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In order to make this a little more fun, I'm planning to do a weekly update here so you can watch me flail my way to running the half-marathon in October.  If you find them interesting or entertaining, feel free to pass the address on!

TWO DAYS LATER...

I've finally recovered sufficiently to report back on the race.  I think there are two things that you must know in order to really feel like you're in the moment:

JUBILEE LINE: UPDATE (8.30am, 5 October 2008)
NORTH GREENWICH: This station is closed due to signal failure.  Please use alternate routes.

WEATHER (5 October 2008):                                                                                         Heavy rain to spread southeastwards across Wales and much of England overnight and during the morning to be positioned over southeast England and
East Anglia by the afternoon.

Yes.

So between the frantic waving down of a taxi with three other people (a runner, her boyfriend, and her mother: 'I'm trying to beat 1 1/2 hours this time.'  'My two sons just competed in the Tough Guy event' (I'm not kidding, there is apparently something out there called the Tough Guy event.  I'd laugh, but they might come find me and hurt me, in Tough Guy fashion.  Or at least sneer.)), the torrential rain, and the delay to the start due to the transport issues...it was not going to be the running-is-wonderful epiphany I was hoping for.

But there were good things.  The spectators were few but fantastic - we were out there for charity or just because we'd signed up and paid money, but there were loads of people, wielding cagoules and umbrellas, who just came out to cheer us on.  There were people who opened their doors and windows to play their stereos for us.  People hanging over balconies, clapping.  I was more impressed with them for doing something simply because they thought it would be nice (and entertaining to watch thousands of mad people run through hacking rain), rather than because they'd said they would and/or paid/promised money.

John did a wonderful 1 hr 39 min, just two minutes off his goal time (see his page for details).  And me?  I did 2 hrs 20 min, ten minutes off my goal and very slow indeed...but I never walked or stopped.  Originally that was my goal, to run the whole way, and then my goal became a certain time.  During the race I didn't care about time (and I didn't have a watch anyway), but I wanted to see if I could run it, and then I realised that I couldn't stop and walk, not if I wanted to finish.

So, although this will ABSOLUTELY NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN, here are the things I learned.

1)  Running outside is very different to running on a treadmill.  On one hand I did run the whole thing without stopping, which I never could have done without our training.  On the other hand, my body was entirely un-equipped for the jarring of thousands of footsteps on tarmac, and I still can't walk, or go up or down stairs, or sit, without pain.

2)  It was a very good thing that we didn't know the whole route.  We were afraid that that was a mistake, but the worst part of the race was the last three miles - the bit we knew - because we knew how far we had to go.  For the first ten miles we just wound our way round an unknown area, and the mile signs slipped past.  Ish.

3)  Guessing that your time will be in the region of days, rather than hours, means that you will start waaaaay at the back.  Pessimistically, I thought that was the right place for me...until I found myself winding round people who were walking after a mile, and talking on their phones (seriously), and chatting with other runners.  I found that a bit frustrating - no offence to them - and I have to say that this is a problem that I'm sure only first-timers deal with.  I suppose the answer is to see what you can do at the time of signing up and then extrapolate, rather than come over all self-deprecating and get race number 12460 out of just over 13000 runners (really).

4)  My lungs have improved so dramatically that, although I began coughing and wheezing the night before the race (and therefore slept very badly indeed), and ran 13.1 miles in rain and wind...I'm fine.  That's nearly worth the price of admission right there.

So there you have it - my Lessons Learned.  Thank you all for following me through this!  If you've already donated, thank you again for your support and your generosity.  If you haven't, please donate!  It's not like I'm going to do this again, so it's really, truly a one-off.  Either way, please see if anyone else would like to donate, too, to a wonderful cause.  And I'd add that Merlin got a space set aside for us at Thai Silk restaurant in the O2, where we were greeted with hugs, hot tea, and massages (and sympathy for unexpected and out-of-character end-of-race fatigue-tears.  I'm talking about John, of course (hee)).

Thanks again, everyone.  Writing this page, at least, has been a pleasure!

THE NIGHT BEFORE

OMG OMG OMG.  My stomach is in knots, I'm full of (possibly too much) spaghetti, the running gear is laid out, ready to go.  Things that make me feel confident:

- We've really done our training.  The ten miles last weekend was no fun, but we got through it and recovered pretty much straight away, so I'm pretty sure I'll finish (mind you, John will be home and dry - maybe literally - before I do, but that's okay.)

- We watched the Great North Run on television this morning, and people looked so excited.  I hear that the atmosphere at these things is excellent - I love being around lots of happy people.

- After tomorrow, no more running!  Oh frabjous joy!

And things that are worrying me:

- Well, yeah, I've run ten miles indoors on a treadmill, but how does that compare to 13.1 miles outside?

- The weather report for tomorrow is stinking.  Heavy rain, 16 degrees (61 Fahrenheit), gusty winds.  Oh yes.  Just what I always wanted!

- I was asked to predict my running time months ago, and pessimistically guessed something like '4 days' (well, not really, but over 3 hours, I think).  So now I'm starting way, way back, and I think I could do something more like 2hrs 15min.  Does this make any difference?  No idea.

