Marathon Highlights - Chapter 3!

After I'd emerged like a weary traveller out of the dust to meet my family at Horse-guards parade, we had all the compulsory photos with me and the medal. I've never seen my family so proud of me, it really was a look I'll never forget. 

As my mum was too unwell to make it to race day, she was the first person I wanted to call when I finished but with all the phone networks down it was really hard to get through. When Caroline finally got some signal on her phone so I could call home, I wept down the phone to mum, I kept saying, 'I've done it, I've finished'. She was crying too and she so wanted to be there. 

When the tears had dried up, we all went along to Rainforest Cafe to meet up with the rest of the supporters and enjoy a well deserved burger and vodka! Thankfully my good friend Gemma was on hand to help me get dressed, sort out my hair and make-up and generally make me look more presentable than I did when I finished! Unfortunately Rainforest Cafe wasn't great (that's another story) but I was on another planet so just tried to eat whatever I could and catch up with friends. 

I got a second wind and I was really to take on the night. A few of us then went onto Leicester Square to enjoy a few more drinks. Whilst everyone else was complaining of being tired, I was ready to make it into a big night out. A number of vodkas & sambuca shots later and we all went off back to our hotel. 

I sat up talking to Simon (he really has to put up with a lot!) for hours as I couldn't sleep, I was buzzing and on a complete high. 

The next day we enjoyed a lovely breakfast before setting off home (still with my medal around my neck!). 

All I wanted to do was see my mum. When I saw her we both cried and I had the best hug, nothing better than a hug from mum! We then enjoyed lunch with my sister and I managed to eat the biggest ice cream I could get my hands on. 

I stopped of at my grandparents to show off my medal to them too which I was really proud to do. 

The rest of the day was spent at the osteopath trying to put my muscles back in place. 

Two days later and I was able to walk again and all the pain of the marathon has disappeared to leave just a happy sense of achievement. One of the first things I said after finishing was 'never again', although it was the best thing I've ever done it was also the hardest. But two weeks on and I've entered the ballot for 2015 and I'm only 6 weeks away from completing the Southend Half Marathon. Looks like I've really got the running bug now. 

It's moments like the photo below, showing off my medal to my wonderful cousin Amelia that made every bit of blood, sweat and tears worth it. 

Until 2015!!

23 days to go!

I decided this morning to donate another £26.20 to my fundraising as I felt really positive on my run this morning & pushed myself with my pace too. I was also nominated by a friend for a 'no make up selfie' which women are doing to raise funds for CRUK so this was for my donation towards that also. 

When I went along to my donations page a few things struck me...

Only 23 days to go!!

This really stood out for me this morning, it's no time at all & I remember when it was 123 days! Time really does fly! I'm almost a little sad that in 24 days time this journey will be over. 

Over £4000!!

The amount of money that people have kindly donated is just wonderful. It still amazes & humbles me that my friends, family and even people I've never met have been so generous. 

Although I'm still £1000 off target, I'm really looking forward to the final push for fundraising over the next 3 weeks & with every donation that comes in, it really does make me feel great & motivate me to run longer & faster. 

Thank you again to everyone who continues to support me. I don't know how I'd do it without you all. 

20 mile run on the agenda for Saturday then it's all downhill for a few weeks of tapering & resting before the big day! 

x

Back to the plan

Last Thursday I returned to the hospital for another colposcopy, this time they took four biopsies which I wasn't expecting and knocked me for six, both physically and mentally. It's now the usual drill, wait four weeks for the results. 

Throughout the recovery my main concern - as well as my health - was getting back to my marathon training. Missing days of training can really affect your plan and although I'm a few days ahead of where I should be I really didn't want to suddenly be on the back foot. 

After resting - as much as is possible for me to rest - for a couple of days, I got back out running this morning. It was just great to be back! 

The weather is quite cold at the moment but despite that and the fog, I just focused on the bigger picture and ploughed on through. 

I'm suffering a little now from the pain but knowing I've got back to it is a huge boost. And keeping in mind that I'm healthy and will be back out there pounding the pavements tomorrow is also keeping me motivated. 

It does make me really admire people with more serious injuries and health problems that also train for and finish marathons, how do they even do that?

 

I heard from a colleague at the weekend that he trained for a marathon in 2 weeks!! I've been training already for four months and feel no where near ready! (He did say he couldn't walk for weeks after though so guess that's not a good idea!) 

The other real bonus and motivation for me this week has been reaching my £3000 target! 

We raised £1500 at a work fundraising day on Saturday and with the money already donated I am delighted that the target has been reached. 

