Climbing the O2

For my sisters birthday I brought her a voucher to climb the o2, she'd been saying for a while that she wanted to climb it. When it came to booking her trip, myself, Simon and my sisters fiancé Ash decided to join E-J on the climb so booked ourselves tickets. 

At £33 per person (with discounts available for o2 customers), we all hoped it'd be a amazing and we weren't disappointed. 

When we arrived about 15 minutes before our climb the weather was pretty grim so they delayed us for a short while for the rain to pass. We then made our way, with around 10 others, into a briefing room where they played us a comical information and safety video. 
All the staff at the climb centre were really great, all good fun and friendly. After watching the video we made our way into a giant changing room and got kitted out with our climb suits, shoes and harnesses. The staff checked all of our equipment and tightened us all up. 
We then made our way to the bottom of the o2 to begin the climb. 

We all had photos taken by the official o2 photographer (which are available to purchase at the end). Our guide then attached us onto the safety ropes and off we went. The walkway was a lot steeper than any of us thought so you really need your energy for an experience like this.

It took around 20 minutes to climb to the top and we were all pretty tired when we got there but the views were amazing and we all quickly recovered. 

There are some amazing views of London from the top of the o2 which I didn't expect. The guides are available to take photos and talk to you about the sights. They asked little quizzes asking us where landmarks were which made the trip all the more interesting. 
We saw The Shard, Canary Wharf, Greenwich park and many more of London's iconic buildings. 
There was plenty of time to take photos and lucky for the us the sun came out at the top so we had some clear views. 

We stayed at the top for about 30 minutes before we then started our decent to the bottom. EJ led the way and it was quite a trip, again it's a lot steeper than you think it'll be looking from the bottom. We all very slowly made our way to the bottom where we then de-kitted and made our way to the souvenir shop. 

Overall the whole experience lasted around 90 minutes and from beginning to end was well arranged, fun and definitely something we'll never forget. 

*You can find more information about climbing the o2 here.* 

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!!

Marathon Highlights - Chapter 2!

Having slept surprisingly well considering the vast amount of butterflies in my belly I enjoyed my usual breakfast of muesli and fruit. The sick feeling of what was ahead of me for the day hit me as I was getting changed into my running clothes realising that the next time I'd remove the clothes, or peel them off as was more the case, would be after I'd completed the marathon and had that medal around my neck. 

I set off on the tube to Greenwich park where I met Vanessa and we tried to find our starting pen. Nothing could have prepared me for the sheer amount of people there were. 

Ness and I were both really nervous but very excited, the heat wasn't helping our preparations, with that amount of people all in one place added to it seemingly being the hottest day of the year, we were both roasting before we had even started!

As we shuffled towards the start time all the runners started to wish each other Good Luck which felt like being part of one big family. Crossing the start line was really strange, it was quite quiet with people just getting into their zone. The first 7 miles passed in the blink of an eye. Although my pace was much slower than I had hoped we just seemed to be counting down the miles. The support along every step of the route really was amazing and there is nothing better when you're feeling tired than a stranger calling out your name and pushing you on. 

I had a number of supporters along the route and it was just the best to see them, emotions certainly got the better of me and I cried with every set of friends or family I saw. They were mainly decked out in bright orange caps with my nickname - Gingey - printed on them so they were certainly easy to spot! 

The biggest emotional outburst was saved for seeing my Dad, sister, brother-in-law and boyfriend. I was starting to feel really tired at around mile 14 and I hadn't seen them so was feeling a little flat, Ness was really supporting me but she was also carrying a stitch which she was trying to run through so both of us needed to see someone we knew. Then out of nowhere I saw their faces, of course they were all too busy looking at other people so didn't even know it was me until I jumped on them all in tears of joys. This really did give me such a boost though and I just knew after I saw them that I could carry on. 

The biggest cheer of the day definitely came from Auntie Debbie, Uncle Pete and Amelia, I saw them at around mile 20/21 so on the 'Home-straight' but was really struggling to keep my legs moving especially with cramp in my left groin. They gave the final boost that I needed for that final moment. 

The final 4 miles were without a doubt the worst for me, Ness has got her mo-jo back so practically dragged me along with her. Having said that two of my favourite moments were in the last few miles. Firstly, a pub by Tower Hill started playing one of my favourite songs 'Sex on Fire' so Ness and I were running along singing and really geeing up the crowd. Then just before Mile 25 there was a tunnel where no supporters could go, it was playing out really loud music and all the runners sang along to 'Happy' clapping along to all the good bits and seeing lots of motivational messages on balloons. What a moment! 

Big Ben was in sight and we knew when we got there we'd just cruise on through. One final sight of my supporters and giant cheers and that was it, Ness and I sang, danced and ran our way to the finish line. Nothing could prepare me for the feeling as I came past Buckingham Palace and down the Mall to see the finish line. 

