miles, but at a faster pace which felt good and it was a hot day too so I was happy with that.

Yesterday, I was determined to complete 10 miles... and I did!! :) At 7 miles, the rain began but as I passed by my parents' house, an unexpected cheeky wave and jibe from Dad spurred me on for the last 3. Then the heavens opened and I seemed to run faster - despite my clothes getting heavier!! I was pleased with that run which I did in 1 hour 54 mins. I know I can improve on that and have two and a half weeks to do so...

 

THANK YOU to all who have sponsored me so far :) and a special thank you to my lovely husband for keeping me motivated. K xxx 

 

UPDATE! 18th August 2011

I am now the proud owner of a new pair of 'Nike Air Dictate' trainers (see pics on the left...) thanks to an early birthday present from Mum and Dad - thank yoooou!! Went out today for a 3.5 mile run to see what they're like and I'm pleased to report I had a real bounce in my step so I could feel the 'Air' bit doing it's stuff, haha! Slowly building up the training again after feeling a bit stuck in a rut, but today has definitely helped.

Huge thanks to those who have donated so far and to those who are going to soon... :)  K xxx