Week Sixteen - The London Marathon

And so... The London Marathon.

I started this training plan on Tuesday 3rd January, three months and 21 days ago. But in earnest, my journey to the London Marathon started on Thursday 25th April 2013 where I ran 2.09 miles at 10.52 minutes/mile. I had never been a runner and I wasn't particularly fit (lets go with puppy fat, yeh?), but for one reason or another thought I'd give it a go. I'm not going to pretend I remember, but the Marathon was on the Sunday previously... at the very least it's a nice coincidence, it may well have been the motivation I needed. 

Four years later I am the very proud owner of a London Marathon Finisher medal. 

Anything is possible.

The last thing I'd want to come across as is some sanctimonious knobhead, but if days like yesterday inspire you to put on your trainers and go for a 15 minute jog at whatever pace then hey... we're doing alright, aren't we?

I thought it would be nice to do a mini-diary of the weekend, although I doubt my words will be able to do it justice. I've whacked Saving Private Ryan on the TV, so I've got three hours to somehow get my thoughts in to some sort of comprehensible place. 

I will also be consuming a lot of chocolate, obvs.

Friday

I went down to London on Friday night to avoid any travel stress on Saturday and to try and get as good a sleep as possible. I managed to get a ludicrously cheap £8 train down to London from Lichfield and the weekend had begun, armed with a meal deal and the most random of realisations that part of the BQ Support Crew were also on my train in Sarah and Michael - so the trip down was much better than anticipated! 

On arrival in London I joined Charlotte and a pal of hers for a chicken burger and a (soft) drink at Fancy Funkin' Chicken in Brixton, before unpacking everything to make sure for the tenth time that I had everything I needed. Turns out I did. Bed time.

Saturday 

Now Saturday was important. We had to go to the ExCel Centre across London to pick up the running number and timing chip - not forgetting spending lots of money on Marathon branded gear that I really don't need. 

Once we were all signed in we had some time to kill before meeting the rest of the Support Crew for dinner in the evening, so we went on the cable car over the Thames, drank a ton of water, had some Jaffa Cakes and a had a nap! 

We meet everyone at 6pm at Strada (after I had enjoyed a very manly mocktail across the road...), and had a wonderfully carb-heavy meal - eventually. For some reason it took about an hour to put some (£8!) dough balls in the oven for five minutes as well as cocking up the order itself. The dreams of an early evening meal went slightly out the window but it was fine and it was amazing to see everyone. The Support Crew worked out where they were going to be on the course in the morning and we said our goodnights.

Of course, last week I mentioned there might be a video or two in the offing. Soooo... what better moment than the night before the day this has all been about?

One last check of the kit, attached the running number to my shirt and set the alarm for 6.20am. Finally, it was one sleep to go.

Sunday

As expected, I slept awfully. I woke up at 3am and genuinely considered a slightly extended warm up but I must have drifted back off in to the lightest sleep for a few more hours. I aimed to get across to Blackheath for about 8am to give enough time to get across and not be in a rushed panic at any stage. I am invariably rubbish on the Underground, but thankfully 40,000 other runners were doing the same thing so it was easy to get there. 

I had about an hour and a half to kill but that was ok, it gave me a chance to take in the surroundings and what lay ahead. There were SO many people gradually filling the field with people looking a mixture of extremely excited and on the edge of being ill. I was somewhere in the middle, I just wanted to start. 

Now, I've told you before that this marathon shit isn't all glamour... and nothing says that more than the following photo.

VASELINE CLUBBBBB.

(Worked a treat mind you).

As 9.20am rumbled past, it was time to get ready and dump my bag on the lorry - and go to the toilet about 16 times. 

After standing in the starting pens for a good 20 minutes or so, we finally got underway at about 10.03am. It was so cramped, as expected, and there was a lot of jostling for position. As we went round a slight bend it reminded me of a first corner of a Formula 1 race (obviously 1000% slower), and I was amazed no one clipped my heels and sent me flying. 

The first five miles or so drifted in to and out of Woolwich with nothing much to look at, but the pace was good - quickly settling in to a decent 8.40ish pace. I did however run past someone dressed as a Macmillan coffee mug and someone dressed as a pint of beer... so early wins and all that.

The first notable part from a landmark point of view was the Cutty Sark at around seven miles which was bouncing. Not only were there a ton of very loud people there, but I had Green Light by Pitbull on the playlist. As the first hour came and went I took my first of three gel packs (to be taken on each hour) and drank some water. I felt worryingly iffy at eight miles, but thankfully that subsided and I felt confident my stomach was going to play ball with the gel and water combo. 