- Pretty much my entire office is down with horrible colds and flus, and I can't tell if I'm coming down with one, or if I'm just a hypochondriac.  Time will tell.

So that's it.  More tomorrow, if I survive...

Only FIVE days to go!

I'm freaking out.  No, really.  Yesterday I went to a meeting for the Merlin runners, quietly full of myself  because I managed to run 10 miles on Saturday, and got to hear this:

'I ran 12 miles on Sunday - didn't faze me a bit!  Can't wait for Sunday.'

'My wife ran the London Marathon in just over two hours.'

'My friends and I have decided that anything over an hour and half is pitiful.'

Now, I may be cherry-picking from many comments over the course of the meeting, and all of the people there were lovely.  However.  An hour and a half!  Only cyborgs and Olympians can do things like that.

Luckily, one woman noted that pasta and two Krispy Kreme doughnuts were a great night-before meal.  I am absolutely up for that.

Meanwhile, I have been hatching a cunning plan for more fundraising - I've brought a cake into work, secure in the knowledge that we, as a group, love cake.  And lo, it seems to be working!  May I recommend baking a lovely cake and putting a cup for donations nearby as a remarkably successful fund-raising trick?

More later - still trying to get that picture of my trophy up.  Please force this link on as many people as you can...it really is a wonderful cause.

Week ...er....

People, I have been remiss.  Much has happened since I last posted an update.  I shall therefore give you a potted history:

 - Two more illnesses (what's going ON with that?), from which I am now fully recovered, due to the medical efficacy of whining/moaning/eating;

-  Two lovely holidays, during each of which we managed to fit in one run (one fabulous run in the California sunshine, and one along the beautiful Suffolk coast).  Neither was of much in the way of impressive distances, but they were both fun;

-  Much training, including circuits, weights, and many miles of running.  After my last posting I developed shin splints, which aren't a big deal normally but can become a big deal if you have them on the day of the race.  In order to avoid this, I now do all my running on a treadmill.  The benefit of this is that the shock absorption of contant pounding on the road is greatly improved by the machine.  The downside is that running on a treadmill is boring.  Running on a treadmill for two hours?  Surely it should be banned by the Human Rights Commission...but at least there are no shin splints;

-  The heroic winning of my first non-spelling-related trophy!  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I won the Cross-Train Challenge (Women) at our gym, which resulted in the most ridiculously oversized trophy you've ever seen.  I have taken an obscene amount of pride in this.  In fact, I'm so proud of it that I shall post a picture of it onto this site.  For those who donate, it will hopefully make me look like A Good Bet for finishing the Run to the Beat;

-  Nine miles!  And a bit!  I've now completed nine and a bit miles (as of last night).  I can tell you with confidence that I have not yet been bitten by the running bug, and the endorphins are clearly a belief system marketed by the evil forces at Runners World, but I'm pretty amazed that I could do that much.  I won't mention how fast John ran it, because you might go sponsor him instead.

So that's the news.  Thank you so much to those who have sponsored me, if you haven't done so, please consider sponsoring me, and either way, please keep checking the site!

WEEK 2

After a lovely (read: rainy) Bank Holiday weekend, it's back to the grind.  On Saturday I went for a 3-and-a-bit mile run, which took somewhere between 35-40 minutes.  Not record-breaking, but it was more to see if I could do it, how long it would take, and how I felt by the end.  The answers: 1) yes; 2) as above; 3) fine!  So this is all to the good.  As promised, I'm back on the five days per week training, and yesterday John and I attempted the interval training recommended by the indefatigable Becky.  As it turns out, John is very fit and very fast.  I am less so.  Never mind, it will get better - meanwhile, the rest of the week will consiste of cross training (today), resistance circuit (Thursday), CV circuit (Friday), another run (Saturday), and sports circuit (Sunday).  Now, if only I could stop eating so much...

WEEK 1

I should point out that this is not, technically, week 1.  It was meant to be week 4.  Allow me to explain. 

During the real week 1, I triumphantly went to the gym five times, attending four circuits classes, doing one session of cardiovascular training (treadmill, bike, and elliptical trainer), plus doing the running prescribed for me by my line manager, a legendary marathon runner and the instigator (read: work-based font of peer-pressure) of my taking part in this event.  All went swimmingly.  In week 2 I came down with said line manager's cold, which turned into a nice bout of bronchitis.  No gym time, coughing and wheezing.  Fun!  Week 3 found me still coughing but working overtime in preparation for a large work event - I visited the gym once.

Now!  It's week 4 (week 1 from here on in), I'm much better, and I'll be in the gym five days this week.  Because my peak flow rates are down, my muscles are still fine, but I'm out of breath pretty quickly.  Yesterday, on the recommendation of a trainer, I went swimming.  Honestly, I swim like a half-drowned cat.  I did the equivalent of a mile, but it took a ridiculous amount of time.  Today it's back to circuits!

More next week - please let me know what you want to hear more (or less - I'm not sensitive) about!

Tracy