Monday 6 April 2015

So near, yet so far....




After a very long 17 weeks, the time is fast approaching for me to get my butt around the 26.2 mile course of the Brighton Marathon.  The penultimate week has gone reasonably well and this weekend's 8 mile long run went off without a hitch and I still felt when I came to the end of it that I could happily carry on for another 18 miles! Another huge plus is that I have managed to avoid the Easter Bunny this year so haven't spent the weekend munching my way through Easter eggs as I normally would be inclined to do!

In other news, I added a compression top to my kit this week to see if it would help with fatigue on long runs and it seemed to do the trick - my only issue now is that i've just had a look at the weather forecast for next sunday and it could very well be a hot one, in which case i'll have to think of removing any layers rather than adding them!

The one question that lots of people have asked me over the last week is "Do you feel ready to tackle a marathon?"   It must be quite funny to hear a wobbly 35 year old answer "Yes, I do!".  Of course it scares the crap out of me (not literally - thank god!) and I know that it will be the toughest thing i've ever attempted in my life but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and I would regret it so much if I didn't even attempt it.

This coming week, the training really trails off as I enter the last week tapering phase so I only have two 30 minute and a 20 minute run two days before.  I need to concentrate on nutrition even more than ever and make sure I stay well hydrated which is always a challenge for me at the best of times.  I will be preparing my final meals to take with me as the day before will be spent mostly in a car travelling to Brighton, picking up the race pack from the exhibition and trying to get a decent night's sleep in a travel tavern!  

This will most probably be my last blog entry before the big day so all that remains to say is a massive thank you to everybody who has supported me all the way in this bizarre quest.  It really means so much to know that you are all backing me and I will be thinking of you in those darker times between mile 20 and the finish line! 

The donations are trickling in already which is wonderful, but there is still room for plenty more pounds in the pot so if you would like to make a donation to support The Urology Foundation (www.theurologyfoundation.org) then please go to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/caroline.gower1 


All that's left now is that last push of motivation to get me running/walking/crawling over the finish line on Sunday......




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