The roads became extremely tight near Canada Water which slowed things down a bit, whilst some lunatic spectator thought it would be a good time to try and cross the road which nearly caused a huge accident.

I knew that the Support Crew were going to be roughly 12 miles in, and I also knew that they had been heroes and made some signs so I suddenly switched on a bit to make sure I saw them.

I saw them alright.

What a huge, incredible boost. 

People talk about adrenaline and I'm not sure you can truly appreciate it's powers until you get a jolt of it like I experienced here. Amazing. 

Soon after this was another highlight - running over Tower Bridge. Which was absolutely stunning. What's better is I had this banger blaring out. You haven't lived until you run over Tower Bridge singing along to Larger Than Life.

We passed the half way mark and saw the superhuman elite runners steam passed us on the other side of the road as they headed back in to the city. We, on the other hand, had to loop round the Isle of Dogs and other thrilling locations and this is where the first real pangs of 'this is realllllly shit' kicked in. Whether it was the come down of the adrenaline wearing off or the acceptance of having ran for two hours and still having 12 miles to go I don't know, but it was tough. My left hip was unusually painful which is a new one and I could feel it in my knees too.

Support on the course was as amazing as you'd expect, but through these few miles it was much more sparse than elsewhere. Annoyingly, we went through a few tunnels which completely ballsed up the GPS which meant Run Keeper thought I had ran a 4 minute mile. I categorically did not run a 4 minute mile. 

We looped back round to where we had seen the elites earlier and I think that helped mentally and I also saw the Support Crew again around here - admittedly in a much less joyful, 20 miles in kinda manner, but an equally big boost. As an aside, I saw a couple of other friendly faces in the crowd at various points so thank you to them for screaming 'BENNNNNN!' as loudly as they did to attract my attention!

I spent most of the day trying to avoid thinking how many miles I had to go, I find ticking off blocks of 15 minutes is easier to deal with but for the last six miles it was impossible not to think of every single mile that was left. Truth be told I can't remember much of the sights at the end bar an awareness of Big Ben and Buckingham Palace... it was more a case of talking myself through it.

When I say talking myself through it, I mainly mean shouting 'COME ON' every few hundred yards to keep going. When you see the '1000m To Go' sign it feels like it shouldn't be very far at all... but it's SO FAR after 25 miles. I'm not sure how well it'll show in the photo below, but I've never felt more pain than in those last few miles through running. 

Never.

Now somehow, I was able to pump in the fastest split of the entire bloody marathon at this point. Whether this was because it meant the end would come sooner, I was so determined to hit a 3hr 47 or because Tom said he'd sponsor me even more if I did a sub-8.50 last mile I'm not sure...! Probably all three. 

Crossing the finish line was the biggest sense of relief imaginable. From that point on for twenty minutes or so everything is a bit of a blur. Before I knew it I was sat on the ground in the meet and greet area and everyone had found me. It was all a bit much. But I didn't cry. YES.

I did it in 3 hours and 47 minutes which I am absolutely thrilled with.

Thank you so, so much to everyone who sponsored me, sent me messages of good luck and well dones, everyone who bought a cake last week at work too (£160!), ran with me in the build up, and my Support Crew on the day both in London and at home. I can't express in words on a silly blog how much that meant and means to me... You're all amazing.

Quite wonderfully, this morning we ticked up to the £2,000 mark in sponsorship. That isn't including the cake money, nor the £500 that work will hopefully match too. Thank you to each and everyone of you.

Today I can't move, my knees and thighs are in next level pain and my head hurts. But I can eat all the chocolate and ice cream that I like, and be safe in the knowledge that I have achieved what I set out to do... be it subconsciously in 2013 or back in January of this year.

Thank you for reading, I hope you've enjoyed it. I promise I'll shut up about the marathon now...

             ... or maybe after this week, at least.

Week Fifteen - ONE WEEK TO GO

IT'S NEXT WEEK! 

IT'S NEXT WEEK! 

IT'S NEXT WEEK! 

After fifteen weeks of the training programme, 45 runs and 349 miles... the London Marathon is next freaking week.

That sentence is simultaneously a huge relief and absolutely terrifying. I feel like I am as ready as I am ever going to be, but it is still 26.2 miles and that's a really long way.  

The next week is mostly about not doing anything silly (bend with your knees, not with your back...), drinking lots and eating as well as I can. I've heard a rumour that sweet potatoes are basically the best thing to eat in the week pre-marathon soooo... I'm just going to try and eat loads of them.

