The final countdown!

We are almost there – so close I can feel the excitement! With just four sleeps to go until we line up with thousands of others at the start line, the carbo-loading has now begun in earnest, and it is becoming a massive mental waiting game as the last training run passes underfoot tonight.

It seems that there are a million and one things to think about in these last few days – when to go to the expo to collect my race number? Is my race kit ready? Do I have the gels, plasters, spare clothing, energy drinks etc ready to go? What will I eat for your last supper? What time am I going to get up? Which train will I aim for? Do I know where my supporters will be? And, more importantly, do they know when to look out for me?

Yesterday, I carefully scribed my name in enormous letters onto my delightful orange top, I’ve plotted my best and worst expected miles and sent it to almost everyone I know, I’ve begged for even MORE sponsorship (and will do so again... please click on the just giving links on the right and show me your money!), I’ve had my final massage and I tried really hard to get an early night!

It seems that there’s plenty of last minute remedial action going on – many of my running club friends are being pummelled and needled in the last few days in the hope that it will clear up the last few niggles and put us all in tip-top form. The foam rollers, sports masseurs and acupuncturists have probably never been so busy! I just hope that for each and every one of us, all this effort pays off.

I worked out that in training for this race, over 500 miles (800kms) have passed under my feet, and I’ve spent more than 74 hours out there running – that’s more than three days solid! I feel as ready and as prepared as is humanely possible and I am genuinely excited!

I really want this to be the race of my life – there’s going to be so much support en route, which is just fantastic, and I will look forward to the familiar faces of the Serpentine Running club and Bibendum colleagues at various spots along the course. The bigger challenge will be trying to pick out all the individual friends who are spectating in the crowds of supporters, but it’s hugely encouraging to know that they’re all going to be there. I’m really hoping that all the support will lift me and carry me across the finish line in the time I am so desperate to get.

And upon crossing that finish line, I am looking forward to a few things... a massage, a large glass of wonderful cold champagne, and strangely, getting out for my next run!

Simon:
Five days to go and the reality of it is truly sinking in now. Driving on the motorway the other day I decided to clock 26 miles to see how long it looked. It took ages even at 70mph!!! I don’t feel completely prepared as I’ve not done more than 20 miles before but I’m injury free and ready to give it my best shot.

I’ve got a plan in my head for the race – splitting it up into smaller pieces for me makes it more manageable so I’ll look at 13miles as a marker that I know I can easily achieve, then 20 which I’ve done before and at that point there’s only 6 miles to go!

I am worried about the weather as the forecast seems to be getting hotter and hotter which is not good news. Donations have picked up in the last week and there is still time for more. Just want to get on with it now!

Dan:
I am feeling pretty positive having run the second half of the course on Sunday. I am sure as we get closer to the day the nerves and realisation will set in but I hope to come out in one piece. It’s all down to the plan of action on the day and what preparation you put in.

Split times and fuel strategy appear to be the key to success so as long as I work those out my body should play along. It’s had all the training it needs, so as long as I don’t fall off the tube platform on the way home in the next few days I should be ok.

My biggest fear for the day is not finishing due to injury but my prep has been fine so I should be ok. The first 13 miles will be steady and then I can assess if I can push a little harder. I know there are quite a few Bibendumites coming down to support the four of us so I look forward to seeing them along the way to give the hi-fives!

My fiancée Christelle and my mother should be on the course somewhere as well, so there should be some good support on the way round. The motivation for MS should be enough though. I’ll have those thoughts in my head the most.

The thing I look forward to most is crossing that line in the best possible time I can and then heading home to my local for the first time in 4 months for a well earned pint of Guinness! Woo Hoo!

Kate:
I am completely sh*ting it! The last couple of weeks I seem to have regressed and every mile has been a battle. I think my mind and body is rebelling after so long training and telling me all it really wants to do is go out and get drunk with my friends. My nerves are a bit on edge too and I think the next unfortunate person who asks me if “I’m ready?” may get a punch in the face. Hopefully it will all go smoothly come race day...

