Target Practise by Spaceman_Spiff

This time tomorrow I will hopefully coming to the end of something that has occupied my mind for the last seven months. With less than 20 hours to go I am nervous, excited, hungry, scared, apprehensive, hury, probably pretty much feeling the same as everyone else. 

Went to the Expo yesterday and picked up my number, spent more that I should off on stuff and am already thinking of how I can get into the Jamaica Marathon from the vast number of leaflets I've picked up!

Today I'm trying to do as little as possible. I guess the grass can always wait to be cut! I'm eating for England, have laid most of my stuff out in preparation for tomorrow, and all I have left to do is iron my name onto my running shirt in case I get so knackered at the end I forget who I am!

All I can say people is have a really great race, take care admist all those people, don't head out too quick, wash behind your ears, and enjoy the day. The blogs have help a lot through these months and as I said in my last blog, it will be an honour being at the start with you all.

I expect stories galore during the coming week.

Spaceman.

This tapering larks a bit strange isn't it? I went out running for an hour yesterday,  and at the end of it I didn't want to stop. Had to force myself to cut it short. Wouldn't have thought that a few months ago.

Captain Paranoia is sitting on my shoulder at the moment. I think I'm more conscious about every ache and pain I get. Every slight twinge is now becoming a life threatening illness! Anyone else suffering this?

As I ran on Sunday morning, i had my ipod in and time just flew past as I was lost in my own world (luckily not actually lost otherwise I'd have been in trouble!). The advise I've heard is not to take your ipod to London as you miss the atmosphere (and I love a party with an atmosphere!). It's just that it's really helpful to listen to something during those tough moments (for example mile 1 to mile 26) that I'm in two minds. Any thoughts?

I'm going to the Expo this Friday if anyone is around. Planning your route round the Expo is almost as hard as planning your marathon!

Football tonight if I'm brave enough and a couple of runs later on. Keep well people and good luck in the final few days.

So, fellow runners, here we are. I started this blog not longer after I got my confirmation letter which was 6 months, 22 days, 10 hours and a handful of minutes before the start of the London marathon. Now we have just over one week to go. My, how time has flown and how life has changed. Oh, and how much I'm beginning to panic!!

Those six months ago, I couldn't run for 10 minutes without stopping. The first run I did, I walk for a minute, ran for a minute for a total of a staggering 10 minutes and must have covered all of half a mile. That's endurance racing in it's most extreme form, I can tell you! I remember driving 26 miles and being shocked as to how far it was, even in a car. To run it? Madness I tell you!!

Now look at me. I ran 18 miles last weekend and could still walk at the end of it. My running clothes take up most of my wardrobe now. I'm already on my second pair of expensive running shoes. I've even been to a sports physio. I get excited reading running magazines (not that sort of excited. Well, maybe just a little!). I've lost a stone in weight and I can eat for England. I'm bloody hardcore now!! There's a great post from Jenoir that sums up how you change when running a marathon.

http://www.realbuzz.com/blogs/u/Jenoir/good-for-age-in-2009/posts/take-up-running-take-up-physio/

I know I'm not this blogs most prolific poster, but I do read it regularly and it great to see how much we all progressed from the big girl's blouses we were at the start to the toned athletes we've all become. It'll be an honour to be at the start line with you lot.

In terms of my progress since the last time I posted back in the days when dinosaurs roamed the land, training's gone pretty well. I had a spell where I had terrible pain in my right knee and couldn't run for longer that half an hour. Went to a physio (see proper runner now) who diagnosed ilium tibia band friction syndrome which has got to be one of the coolest sounding injuries! She gave me some exercises and a massage, and I got a knee support band and it's pretty much sorted now. Whist i don't think it'll be worth looking for me in the leading pack of runners for the race, I'm pretty confident now that I'll be able to finish it.

So guys, enjoy the last week of training, I hope your last few runs are great and just confirm that you'll be fabulous on the day. There's another great post I readwhich was posted by Berna

http://www.realbuzz.com/blogs/u/Berna/flm-cherry00/posts/back-once-again-for-the-rendegade-master

that includes the following quote: -

WHEN YOU STAND ON THE START LINE "When you stand on the Start Line, you join the club. When you stand at the Starting Line you earn your membership. Millions dream of being where you are. You are no longer a dreamer. You are a doer. Thousands more started a training programme but never finished. They started with the same enthusiasm (or more than) you. They started with more or less the same physical gifts or disadvantages as you did. They had no more and no less reason to be successful than you. But somewhere along the way, they lost that enthusiasm. Somewhere on the road or on the track or treadmill, they decided that the rewards just weren't worth the effort. They decided that they could live without finding their limits, without challenging their expectations of themselves and without taking a hard look at their image of themselves. You didn't. If you’re standing at the Start Line, you've not only accepted the challenge, but you've also beaten back the demons. You've conquered your imagination and self-imposed limitations. You've gone further, got stronger and become tougher than you ever imagined." 

In the words of Steve Runner, Run long and taper.

Hello people in Running Land. Haven't posted for a while (and when I did I managed to post in a completely different blog. I can be completely useless sometimes). Anyway, I hope you're all good, training is going well, and the fact that the marathon is about 11 or so weeks again isn't scaring the bejesus out of you. It is me!

Training is going pretty well for me. I am sticking almost religiously to my training plan and I think it's paying off. Ok, so 26 miles is still a chuffing long way but you know what, I actually look forward to the long runs on a Sunday! Is this suppose to happen? I'm not quite addicted to running yet but I think I'm heading down that slippery slope. I take far too much intrest in running gear now as well.

Yesterday I did a 10K race and it felt ok. Did it in about 52 minutes and narrowly pipped on the line by about 300 other runners (and about 20 minutes!) but it was a good run. I have a half marathon at the beginning of March whih I'm a bit more apprehensive about but a few more weeks to build up some more mileage.

Anyway, I'll keep this short and promise to post back again soon. Enjoy your runs this week (unless they are the result of a bad curry).