One of the most important days of the whole fundraising campaign is the CAKE SALE at work on Wednesday. I hope this will raise some more money and provide an always welcome sugar boost to D90 inhabitants.

As always, the sponsorship continues to amaze me and tick upwards. Thank you to everyone so, so much - I'm not sure I would have been able to get this far without you all. If anyone else does want to sponsor me as we head in to the final week, the page can be reached here - thank you!

Run #43 - Wednesday 12th April

Loadsa rain, loadsa wind = loadsa FUN. I jest. It was pretty shit, but was all about ticking off the fifth-last run and continuing the tapering. Very steady four miles than an 8.33 came out of nowhere for the last mile which is nice. 

Ordered some new underlayer shorts as it has dawned on me that my current ones have no where to put the gel packs. And unless I'm keen to risk some serious chaffage (I most certainly am not), I need to get one with pockets.

Run #44 - Friday 14th April

For the first time in many a moon, I have put the leggings in the cupboard and unleashed my legs to the world. Would you just look at them. Sensational. I do feel the cold quite easily, but the leggings have also served as a bit of psychological support for the knees. But I really don't want to run the actual day in them for fears of overheating and not looking cool... so shorts are back!

Whether it was the tapering effect kicking in or the new found freedom of my legs I don't know, but this was the freshest run I've had in a very long time. So much so that the average pace was back at 8.32 and the fifth mile was an 8.12. 

Wheels. 

Run #45 - Sunday 16th April

The last run longer than 30 minutes in the tank with a nice seven miles this morning. I am now definitely sure it is the tapering effect that is responsible for my legs feeling fresher. 

An average pace of 8.23, with the last three miles being 8.12, 8.10 and 8.00.

For context, the same distance took me the best part of four minutes longer on ten days ago with an average pace of 8.50!

So good on the tapering people, it has made a difference. 

I have two runs left before the Marathon with three miles or so on Tuesday and Thursday. Then it is off to London on Friday evening before picking up the race number and associated garb on Saturday, and assembling the support crew for some carb-heavy meal on Saturday evening!

I'm aware these write ups haven't been all that interesting for a few weeks now, for one there has been no silly videos(!) but I'm thinking about doing some sort of video diary in London for the weekend if I can think of enough worthwhile #content... it is important that the running blog of the year goes out with a bang!

Cheers.

Week Fourteen - Dead Legs

I am afraid that I have bad news for those of you who look forward to my ramblings on a Sunday (/Monday!) night... There are only two blogs left after this one you know... Gulp.

First things first, an important update on the sponsorship. It's gone MAD.

ONE THOUSAND AND SEVENTY FIVE POUNDS! I know I say it every week but this is absolutely mind blowing. Genuinely humbled by the whole thing and the support I have received.

You'll also notice I have nudged the target up to £2,000. Now, whilst I don't expect to get near that figure, with two weeks to go it'll be good to get as much as possible for such a great cause - so it isn't a case of me being greedy!

The Just Giving page, as always, can be reached here - thank you!

Sunday marked the last of the seriously long runs, so we are now very much on the home straight. So fingers firmly crossed for getting through the next couple of weeks unscathed.

Run #40 - Tuesday 4th April

Sooo about 36 hours after finishing the hell on earth that was the 22 miler on Sunday, the 'tapering' period began which translates to the slowest run imaginable just to get moving again. It took me about 25 minutes to get ready - pulling socks on when the muscles are not having it that much is a wonderfully joyous experience.

As a reward, I took myself on a new route which helped to break up the monotony a little whilst I was really pleased to not fall over again.

Run #41 - Thursday 6th April

For the first time in what felt like weeks, I was joined on Run Club by a fellow Run Club member which was very much needed. This was easily the hardest of all the morning runs so far, and the exertions of four days prior meant my legs were heavier than they've ever really been before and my motivation was pretty low too. 

It took us 64 minutes to churn out the seven a bit miles, which is schlowwww but at least I had company and it was gloriously sunny too.

Run #42 - Monday 10th April

Due to important Stag Do commitments in Prague, ahem, the weekend run was understandably delayed until Monday. As you may probably imagine, it has been a weekend of heavy hydration which is the number one rule for marathon runners.

Thankfully, however, as tapering season has begun I don't have to do any ridiculous distances which is goooooood news. I still had ten miles to run but the last three or four weeks have been so much fun that this didn't feel too bad. 