My parents are coming from abroad to watch me and my dad has put together a route (5 stops, all of them at pubs) so that friends can join at whatever time they want and so that I know where to look out for them. I am hoping that seeing all my friends and family having a drink in the sun will spur me on to finish faster!!

Less pounding...more pounds!

We’re into serious countdown territory now, with only nine sleeps to go until race day...although I suspect it will be more like eight sleeps for me, considering how little I am expecting to get on that last night. Thankfully though, research suggests that one night of bad sleep before an event isn’t to worry about and it shouldn’t affect my performance... I hope not!

I’m struggling a bit with the taper at the moment, as I have seriously cut back on the miles and so am finding myself getting a bit twitchy to say the least! I really didn’t enjoy it at running club on Wednesday evening when everyone was setting off in the warm evening sunshine to do a 10-11 mile run around Hampstead Heath (which is fabulous in the evening!), and I had to content myself with a short 4 miles around Hyde park and Kensington Gardens. I even struggled to keep my pace slow enough over such a wee run. I suspect I won’t be saying the same thing in two weeks time, however.

In the past week, I’ve tried to vary things a bit from my usual routine to try and make the taper a bit more interesting. On Easter Saturday, I joined in the Serpentine run, which was a first for me! They do things a little bit differently on a Saturday morning, with an enjoyable social mile to warm up followed by a very bizarre experience...

Picture this: a large group of runners (of varying shapes, sizes, ages, nationalities) on the very public Speakers Corner in Hyde Park stomping up and down behind a man in an orange high-viz vest doing various walks, skips, kicks and arm flailing...it was incredibly Monty Python and reminded me of the Ministry of Silly Walks (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqhlQfXUk7w ). I think the tourist buses enjoyed the spectacle more than I did, that’s for sure!

I also treated myself to a sports massage yesterday evening... something that I think was long overdue, and that I could have done with a few more of in the previous weeks. Hindsight is a wonderful thing! Needless to say, there were a few sore spots found and a few yelps were emitted from me, but I think it was definitely very beneficial, even more so if I persevere with the foam roller at home on my ITB and outer quad (which I have been neglecting because of how much it HURTS).

Once again, our focus turns to our fundraising. I have finally made it to the half-way point, which a few weeks ago seemed like a distant and unlikely achievement, so I am pleased with that! In fact, as you can see from the right (at the point in writing), I have just shy of £900 still to go, which is a lot, and to be honest I’m not quite sure where I am going to find it...if any of you have a few pennies (or cents, we don’t discriminate currencies here!) gathering dust, please do click on the link and donate what you can to a really worthwhile cause.

I really do appreciate your support, and the Multiple Sclerosis Society absolutely can’t do without the funds raised from an event like this.

Amy:
I still have a bit to go but I haven’t really done a big push yet. I’m nearing about £700 at the moment but have a few things in the pipeline which should hopefully increase the income. Get sponsoring readers! And a huge thank you for all the support from those who have sponsored already.

A weighty issue

I’ve had a really awesome weekend of running for several reasons. Firstly the sun was shining, which always puts me in a good mood. Secondly I began my taper, which means the end is nigh (and I have considerably more energy)! And finally, but personally most importantly, I won a silver medal in our monthly club handicap run on Saturday morning. I’ve never won a running medal in my life, so I am feeling very pleased with myself for this!

The club handicap starts everyone off at different times, depending on previous race performance, which means, all things being equal, you should all cross the line together. This also means anyone can win it, not just the fastest people (which I am nowhere near being). But it does reward the improvers. And for some reason, I have managed to improve more than I had realised...hey, I am not going to complain! In fact I am so chuffed, I’ve uploaded a picture of my medal and confirmation text.

























Sunday was also a fantastic day – I ran the last half of the marathon route with some of the runners from the club. It was great to familiarise myself with where the marathon takes us – I suspect I noticed a lot more on Sunday than I will on race day! The group I was with ran at a nice steady 9 minute mile pace, which was perfect for enjoying the route and the day.