In (a slightly disappointing) 05:45:30 I completed the Virgin London Marathon 2014 and I'd achieved something that most people never would or could. I was completely exhausted, drained and emotional and at the same time or a massive high but I had that medal and I'd done it! 

Marathon Highlights - Chapter 1!

It's been two weeks since I completed the London Marathon, yes I completed it! The last few weeks really have passed in a complete haze but I am now back to my normal self & have gone down a little from cloud 9. 

With so much to say about the whole marathon experience, I thought I'd do a few posts over the next few days just to give you a flavour of it all. 

My marathon weekend started off on Friday when myself, fellow marathon runner Vanessa and my best friend Sam went along to the ExCel to collect runner numbers and chips. This was a part I'd really been looking forward to, that sense of pride picking up your numbers, meeting fellow runners and being part of the whole buzz surrounding the marathon. I was also really looking forward to meeting the ladies from CRUK who had a stand there. 

Sadly apart from having our photos taken in the cool photo booth at the end the rest of the experience was a bit of an anticlimax! 
When I picked up my number it felt like somewhat of a formality. The stands around the exhibition were all trying to sell you there products or get you booked onto another marathon in another country. Mine and Vanessa's standard reply to these requests was "Err can we try and run this one first!".

After spending around 30 minutes wondering around, I met the ladies at CRUK, unfortunately this felt a little flat too, I'm not sure if my expectations were too high but it really lacked the exciting atmosphere I hoped for. 

Saturday was mostly a day of getting my belongings packed into the plastic bag provided by the Marathon organisers and getting myself up to London where I was staying for the night. Before I left I had a carb packed dinner with Simon, my boyfriend. 

Throughout the whole day I was feeling quite emotional, all the build up and saying goodbye to people who although I'd see them the next day it felt like a lifetime. 

After getting very emotional & leaving Simon at the station to set off for a night in London with my belongings in their plastic bags, I must have looked like such a sorry sight, I got some of the best news of the whole 10 months. 

My fundraising total had tipped over £5000!!! 

It was the most amazing feeling to know that my friends, family, colleagues & complete strangers had contributed all that money to support such wonderful charities - Cancer Research UK & Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust. 

With tears in my eyes, calling all my friends and family to tell them the amazing news, I just felt the biggest sense of achievement. I'd set a goal and I'd reached it. Now all I had to do was run 26.2 miles! 

The Big Day

I'm just 2 days away from the end of my 11 month journey from beginner jogger to marathon runner!!

This past week has left me feeling so emotional (having spoken with other marathon runners they are also in the same boat - thank goodness it's not just me!!).

I started this week feeling really un confident & saying things like "I can't do this" "I'm not strong enough"! But in true style my amazing network got me through it with lots of positive thoughts & boosting my fundraising pot. It didn't help that I had more hospitals scans on Monday so was feeling fragile from that & got some unexpected news (more on that in a later post)

Now with 2 days to go I'm only £200 off target and feeling excited and nervous about the Big Day! 

I've done the training so it all relies on my mental strength throughout the race now. I have quite a few wonderful supporters coming along to cheer me through so that is going to be a huge motivation as I pound the streets of London. 

I'm still feeling apprehensive about getting to the start on my own but I've decided it's all part of the experience so I just need to chill out & go with the flow! 

My friend Ness is also running so I've got fingers crossed we can find each other & start together. 

Unfortunately one of my biggest supporters, my mum, is recovering from an emergency operation so won't make it to see me, when I realised this last week, I was devastated & I think that brought on a lot of the emotion but now I've just got to go out there & make her proud! I'll do my best to get on TV so she can see me that way & with the wonders of technology I'll be able to FaceTime her at the end with that medal around my neck! 

If I don't get another chance before Sunday I want to say thank you so much to everyone who has followed by journey, to everyone who has donated to my fundraising & helped two amazing charities, to everyone who is coming along on Sunday to cheer me on and finally thank you to my family, boyfriend & best friends for sticking by me, supporting me, encouraging me & putting up with me over these last few months. Marathon training takes over your life & no one knows more about this than those special people in my life! 

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ClareSmith8

Tapering

I've been tapering my training for about a week now & with 10 days to go I'm starting to feel quite underprepared for the big day!! 

Having followed by plan to the letter for the past 5 months I'm now adding more runs in to give me that confidence that I can do this. It helps mentally that I have run 20 miles & I keep that in the back of my mind but when I'm doing 40-50 minute runs at the moment it doesn't feel enough. 

I'm also really conscious of how I'm feeling in these final days, picking up on any aches & pains. Touch wood, fingers crossed & all that I've been fine & my injuries all happened earlier in my training.

Emotionally I'm drained & I'm physically quite exhausted which worries me for the day.  