Well, the first two miles did feel very bad. But after that I got a bit better and managed to feel relatively comfortable by around the half distance mark.

That is the longest distance I had left to run, with five-five-seven-three-two milers left to go - less than two weeks until the actual day which is absolutely wild.

This week's banger of the week can only be this B-A-N-G-E-R from Mr. 305 - a sure fire shoe-in for the playlist for the day.

I'm ready to GO GO GO*

(*sort of, roll on 23rd April).

Week Thirteen - Hit the Deck

It's the LAST week before tapering can begin - HALLELUJAH!

But before that, a somewhat daunting 35-odd miles to get through first, including 22 miles at the weekend... a distance comfortably more than I have ever been before.

Here is a quick taste of what is to come this week...

But we are getting there.

Sponsorship has been absolutely phenomenal this week. Thank you SO much to everyone, you are the genuine best.

We've still got three weeks to go so no rush, but as ever, if you do want to sponsor even a couple of quid then 1) you too are the best, and 2) the Just Giving page can be found here.

Run #37 - Tuesday 28th March

Whilst I feel ok following the 19 on Saturday, it's fair to say I've had to keep moving. Any long durations of sitting still is bad news for the hips and calves in particular. That said, I wasn't exactly thrilled to have to run this evening. 

Where it used to take me five minutes or so to get going, it now takes two miles. But no dramas beyond that.

What is a bit weird though, is how difficult it is to deal mentally with a run five miles long. After running for over two and a half hours on Saturday, my mind expects five miles to be a walk in the park and feel like twenty minutes. Turns out it isn't, it's 45 minutes and I'm aware of every single step of it. 

Anyway, five more miles done.

Run #38 - Thursday 30th March

Bit tired, yanno?

Thursday Morning Run Club was t-o-u-g-h this morning. Thanks to the clocks changing it was darker which was a treat, but I thankfully avoided the rain. Once again it was a sole member Run Club morning, simply to give more time to recover before the biggest of the bigguns on Sunday. 

I took about half an hour to do the first two miles (I'm pretty sure I saw a sloth steam past me up the hill after the QMC) but I did see someone in a sensational full, bright orange tracksuit running through the Uni to brighten up my morning. Props to you, sir.

It was definitely my slowest morning run so far, but at this stage that isn't a problem. A gloriously empty shower followed which is all anyone could ask for.

As an aside, that ends March and it has been a RECORD BREAKER. The previous record total for a month was 93 miles. March weighed in at 120 miles. That one might last a while.

Run #39 - Sunday 2nd April

The big one then. The longest run on the programme and final big effort before the real thing in three weeks time.

Last week I felt ok at 19 and could probably have gone on a little bit, but then there is a little bit more and then there is three miles more. So I was apprehensive as to how things would go.

With that said, it was important to build as strong a support network as possible for this. Thankfully I had Julie again for the first eight miles, not to mention a short and sweet cameo from Bert at 'mile 19'...

At eight miles I was met by Tom and Kate which was great - I can not tell you how much of a difference seeing friendly faces makes. If we could work out a relay for the marathon for the entire duration of the race I would be most appreciative. Fanx!

It gives you a chance to act like a complete knobhead and it brightens up the monotony like you wouldn't believe - no more so than taking inspiration from Chris Pratt's hilarious Instagram (check it out, kids) and introducing my first contribution to #WHATSMYSNACK.

Lolz.

At ten miles, Tom peeled off and the last twelve mile stint began. As was expected, this was the hardest. My playlist bangers are huge, but when the miles start heading towards twenty... well, it's tough. It is, however, worth highlighting the BANGER OF THE DAY at arounddd about 14 miles.

OH MY GOD WE'RE BACK AGAIN.

BROTHERS SISTERS EVERYBODY SAY.

I drifted through the next six miles or so feeling it gradually more and more as the miles wore on. Then something a bit mad happened. I fell over.

Admittedly, I wasn't at my most lucid levels of concentration but I have absolutely whacked a man hole cover that was probably an inch or so above the rest of the pavement. Before I know it I am on the deck. This has NEVER happened before. It was essentially like when Ali hit the canvas for the first time.

Somehow the forward momentum has helped me barrel roll back on to my feet, without dropping my water, or causing too much damage.

Which is RIDICULOUS when you think a butterfly could break my bones a few years ago.

I said a quick prayer to thank all that is holy for not knocking my teeth out and I carried on, a bit more alert and awake than I was before hand.

