Yes you read right, I can almost see the start line from here!
As its so close to the big days itself and I've been having one of 'those evenings' I thought that now would be a good time to share how my training and fundraising have been going and how I'm feeling about the whole #VMLM2014 thing as I may not get another chance.
The biggest reason why I haven't kept this blog as up to date as I had originally intended is that I've become really involved with the UKRunChat community. I've spent a lot of internet time chatting to people, not just those running the London Marathon but every type of runner...from those who are aiming for their first 5k to those who are training for their umpteenth ultra. I've found it really reassuring to talk to other people like myself, who are trying their best to fit a hectic training schedule around a job, family, friends, children (not in my case but hats off to those that have been) and all those other niggly things in life.
I've also learnt that its ok to have a drink or two whilst training (I was even egged on by a few people I regularly chat with to keep on pouring the gins a few weekends a go) and to have a the odd polystyrene container of cheesy chips on the way home. I learnt that you can be normal and run a marathon, theres nothing super human about it. I'm really looking forward to meeting some of them after the Expo on Saturday for a pre race carb dinner.
One of the biggest worries I've had over the past couple of months has been how the hell I was going to get anywhere near the £1800 fundraising target for Symonds House. I hovered around the £500 mark for ages and sometimes lay awake at night wondering what to do about it all. I've always been terrible at sharing my worries, which has never been helpful so I took these worries to the Symonds House Service Manager Aileen. I made the suggestion of doing a bake sale at Symonds House itself and she offered me a whole pitch at the Hitchin Spring Fair.
I had so many wonderful people bake me some amazing cakes, a lot of whom are people associated with the home that haven't actually met me in person as well as family and friends. I also had the pleasure of my chap Russell, colleague and friend Jay, flatmate Sarah and other friend Sarah helping me out on the day which made it a million times more fun. We managed to raise nearly £350 which was a big boost on to my target. The total currently stands at £1320.20 and I know that some more pennies will be flying my way shortly so I'm really on my way to my target now...and breathe.
I can't fault the support that I've got from Leonard Cheshire along the way, the contact and support from Klara and Amy at head office has always been constant and Aileen and Lesley have gone out of their way to make things as easy as possible for me. I love seeing people so passionate about what they do and who they're doing it for, its why I love working in care and support myself. Knowing I'm not alone has been something thats very important to me throughout this process.
I've now only got two short runs left until Sunday and I've been feeling up and down about it all week. Its pretty much been alternate days of feeling really excited and really nervous about it. The UKRunChat lot have got me really excited about the Expo. Previously picking up a race number has never been that exciting but theres loads of stuff going on so it seems a little bit like the running version of The Clothes Show Live. Its starting to feel like the build up to a holiday and I'm determind to enjoy the experience and not let my nerves cloud the experience.
Tonight however, I'm struggling with that feeling. I don't think that being holed up by myself in the flat with Eastenders, Coronation Street and a jar of Lotus biscuit spread for company has helped matters but I can feel the nervous knots in my tummy coupled with a few negative thoughts in my head and I'm finding it hard to shake the feeling. I decided to postpone my five mile run until tomorrow so I can get up early and do it. I got up at 6am on Tuesday morning and hit the pavement by 7am for a 9 mile run. Of course it wasn't wonderful getting up but it was a lovely morning and I felt great the rest of the day, it also felt like 2 in the afternoon around 10am as I'd done everything so early. I'm hoping to claw back how I felt on Tuesday morning tomorrow and disperse some of these nerves.
It really has been a journey of two halves, one minute I'm questioning whether I even like running (that was most of February's thinking) and the next I'm contemplating signing up to the Brighton Marathon next year (that was Tuesday night's thinking).
I'm hoping to engage more with this blog once I'm down from the marathon hype (which may take a while) so I can use it for a few thoughts and ideas I've been storing next to the tricks up my sleeve.
Right now though...London Marathon, I'm coming for you! Wish me luck...
Holly
x