Never one to shy away from a challenge, I've now decided to increase the target to £5000! With 11 weeks to go until the marathon I know it's achievable & can't wait to hand over cheques for so much money to my two charities! 

Thank you to everyone who continues to keep me motivated & committed to raising money for amazing causes. 

A tough week

The week I've been pretty much dreading for the past few months has arrived. On Thursday I'll be heading back to the hospital for my next colposcopy and to start another couple of weeks of waiting for results. 
People have asked me if it gets any easier, my answer 'No'. If anything because you know what to expect it's actually harder. The procedure isn't the nicest of things to go through but worst than that is the waiting. Your future is in the hands of someone in a lab somewhere who you will never meet! That is the scary part for me. 
Having said that, I've kept myself healthy & fit for the past couple of months so there is nothing more I can do than that, it's all out of my hands. 

This week my wonderful friend Caroline is the chosen one holding my hand through it all, it helps so much to have someone with you so take note, if you ever need to go through something like this, never try to soldier on alone, it does not help anyone, least of all you! Caroline, as with most of my friends, has been an absolute tower of strength for me throughout all of this and that really goes a long way to helping me keep my chin up, stay positive and smile on through it. 

I'll be resting up for a few days after the colposcopy so the training will need to ease a little, I've re-arranged my schedule for this week so that I am still running the same distance just on different days and thankfully I've saved my rest days for Friday & Saturday. Sunday will be a tough run as it's 1 hour 50 minutes but I'll be taking things slow and only doing as much as I can.  
If you are friends with me on Facebook, please 'like' my Nike+ update on Sunday morning, that's when I'll be needing all the cheers and support I can get. 

What is really motivating me throughout all of this though is that I am supporting two amazing charities and that by me putting myself out there, my kind friends, family, colleagues and even complete strangers are donating to something I feel very passionate about. 

Thank you all so much! 

Raising Awareness

January is Cervical Health Awareness Month. It's the chance to raise awareness about how women can protect themselves from HPV (human papillomavirus) and cervical cancer. 

Since having cervical abnormalities I try to talk to as many women as I can about it and encourage them (if they haven't already) to attend their routine smear tests. It really can save your life. 

Next Monday (19th January) sees the start of Cervical Cancer Prevention Week. This is a European wide initiative to focus is on all things to do with cervical cancer including information about symptoms and causes of the disease, ways to prevent it and supporting charities like Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust. 

This Saturday the company I work for (ITS) are putting on a Fundraising Day to support my marathon campaign with all proceeds going to Cancer Research UK & Jo's Trust, this will be how I am supporting and raising awareness of Cervical Abnormalities & Cervical Cancer. How will you raise awareness?...

See more at: http://www.jostrust.org.uk/get-involved/campaign/cervical-cancer-prevention-week#sthash.MwGUu1Fl.dpuf

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I took a bit of a break over Christmas & New Year from posting, instead focusing on spending time with my family and friends. It was a really lovely time & reminded me once again how lucky I am to have such great people around me. 

One thing I didn't take a break from though was training! 

I've been hard at it and upping my times and distances each week, I even ran on Christmas Day!! It was actually really refreshing to be out nice and early on Christmas morning and meant I was feeling really good (if a little achy) even after stuffing my face with all the usual festive treats. This Christmas was a first for me too, I actually lost weight instead of putting it on. It's all the training, it just seems to fall off, I suppose it's my metabolism.

I've decided to do a different training plan now which fits better for me, it was suggested by Cancer Research UK. I'm now running 4/5 times a week and giving myself a few rest days. This is really working for me as I now feel like I'm actually getting somewhere and giving my body a well deserved rest. 

I'm up to 90 minutes of running on my longest day now which feels so rewarding, I never thought I'd be able to comfortably run for 30 minutes let alone 90 so this is really giving me the boost I need to keep it going. 

With only 96 days until the London Marathon the challenge I've taken on is starting to really kick but I'm still as motivated as ever & am definitely already in better shape than I've ever been. 

So although it's a new year, the training continues, the commitment continues & thanks to some great support, the donations have continued to roll in for my chosen charities! 

2014 - The year I run the London Marathon! 

The Big Event

Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments about my story and the fundraising video, it means so much that it's really touched so many people. 

Now for my next announcement!! 

As mentioned in the video, ITS have kindly offered to put on a fundraising/celebration day with all proceeds going to the two charities I'm supporting. 

The one day event on Saturday 18th January will be held in London & I'm really very excited about it. 

I'd love it if you are free & can join us, for full details click the image below. 

http://www.itsnlp.com/celebration-day-living-generously/

Let's get this show on the road!