Just after mile 21 I saw a familiar figure ahead... TOM WAS BACK. I was so happy I threw my bottle of water over my head and near galloped (stumbled) towards him. The last mile was significantly better for that and I eventually, finally stopped running.

Whilst I am aware I am often prone to hyperbole, I can tell you that is was the hardest thing I have ever done. The pace was a little bit slower than last week, but who cares, this would still bring me home in around 3hr 45.

It was deceptively warm and despite hydrating well throughout I felt S-H-I-T by the time I got home. Perhaps foolishly, I had a warm bath and this only seemed to make me feel worse. I was a little unwell for a bit which was peak misery, but it gradually improved. Nothing that bread and lurpak (then a toffee crisp, Ben and Jerry's and a Wispa Gold) can't cure.

So that is it - the tapering begins! The longest distance I will run will be an hour and a half next week, before an hour on the final week before London.

Thank fuck.

***

Huge, huge thanks to everyone who is supporting me so much with their words of encouragement, sponsorship and dragging themselves out to make it that bit easier for me. You're all heroes. I couldn't do it without you.

Week Twelve - New World Record

Week TWELVE.

The response I had last week both in sponsorship and support was amazing. Friends, family, even randomers have all been so nice - my favourite moment of the week was when I returned to my desk at work one day and one of the facilities management people were standing right next to the pillar that I have my posters up on. He looked at me, realised it was my silly face on the posters and said 'It's you! I love this!" pointing at the posters. 

The sponsorship is edging close to the big five oh oh and there is still four weeks to go - thank you everyone who has sponsored so far.

In other news, I now know my number for the day, it's a catchy one...! NINE FOUR EIGHT SEVEN! Pretty determinedly making up some chants for this as we speak, obviously.

Run #34 - Monday 20th March

I'm relatively surprised at the level of recovery my legs are churning out at the moment. With doing the long run on Saturday, I didn't have to run until Tuesday, but a combination of a nice spring evening and feeling relatively fresh meant I decided to go out on Monday. 

I had a genuinely nice run cruising at well over nine minute miles and enjoying the sun setting. The first run of the week is getting gradually slower as the big weekend effort gets longer, and it was refreshing to get out. 

The one slight issue that reared its head once again is the return of those shitty little flies that come out when it is a bit warmer. In my eyes, in my mouth, on my face. 

SOD OFF.

Run #35 - Thursday 23rd March

Another week, another single member Run Club. Admittedly, I am becoming quite the diva in terms of when Run Club actually is. Soz. I've taken a liking to getting the monster run out the way on Saturday morning so that I'm not living in fear all weekend, which means Thursday is the day. 

(Never mind the fact that there are a few gins to be consumed tonight making the prospects of Friday Run Club pretttttty bleak).

Anyway, as I drove in the weather was horrendous. Very cold and very wet. Thankfully, the rain stopped and it turned in to quite a nice morning - especially the section through the University campus. 

I made a bold decision during the fifth mile of the run. Bad Romance is a top five pop song of all time. It is absolutely huge. It's true. I listened to it twice to be sure. 

BANGER.

I also worked out that I only have 100 miles to go until D-Day, 40 of which are in two runs. Sooo... it's starting to feel like the last big push.

Which is EXCITING.

Run #36 - Saturday 25th March

Nine months ago I ran 17 miles as I prepared for the Berlin Marathon. Unfortunately due to my naive and haphazard training plan, my body couldn't take it and it caused the injury that put me on the sofa for four months.  Until today, it remained the longest distance I have ever run.

Until today.

Today I ran NINETEEN MILES.

Whilst the plan said to run 18, I was spooked that next week I have to run 22. So running 19 this week makes that a little less daunting. I also learnt lessons from the misery 17 miles of nine months ago. That time I took no water and ran a pretty brutal, hilly route. I was in a BAD way by the end.

This time I took 2x energy packs for 6 and 13 miles, and dropped bottles of water off at similar distances beforehand. 

I also welcomed running hero Julie to Run Club to keep me company for the first hour. 

The weather was stunning for once and the first hour flew by. The second hour was ok, boosted significantly by having the energy packs and water. I asked my sisters to meet me around 16 miles so that was the next thing to aim for.

Last week we managed to raise £300 in 48 hours following the silly video that we did, so it made sense to do another one! 

The frustrating thing is I spent most of the second hour thinking of funny things to say... but after 16 miles your mind doesn't work as well and you certainly don't remember much. But thank you to both my sisters for coming out for this, it gave me a huge boost.

