Amy and I are deighted to have completed our first half marathon this morning in a personal best of two hours and 11 minutes! And we didn't stop once! It was really, REALLY cold and really, REALLY windy but it felt fantastic! The atmosphere was nerve wracking but friendly and we met and chatted to a few people on the way. There was a chap called Steph, who i see running in Brightlingsea. He is in his eighties and runs lots of marathons ! We met two girls called Becky and Sarah who only started running about a year ago and are doing really well. And then there was the lady who was almost repeating 'cake, cake' in a mantra like fashion to get her through the last few miles!
The individuals running (817 in total) were of all different shapes and sizes but the common denominator was that we all got up this morning with a committment to run 13.2 miles.
I had my trusty porridge for breakfast and took some sultanas in case i got hungry but I didn't. Three oj's + water + pinch salt and tried taking water from the water stations - this seriously requires practise - well you try drinking while running!
I felt great running especially when I realised that we had been running for over an hour when it felt like 20 minutes. The run organisors mark each mile out so it's easy to count down the miles. OK, we weren't the fastest (number 1 chap completed the race an hour (!) faster than us!) but we weren't the slowest either and lets face it the main point was to test our ability out and run for 2 hours and 11 minutes without stopping is really encouraging at this stage of our training.
My husband ran the race as well, by way of suporting my efforts and made an excellent time of 1:45. It was great to see his encouraging smile at the finish line. But we wouldn't have been able to do this if our daughters godmother hadn't offered to have her for the morning - oh and cook us a cracking Sunday lunch as well. Thank you Elaine, that was really, REALLY appreciated. AND you sponsered me as well!
So that feels like a real milestone achieved. Now, every weekend long runs has to increase by a mile at a time until we get to our longest run of 20 miles before we start to taper down in preparation for the Marathon - and that is only two and half months away!
I have been really impressed with people at work and how they have supported me and sponsered me - it really matters.
Looking forward to joining the Hospice runners this Thursday and Kevin our coach.
Speak to you soon.
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2 comments:
Hi Jo,
Well done for Sunday, definately not the best day for running - I was medic-ing at Mersea and boy was that a wee bit breezy and more than a little chilly. Glad to hear you're doing so well am serious impressed by your committment - you go girl!
Sara x
Well done Jo!!! 13.2 miles is amazing... I was thinking of you while I was sitting in front of my fire reading the papers!! I like the sound of the lady who kept repeating 'cake, cake, cake' - that's the sort of thing that would keep me going...
You'll be pleased to hear that I am doing a Sport Relief 3 miles in a few weeks time, so I had better keep on running my minutes for a bit longer!! Only a ninth of a marathon tho eh!
Ruthx
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