Some of my observations from doing this included:
- Why does the marathon route twist and turn through Canary Wharf? These switchbacks must be hell on the knees of the super speedy, and are very annoying at my sedate pace!!
- The route is not intuitive! A map was definitely required to get around (and in fact the 8 min mile group added a couple of extra miles to their ‘half’ by missing a turn or two). Thankfully the pavements will be lined with supporters and there’ll be a lovely stripe on the road to follow on the big day.
- When you get to the river and you can see Big Ben in the distance, it is further than you think to the finish line as that river bend is deceptively long, plus there is the switchback on yourself around St James’ Park! Do not be deceived by this.
- Tourists seem to walk in huge spread out groups and don’t move even if you yell at them a lot. They were out in their droves on Sunday! At least they’ll be kept off the route when it really matters.

This week’s topic for discussion is all about weight – after all, it’s the reason a lot of people take up running in the first place. It’s often seen as the miracle cure for the overweight lard-ass...which is roughly where I began my marathon journey from.

This time around, I’ve managed to lose quite a lot of weight while training for the marathon. It’s actually not been massively a conscious effort to do so, but I am quite pleased with the results! I started training in November last year, and I seemed to be the only person I know who lost weight over the Christmas period rather than gaining it, so that was definitely a good start!

To give you a few statistics, I’m 1.7m tall. Before I started training, I weighed in at fairly cuddly 72kgs (11.3 stone apparently), with around a third body fat... oh yes, a third of me was all lard! That converted to about a generous size 14.

I took stock mid-February and noted that the weigh-in saw me at 65kgs (10.2 stone), and about 21% body fat, which is a massive improvement. My clothes size had dropped considerably too, and I was about a size 11...annoyingly! At that point, I noted that, in my adult life, I’d never broken the 10 stone barrier!! In fact that reminds me of a conversation I had once with a particularly lithe colleague. She explained to me that she used to do heaps of sport and be way heavier... she weighed ten stone in those days. “Honey,” I told her, “I *DREAM* of being ten stone!”. Cue slightly embarrassed silence all around...

So, where am I at now? The official figures from the scales last night tell me I am 63kgs and 19.3% body fat. I’ve seen these figures vary a bit, depending on time of day and week, and I’ve been as low as 61kgs and 17% body fat, so, by some miracle I have officially broken that 10 stone barrier (which is just above 63kgs)...although seem to teeter around it more than anything!

I found it quite interesting to note that my BMI weight can be anything between 52kgs and 72kgs to be considered ‘healthy’. That’s a BMI of 18-25, which is calculated by taking your weight in kilograms and dividing it by your height in metres, squared, e.g. 63/(1.7)2 = 21.8. I really don’t think I’d look very healthy at all if I was to lose another 10kgs!

I’m now in a clothes size 10, and am getting lots of really great compliments about the way I look (except from my Nan, who thinks I am now incredibly skinny and could do with fattening up a bit, but that’s Nan’s for you!). The challenge is going to be maintaining this once the marathon is over, because I certainly can’t afford ANOTHER new wardrobe!

And for those who think I have found my ‘miracle cure’ that I mentioned earlier on... I still have cellulite, so it’s not all coming up roses just yet!! Perhaps it’s all the cake I am still eating...

Amy:
I am very disappointed to say that my weight has hardly changed at all! Incredibly unjust I feel as I have never done so much exercise in my life! Apparently I look a little more toned (I’m completely ignoring the fact that that’s just what people say when they can’t see any difference). But I am certainly not in the ideal figure I optimistically imagined I could achieve back in the early days of training. In fact, I have even noticed my skinny jeans are a little tight around the calf area –stupid muscles have just got bigger! I am determinedly clinging on to the hope that perhaps I will suddenly drop a stone, as like Gemma, I would also love to break that 10 stone barrier!