Going beyond the 17 mile mark was a big moment in this whole thing. That number has been a bit of a mental block for a long time so to get beyond it (and by two miles!) is huge. Dare I say it, I could have gone on beyond 19 as well - once you hurt that much you might as well just carry on which is good to know before the real thing. That said, I've still not hit the wall...

Somehow the pace remained around the 8.30 mark. The last five miles felt like I was barely moving but it seemed to do the job. It bodes well for the last seven miles in London (I hope!).

Four weeks to go, one big run to go and we are nearly there. Thank you to all the continued support, it means a lot!

Week Eleven - Live From The Campaign Trail

As this whole thing edges closer (five weeks GULP), I become more and more humbled by the support and kindness from the people in my life, be it someone close or someone I bump in to randomly.

When I began writing about it I knew there was a fine line between being interesting, engaging and bringing people along on the journey... and being a complete narcissistic bore. I think (hope!) I have got the balance about right - if you are bored, I am sorry, you only have five weeks left to endure!

(That said, I'm going to ramp things right up so you might as well just unfriend me now on the various social platforms we're currently pals on.)

This week marks the big psychological barrier of 'being-less-than-the-six-weeks-holiday' rationalisation of time. It's coming and it is coming fast. In the early hours of Wednesday morning I woke up, not from the usual nagging hip (cry me a river), but from a restless dream where I was convinced I couldn't do it. Not cool.

My mind is now edging towards 'pretty bloody scared' on the 'Oh God' pre-marathon scale.

In other news, I promised myself a few weeks ago that once I got Silverstone out the way I'd go see the physio and get a massage on my legs... to freshen things up for the last push. 

GOOD LORD.

Agony.

My calves were the worst. It was absolutely brutal. But hopefully it will do them good going forward.

Run #30 - Tuesday 14th March

Spent most of the last 24 hours limping around, not from the 200-odd miles I've churned out so far this year... no, no. From the brutal working over they had yesterday. 

So been stretching loads. Here's me and Molly doing some stretching.

Standard Tuesday run really, five miles at nines. Had an absolute rave on the playlist though. Shake It Off made a long awaited comeback.

Huge.

Run #31 - Thursday 16th March

First things first - apologies to the people I throw off kilter by moving Run Club to Thursday (four people messaged to say their day started in complete disarray) but I gots important suiting up for a Christening to do on Sunday. So long run Saturday, Run Club run Thursday.

For the first time in probably six or seven weeks Run Club was a singular affair. It's ok though, the excuses were somewhat reasonable from my brederen, but still... B- on the commitment scale.

I nearly changed up the route, but then I bottled it with the fear of getting lost and being in the showers at prime time 7.45 with all the finance bores. It was also a bleak grey morning. If it was Wednesday morning I might have chased the sun rise because it was beautiful then, but the standard route had to do.

Another 7.27 miles on to the totaliser and another hour in the legs. 

Run #32 - Saturday 18th March

A second stab at 16 miles before the realllllly big two training runs that are left (18 and 22) and by and large it was ok.

Regular readers of the blog will remember the close encounter I had with a goose a few weeks back. Thankfully I have steered well clear of those angry, flappy bastards since, however this morning I had a whole new situation to deal with.

It appears that gypsies have taken over Hilton with their caravans and their generators and four hundred children. They have parked all over the path and made it thoroughly difficult to get past for the casual passerby. Now, as I am an intrepid adventurer I was not put off and weaved in between the obstacles, through the mud, etc. Then a gypsy man came out of his house just as I was giving it my dirtiest, most withering look. I had my headphones on and I am no expert lip reader but I made out the following...

'WOT?'

Erm, you've parked in the way mate. 

Fortunately a confrontation was avoided by the fact I was, yanno, running. But still, a minor highlight of the first half of today's lol-athon.

As you know, I am at the forefront of the marketing world (lol) and my #BQneedsYOU campaign is well underway. The next stage of my marketing #offensive is the following...

***LIVE FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL***

Huge thank you to my sister Sophie for humouring me and running along filming this, what lolzzz we had. I think I spent about half of the run giggling to myself about this, both before and after it, so that helped while away the time.

The run was ok by and large, I definitely felt more comfortable than the 16 miler the other week. The target pace was absolutely bossed which is good and it was only a torrential downpour for five miles this week, soooo we're all winners really.

When the rain did come (and it was big bastard drops too FYI), I was in need of a banger to boost my spirits. And at 13 miles the BANGER GODS delivered.

Rest assured, 500 Days of Summer dancing was included.

I came in at roughly 45 seconds faster than the 16 miler the other week which is umm... interesting? 

