Couch to London Marathon 2019

London Marathon

I know exactly where I’ll be at 8am Sunday 28th April, 2019 - Greenwich Park, London. I’ll be surrounded by fellow runners stretching, consuming fluids, nervously yet excitedly waiting on the gun to signal the start of the Virgin Money London Marathon! I remember this feeling all too well as having done it once before, albeit way back in 2006, it feels like yesterday!

As a full-time working mum of two young children, I fit 3 of my runs in before work, so I’m that person getting up at 5.30am to run in the cold, dark and usually wet conditions - people must think I’ve lost my mind, I know I do sometimes! I’m so conditioned running in the dark now, I find my weekend run in the daylight very strange! I know this hard work will all be worth it not only for me, but for the charity I hope to raise £2000 for, Hospice UK. This is an amazing charity which support approximately 200 hospices around the UK. Without charitable donations, these hospices just wouldn’t exist. The care and support they provide patients and their families is second to none. So why I am putting myself through this again you may well be wondering...? Well, it's for the personal challenge really and to raise much needed funds for Hospice UK. The word 'challenge' I feel understates the overwhelming and body-breaking task that the marathon is (to us everyday non-runners anyway). Don’t get me wrong, it will be one of the best days of my life with the encouraging crowds, complete strangers supporting one another and the elation of crossing that line after 26.2 miles of running, but I know it’s going to physically hurt! If I can walk properly 7 days after, I’ll consider that a quick recovery! December marked the start of week 6 of my pre-training, training plan. I have been running 4 times a week for the last 5 weeks to get myself to a level of fitness and prepare my body for the ‘long runs’ that I’ll need to put into practice after Christmas! As a hockey player, my fitness is ok, but endurance fitness, I’ve learned, is a different ball game altogether. I want to make sure that my body and mind are as prepped as possible so that not only I cross that finish line, but remain injury free! Being extremely flat-footed, good trainers are the key for me to run successfully. To help with this, I had a full gait analysis done this weekend to see how my legs and feet move when I'm running, the result of this determines the type of trainer that will provide the most support. I now have the gear, and some idea of what I'm doing - I just need to remember that all need to do is put one foot in front of the other, easy!

If you would like to sponsor me, please click here - I would be very grateful and every little helps!