So, turns out I’ve been rubbish at posting recently. I’ve had a completely nuts times staving off injury, illness and working in my opinion too damn hard. But the knuckling down, concentration, meditation, and contemplation is all worth it, tomorrow is marathon day!
I promise you get you all up to speed on my training and my injury woes very soon, but today, as my children go off to my parents for the night and my husband enjoys some football, I wanted to briefly share how I’m feeling right now. Trouble is, I don’t really know if it can be put into words…..
This is my 4th London Marathon, and my 4th race this year. Still doesn’t make the challenge any less daunting. On the one hand, I have the experience and knowledge to make tomorrow oh so familiar, and the anxieties of a first time runner around what the start is like, what drinks stations are like, toilets etc are not really bothering me. But these feeling of excitement, nervousness, and “oh dear god it’s a long way” are no easier to keep in check…… How do you process thinking about running 26.2 miles?
I think it all really sunk in on Thursday when we took ourselves to the expo to collect my number. My children were just excited that it wasn’t an ordinary Thursday after school activity. We took a boat down the silty river instead of a boring old tube train. As we sped down the Thames, to Greenwich, I felt like I was taking in the route on a different level, and in reverse! Every landmark we sped past triggered my brain to visualise how the race looked from the road when running, and memories of marathons past, mostly good but some uncomfortable memories!
Once in the expo I withdrew into quiet reflection, taking in the tension in the room. The buzz of excitement, the questions people were asking others, the wealth of good luck messages on various platforms and people posing with their numbers for a wealth of photos. Every person on their own journey and every person a hero in my eyes.
Yesterday was spent at work, and I was grateful for the distraction. My kind colleagues who have been on my journey with me this year have been super kind in wishing me luck and telling me I’ll be fine……
So for today I practice the art of distraction. I have a kit to prepare, hair roots to be banished (got to look good for the finishers photo, although it may all fall out before get there) and carbohydrate to load. My legs are full of energy from the taper and ready to run. I don’t know until I’m pounding the streets of London how my day is going to go, or if I’ll reach my goal of beating my PB (confidence lacking in recent days) but what I do know is that I WILL cross that finish line and collect my 4th medal this year, and my 4th marathon medal. For that, my friends, I am awesomely proud of myself…….
I’d love to know if any of my readers are running London tomorrow and if so, how are you feeling?!
If you would like to sponsor my 2016 efforts to collect 12 medals in 12 months for Muscular Dystrophy UK in memory of my brother Graham, then please click the link below 🙂 if it wasn’t for him I would never be embarking on this journey nor have the strength to run a marathon.