You might not believe it but the video we did on the run wasn't just for fun and lols - I put it on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram yesterday and I have been absolutely amazed by the response...

... £250 sponsored in a day and a half. 

Genuinely, wow.

Thank you all so, so much. I say it all the time but it means an awful lot to me and even more to Cancer Research. 16 miles, 18 miles, 26 miles, whatever. It's nothing really. In the grander scheme of things it is nothing. But I am very proud and hugely motivated to run for an such an amazing cause and for the people I know that have been affected by such a terrible disease.

We will DO IT.

I am plastering the link everywhere (soz) but here it is if you would like to donate. Thank you!

Five weeks to go. Next up is EIGHTEEN MILES.

Week Ten - Getting Serious

Week ten klaxonnnnn.

I'm aware I have said this before, but it's getting serious now kids!

So much so that the BQ NEEDS YOU marketing campaign has begun. Phase one consists of plastering my face around work (my favourite one is right above the microwave so everyone warming up their lunch has my face right in front of them, ha), whilst phase two is likely to be a cake sale the week before the marathon itself. I am in talks with the very best bakers at work to get them involved and spare the masses from rows and rows of my banana cake.

Such a persuasive marketing message has already bared fruit and, as ever, I hugely appreciate all the support I am getting. It would be a million times harder without you. Trust me.

The page can be found here or just search 'BQ Run Club' on Just Giving - YOU DA BEST!

Run #27 - Tuesday 7th March

Relatively speaking, after the 16 miler on Sunday, my body has felt pretty good. A bit slow getting up and about but what's new? I had a day off yesterday nominally on puppy watch, but it was nice to lie down most of the day (watched Titanic - what a film, btw) and eat chocolate. It turns out those chocolate digestives balls are like crack once you've opened the bag.  

Once I had spent about an hour stretching my legs in to something remotely capable of anything resembling running I went out for a very steady, nine mile, daylight drenched five miler.

All good.

Run #28 - Friday 10th March 

Talking of daylight drenched, look how light it was at 6.33am this morning! Pow. Hello spring. Today was an important edition of Run Club as it brought up the 200 miles for the year. Hence the peace signs in the photo. I'm all for peace too, obvs, but this was all about the big two-oh-oh. 

The run itself was fine, a nice hour warm up for Silverstone on Sunday at a tick over seven miles. Not much more to say on this really, other than the fact I had scrambled eggs and a fried egg on toast for breakfast after this - if you think this is 'strange' or 'wrong', I am afraid it is you who is missing out #doubleeggsyaaaaassssss

Run #29 - Sunday 12th March (Silverstone Half Marathon)

So today was my first Half Marathon since June last year and eighth overall which is all a bit mad when you consider I was a right fatty who didn't move quickly anywhere three or four years ago.

Today was very much a 'dry run' for London - the distance is three miles less than I ran last week so it was more about running at the target 8.30 per mile, getting used to consuming more fluids as well as the gel packs. I have been hitting the distance at around 1hr 53 over the last few weeks so I knew what sort of time I was looking at. 

In terms of the key parts of the 'dry run', I had a bit of a mare. For some inexplicable reason my watch decided for the *first time ever* to flick in to kilometres rather than miles. 

YOU WHAT?

WHY? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?

No idea. But I rely quite heavily on the watch to keep around the 8.30's so this was a problem. I am not good at maths, this is a well known fact, so trying to convert it to kilometre's was completely out of the question. Turns out finding the setting to change it to miles is ridiculously tricky. Especially when running in the middle of hundreds of people. By the one mile marker I had worked it out. 

Cheers Garmin.

Secondly, I massively ballsed up on the playlist. I made a new, updated version last night - happily updated my phone but didn't select it on Run Keeper. Idiot. I'd always check this normally so no idea why I didn't. Good job the original playlist was there still and 100% bangers.

But still - good things to remember on the actual day. Check the watch. Check the playlist. Don't be a knobhead.

Great to bump in to avid reader of the blog and old Uni housemate Chris just before the race. Welcomed him in to Run Club, gave him his membership card and everything.

I reckon our five-a-side team circa 2008-10 would be a lot better for the increased level of fitness the two star men of the team now have.

The course was weird. The time spent on the actual track was probably about six miles and pretty good, the rest was d-u-l-l weaving in and out of the centre of the course and out back behind the grandstands. 

There was a lot of standing water on the track which would definitely have called for intermediates, whilst the rain didn't really stop until mile nine or ten. But it was fine and would you believe it... a 1hr 53, so great work on the pace and something that I will continue to work on in the next few weeks. 