It's been a little while since my last post & I have exciting news! 

I have confirmed my London Marathon 2014 place with Cancer Research UK. I've paid my £100 to secure the place & have it all in writing. That was certainly a daunting few minutes on the phone to the charity confirming it all. 

Now it is done the panic is setting in ever so slightly, I have a huge task ahead of me with the training & the fundraising so it'll be a really busy few months. 

As I previously talked about, I decided to give 10% of the money I raise to Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust so although my target for fundraising is now much higher, I get the satisfaction of running for two charities that I support & are very close to my heart. 

My virgin money giving page is now up online so all donations are being accepted! 
Click the image below to see more & make your donation. PLEASE!!

I will be doing as many fundraising events over the coming months as I can & I'll make sure I post details on here & my social media pages. 

Now onto the training, well with 24 weeks to go, the training has begun. I'm currently running 5 miles comfortably so improving on that each week & following a training plan which I downloaded from the London Marathon site. The clocks went back this weekend so the nights are drawing in & it's getting dark by 4pm which is going to be really tough to make sure I keep to the schedule & don't make excuses. 

I'm certain I'll stay committed espectially when I see donations coming in & with my goal in the back of my mind all the time, I know I'll be able to do it. 

More to come...  

All Systems GO!!

I got home last night to an amazing letter from Cancer Research UK congratulating me on being accepted for a Charity Bond London Marathon 2014 place through then!! 



After being really emotional and excited for the whole evening, I'm still beaming from ear-to-ear! I just can't believe that after all these months of waiting, I've got my place. I'm also counting myself very lucky as I know hundreds of people apply for these places every year and to be accepted on my first try is really quite something. 

My intention is that unless I receive an offer of a place from Jo's Trust or the public ballot, I will accept this place & raise as much money as I can for CRUK whilst also giving a percentage of the total amount to Jo's. Should I be selected for Jo's, I'll probably be delirious and to honour CRUK's commitment to me I'll reverse this and give a percentage of the Jo's money raised to them. Sound fair?

Thank you for all the messages of congratulations that I've received so far. It's going to be a long road ahead but I'm mentally ready to take on the challenge & I just can't wait to get going. 

Any tips or advise that you can share on your marathon experiences would be very much welcomed. I've already received a lot of great advise from previous runners which I am sure will stand me in good stead of the coming months of training. With plenty of hard work and determination, I'm ready to take on this challenge & cross that finish line having raised a lot of money for great causes. 

Santa Run!

Today I've signed up to take part in a 10KM Santa Run on 8th December in London. I will be running this for Jo's Trust which makes me feel very proud indeed. I was delighted to get Judith, from the charities, email this morning and signed up straight-away. 

Fingers crossed some friends & family will also be joining me as it'd be great to run along-side them but even doing it on my own I'll be really satified knowing I'm raising more money and awareness for my chosen charity. 

If you'd like to run with me, please sign up here, places are limited so the sooner the better, then let me know when you're done & I'll sort out regular catch-ups leading up to the run. 

I was hoping by now to be on my first half marathon but with the knee problems, my progress has slowed down. All being well, I can now start to really pick it up and especially with runs like this in the pipeline it'll really spur me on. And it's only another month until the ballot places for the London Marathon are announced so let's hope that is good news for me. 

If you would like to sponsor me for any of the run's and challenges I'm doing over the coming year, please use the link on my blog to donate as much as you can. 

Some good news at last

After vowing to get fit & healthy after a procedure earlier this year to remove part of my cervix, I've been working my socks off! The running is going well (bar the latest injury), my diet is much cleaner, I've lost some weight & am mentally feeling much better. 

I would thoroughly recommend this to anyone but especially someone who is going through any health problems. Healthy mind, healthy body is what they say isn't it? 

I recently had more cell samples taken for my cervical abnormalities & I'm pleased to say there is no change (as I've had to explain to a number of friends & family, this is good news!)

Providing that some blood tests I've had taken come back as fine then I should be ok to have another bit of time off the hospital & have the cells checked again in a few months. 

At the moment this really is the best outcome. Unfortunately, this may continue like this for some time but in my eyes the healthier I get then the least likely these cells are to develop. 

So having now turned 30 & enjoyed lots of celebrations with my friends & family, it's hopefully a happy & healthy few months ahead for me! And every time I'm feeling down, I just have to read through my blog to motivate me once again & look how far I've come!

Onwards & upwards as they say! 

(Unsure of who 'they' are I keep referring too but it's all true!)