Day 693 - SIX

1.  My subconscious is apparently unaware of my new fun runner status - I was awake at the crack of dawn worrying about my trainers and my foot and anything else I could think of to ensure I didn't get back to sleep.

2.  It wasn't much better after I got up.... should I go to the gym or should I rest?

3.  Eventually after much toing and froing I went! Whoo hooo a whole 10K on the cross trainer!

4.  I don't know if my foot survived the experience or not.... my toes went completely numb and the pain from loss of circulation masked anything else I might be feeling.

5.  How do you run wrong on a cross trainer for pity's sake?!  Heaven only knows what I was doing! Perhaps I'll switch to the exercise bike next time.  Although numb feet versus saddle sore? It's a close call!


London - 42
Total Distance covered     1185.2 miles

Day 692

1.  There's only one problem with happily accepting my lot as a fun runner.... what do I write about?!

2.  The weather?! Well it was a lovely morning for parkrun today! Made a nice change to be volunteering in the sunshine, albeit still a little on the chilly side.

3.  I might not have much to write about but I seemed to spend the majority of the morning updating everyone on my new laissez-faire approach!

4.  Very supportive, the feedback from those who have run London seemed to be that it was one of the best days of their lives and just to go and enjoy it.

5.  That said, my foot is still not right, (because it's the left - Boom! Boom!) and if it doesn't improve soon I may need to give the costume idea some further thought.  Currently favouring some sort of crinoline dress that I could hide a scooter under, or at the very least a Heely so I could drag my left foot along in a grippy shoe slippy shoe curling kind of a way!

London - 43
Total Distance covered     1185.2 miles

Day 691

1.  I received a text yesterday from my friend who was saying how sorry she was to hear about my injuries and how I don't deserve this.

2.  Actually I think I've got what was coming to me, this isn't an accident or bad luck.  I haven't put the cross training in.  It's a simple as that.

3.  I'm disappointed with myself.  I can joke about being lazy, disorganised, procrastinating, only doing the bits I like doing, always ending up at the same point and doing nothing about it, but actually getting to grips with the part of yourself that you don't like is hard.  But there's no escaping it.  It's my own doing.

4.  I'm just hoping that I've had a wake up call in enough time to do something about it.  It won't be ideal, but far better to spend the next six weeks trying to build up some strength than to have carried on regardless of any signals I was getting to slow down and be in this position with a fortnight to go.

5.   Walking the dog this afternoon and I had a little thought surface in my mind.... perhaps given that I clearly have shown no commitment to the work involved to turn me into anything like a serious endurance athlete I should stop being upset that my dreams of a sub five hour finish are evaporating before me.  If I haven't found the motivation in the past two years then it's unlikely that I'm ever going to. In which case perhaps I should accept that this is a once in a life time experience and get out and enjoy it - and who knows maybe even have some fun with the other fun runners.  I may stop short of a fancy dress costume though!

London - 44
Total Distance covered     1185.2 miles

Day 690

1.  I may have misled you yesterday... I am hoping that I can do some running in the next six weeks, but I can't get my head around how I run twenty six miles if I haven't been for any long runs between now and then...

2.  But that's what's happening whether I can get my head round it or not!

3.  Meanwhile I am doing my exercises even if I think they're going to kill me...

4.  Which is why (for those of you not following this on Twitter) I tweeted requesting that, should I die, my cause of death is recorded as 'single leg partial squat with band!'  For the blissfully ignorant this involves standing on a step with a rubber band around my knees and doing single leg squats repeatedly.  One is hard, three sets of twelve on each leg HURTS!

5.  My poor backside doesn't quite know what's happening, especially when I then went on the exercise bike in the gym... OUCH! I may not know how I'm getting round a marathon, but keeping going may well be preferable to trying to sit down!

London - 45
Total Distance covered     1185.2 miles

Day 689

1.  Yesterday when I was speaking to the Bionic Man he kept asking if I would be OK with not running.  When I woke up this morning I realised why....

2.  "HOW CAN I POSSIBLY RUN 26.2 MILES IN SIX WEEKS WHEN MY LAST LONG RUN WAS THREE WEEKS AGO AND I'M NOT RUNNING ANOTHER?!!!!

3.  I am distraught! I know I have to put my faith in the professionals that I've consulted and trust that I'll be OK, but it is so hard.  I just don't see how it is going to be possible to run a marathon if I haven't run in the weeks running up to it...

4.  The Business Bakery came up trumps again with their top tip - just when I needed it

5.  I ran too far too soon when I ran my twenty miles,  I was in a lot of pain, and I kept going.  I will do the same come the 24th April.  In the meantime I've done my exercises today. They hurt too! But I shall persevere. One day I will be pain free - but I may have to give up running first!

London - 46
Total Distance covered     1185.2 miles

Day 688

1.  It's hard when where you're running looks like......

2.  To get your head around the fact that what you're training for will look like....

3.  But for a while on my run today I found myself actually beginning to really believe that it's happening!  The end is in sight!! And to celebrate I have cancelled my gym membership from the end of April and felt a HUGE weight lifting from my shoulders!  Six and a bit weeks... I can DO THIS!!! (but I have no idea how I cope in that number of people!)

4.  Home and time to play the hot and cold game with my feet... question is who would entertain Dougal whilst I sat with my feet in buckets of water?! No problem...

we'll play this whilst my feet are in the ice

and whilst I'm relaxing in hot water he can amuse himself!

5. My little bubble of excitement was soon burst.  Out for a walk this afternoon and my left foot started to become really really painful... I have now been prescribed a week off running, with lots of rehab work in the gym.  Just as I didn't take the first option offered to me earlier and cancel my membership with effect from today!

London - 47
Distance covered                     6 miles
Total Distance covered     1185.2 miles

Day 687

1.  I can't help but wish the marathon was sooner than it is...  like this weekend sooner!

2.  Then there would be nothing more I could do about it, except get out there and give it all I've got.

3.  As it is I have forty eight days to run, do my exercises, cross train, fine tune my nutrition and rest...

4.  Or alternatively I could avoid the majority of the above (like I have done today) and then fill my time worrying about not doing enough whilst doing nothing about it!

5.  I did make one small step in the right direction today - I decided to get my hydration levels back to where they were supposed to be with at least six pints of water a day.  I've got out of the habit of this and am really rubbish at keeping track, so desperate times calling for desperate measures I lined six pint glasses up on the window sill, ten green bottles style and took one away each time I finished the previous one!  First pint drunk before the school run, I'd to stop for petrol on the way home and found myself doing the wee wee dance at the pump! Think I might wait until after my run to start the process again tomorrow!

London - 48
Total Distance covered     1179.2 miles