Whilst it's never nice to see people struggling near the end and walking it is a good boost to me to be able to glide past them and feel pretty good still. I know I will hit the wall, and hit it hard - but it won't be at 13 miles. 

I spent the last mile or two fuming at the knobheads who did have to walk (completely fair enough), but WHY DO YOU INSIST ON WALKING ON THE RACING LINE? Get out the way you dweebs.

*Rant over*

This week's 'absolute-banger-when-I-really-needed-a-boost' is this at about nine miles, somewhere off behind the grandstand in the puddles.

HEY!

I had a great drive back where I took on my energy supplements...

... and began to start thinking about the next three big runs. 

Sixteen.

Eighteen.

Twenty Two.

It's getting really, really serious now.

Week Nine - Big Puddles

Those great, schadenfreude loving guys and girls at London Marathon HQ dropped this bomb on Friday.

Oh good.

Week nine marks the end of CHUNK TWO as the training focuses on the cranking up of the longer Sunday run.

As the mileage has gone up over the weeks, the average pace has gone up too - thank goodness. It's a bit mad to look at some of those distances. Not only because they are genuinely quite big distances, but it reinforces how much further I've got to go.

Anyway, since the 14 miler on Saturday in week eight I've been aware of a little twinge in the danger zone of my knee. I don't think it is anything more than my mind on overdrive thankfully - just got to remember it is ok and perfectly normal to be a bit sore and stiff after nearly two hours of repetitive impact on the roads, and that wear and tear is a thing too.

(Shut up. You're fine!)

After last week I am determined to steer clear of any potentially angry flappy birds, so no canal routes this week please and thanks.

Apologies in advance for the gradual increase in shameless plugging for sponsorship (wait till you see the posters...) but the wheels are in motion now and with 18 and 22 milers on the horizon I need all the help I can get.

Still no big rush, but the page can be found here or just search 'BQ Run Club' on Just Giving if you are so inclined!

(Thank you!)

Run #24 - Tuesday 28th February

SLOWWWW. 

No alarm bells with the knee which is a result. Impressed at managing to go slower than I did last week at 9.07's for 5 miles. Drifting along.

(No geese).

Run #25 - Friday 3rd March

At one point this week Run Club was going to be four people strong. Then I received a sick note and a no-can-do text, leaving me and Kev to stay strong for Run Club and all its fans. 

Thankfully there was no Doris making life hard this morning and within a mile or two it was pretty much fully light. Again, thankfully, now that we chat our way round there is no ludicrous pace going off. Steady 8.22 min/miles for an hour to bring home a tick over seven miles to add to the totaliser.

As a slight aside, the showers were even more weird than normal. Why are people having ten minute conversations in the shower? It's always awkward, but when the only spare shower is the middle of the three and they continue the conversation over me... IT'S WEIRD.

For want of a better phrase, get in and get out as quickly as possible.

Run #26 - Sunday 5th March

Today is a biggun. And the weather is nothing short of a joke. 

After 14 miles last week, a further two miles were required today. SIXTEEN MILES. Gah, it's a long bloody way. I had a great curry last night though, which I am pretty sure is the best meal to have before running this far.

Same route, more or less, as last week just with the added fun of two more miles. The first eight or so miles drifted by without any dramas with the pace coming down from 8.52 to about 8.30 which is all good. Mentally, the step up to 16 was tough. To have to run for seventy minutes before it's even half way is a hard, so it was very much a case of trying not to think about the distance and just settle in as best as possible.

I had a slightly different reaction to consuming the energy gel at about 10 miles than I did last week. Now if you don't know what 'adverse reactions' these sort of supplements can have, well... I'm sure you can hazard a guess. Let's say I was pretty worried for five minutes or so but things thankfully settled down relatively quickly and it did it's job. Definitely good to get the body used to it now rather than having big problems in London.

Once I got past the half marathon distance it suddenly felt like I was going very slowly even though I wasn't. The legs were heavy, and the mind was heavier still but I got to the big one six in 2hrs 17 at 8.34's which I am very happy with. It's the second longest distance I have ever ran and, unsurprisingly, right up there in terms of the hardest too.

Oh, and shout out to the three knobheads who drove through huuuuge puddles as they passed me. You da best, lads.

This weeks very-timely-BANGER was this just before the 15 mile marker. About the same time that Dad passed by on his way to pick me up. Celebrations ensued. 

Silverstone half marathon next week, 48 days to go.