I've asked followers on twitter & a lot of people are in the same boat so this really does help. I'm so glad I've had the support of the twitter community to answer questions about the tapering. It's not something I've ever done before so it's good to get advise from fellow runners. 

Sadly some of the people I've 'virtually' had this journey with have had to pull out last minute due to injury. It's such a shame & leaves me feeling quite emotional for them. I know they'll get another chance but on the day I'll be running for all of them too. 

As a first time marathon runner I really have no idea what to expect & now as the day gets closer I've resided to my plan being to enjoy it & use it as an experience. 

I'd love to hear some other fellow runners final week stories...

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

Call my name!

My running vest from CRUK arrived a few months ago & I had put it away & almost forgotten about it. Then with all the excitement over the past few weeks of the Marathon edging closer I decided to get it out & iron on my name! 

I'd got lots of advice over the past year and one of the main things people had told me is to ensure my name is on my top as it's a massive boost to have the crowd cheering your name. 

For this reason I decided to also have my nickname on my vest, I thought it'd be good fun, something for my massive group of supporters & fun for the crows too. So I now have Clare on the front & Gingey on the back!!

Yesterday I wore the vest (under my jacket!) for the first time, to ensure it didn't itch or snag & just knowing I was wearing it really gave me an extra boost! I'm so proud to wear this vest and support this amazing charity & I can't wait to wear it on the day. 

To hear complete strangers say my name, and nickname, will be just amazing. 

So if you see me 4 weeks today pounding the streets of London then give me a big cheer! It'll make the world of difference to me! 

36036!

Along with my final instructions for the London Marathon by post this weekend I've also had my running number! 

I'm delighted that mine is easy to remember so I can share it with all my supporters! 

Now I just can't wait to get to the ExCel & pick up all my paperwork! It's all getting very real! 

Final instructions!

Well this arrived in today's post & I'm so excited to get reading! I'm off out for my 20 miler this afternoon then it'll be a long bath & read up on my final instructions! 

The nerves & buzz is starting to kick in as I approach sub 4 weeks!! 

The clock is ticking

With only 7 weeks (and 4 days) until the London Marathon, it's starting to really creep up on me & with all the plans for my supporters in place (more of that soon), it's now just a case of getting myself 'match ready'! Sounds so simple. 

The injury to my foot is now, fingers crossed, firmly in the past so for the past week it's been a case of upping my times & distances. This has been going well and I've been trying to really make the most of my rest days. 

Since I started full on marathon training, I've been seeing an osteopath every fortnight, he has been doing an amazing job of getting my limbs ready for the 26.2 miles & giving me some great advise especially when I had the injuries, this has left me feeling much more positive.

I was back to 2 hours+ last Sunday which really gave me the confidence to get another hour at least on the clock within the next 5 weeks before the tapering begins.

This is definitely not my marathon pace band,
more like Mo Farahs!!

The next area to look at is my pace for marathon day, because I run varying distances & times at the moment, it's really difficult to work out my current pace. I've been playing around with different times and I really do go from anything around 5:58km p/h to 6:20 dependant on the distance. 

It's been recommended I have a pace calculator around my wrist with my ideal pace times so I've looked at some templates and printed a few off to try out over the coming weeks.

To be honest, I think I'll just end up running my own race but it's good to try these things out beforehand just in case.

There really is so much to think about that I never even realised. 

My tip of the week came from my osteopath who suggested taking a black bin bag to the marathon start with me just in case it rains then I can stay dry at the start & dispose of it before I begin. This is something I wouldn't even consider!  



  

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! 

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! 

Run The Right Way

My colleague, Ian, emailed this link to me this morning. Two really interesting videos that could make you run more effectively and the right way! 

It's only 3 minutes long & could make a whole heap of difference to your running. I'll certainly be trying out the different stance on my next run. 

http://sanjayguptamd.blogs.cnn.com/category/cnn-lifestream-video/page/2/#lifestream

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/

Nobody said it was easy...

Just a couple of the wonderful things I'm going through this week: 

* Chapped & blistered lips

* Feet cut to bits

* Sore boobs

* Constantly cold

The cold weather is so tough to train in that I'm actually scared now about how hard it's going to get as the winter really kicks in. 

It's currently around 3 degrees when I've been going out in the mornings to start my run & with it set to get colder this week I'm not sure how I will get through it. I'm following the Virgin London Marathon Beginner's plan which has me doing varying distances 6 days per week. 

I can tell you this is a lot & having gone from someone who run whenever I fancied & mostly when it was dry & light to now running in the dark & all-weathers, it's definitely pushing me to my limits! 

I've been told about various remedies to alleviate some of the problems and any others would be really welcomed! Feel free to comment with your suggestions! 

Nobody ever said marathon training would be easy, but then again no one told me it'd be this hard either!!