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! 

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! 

What a difference a year makes

A year ago today I went along for my routine smear test with the nurse. Thinking nothing of it at the time, it was about to be the day that set me off on a different course.
Thinking about it today with my stronger, wiser & much more focused hat on, I'm wondering what I'd say to 'me' a year ago. I'd have laughed if you'd told me in a year I would have a place in a marathon & be 4 weeks into training for it. 
I would absolutely tell myself to do what feels right. Something I have learnt over the past year is to have the emotion you feel like having when you feel like it, don't put on a brave face, especially around friends & family, and know that keeping positive & healthy is the best thing you can do. 

A year on and although I am still having to go to the hospital for check-ups & it is always in the back of my mind, I have new things to focus on & I've certainly never been stronger both mentally & physically.
It just goes to show you don't know what's around the corner. 

I recently came across this quote which fits just perfectly...

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. 

A bit of history on the who!

In a previous post I mentioned that I would give some more information on the charity I am supporting Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust. 
Here it is...

Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust (Jo’s Trust) is the only UK charity dedicated to women and their families affected by cervical cancer and cervical abnormalities. Our aim is to offer information, support, and friendship to women of all ages. We work to help women understand the importance of cervical screening and HPV vaccination to help prevent cervical cancer as well as offer our own brand of support when a woman's screening shows up with abnormalities or they are diagnosed with cancer.

Jo's Trust was established by James Maxwell following the death of his wife, Jo (aged 40), from cervical cancer in 1999. 
As you can see from Jo's aim, the charity is about far more than Cervical Cancer, you don't need to have cancer to need their advice and support.

Every year in the UK, over 3,000 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and nearly 1,000 women will die from the disease. Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women aged 35 and under.

Almost all cases of cervical cancer are caused by a common virus called Human Papillomavirus (HPV), you can catch the virus as soon as you start having intimate relationships. 

Something I had never realised until recently was that for younger women who are eligible there is a HPV vaccination available which protects against 70% of all cervical cancers. If only every female was vaccinated at a young age, think of the amount of lives it could save. 

For me personally my cervical abnormalities have started with the HPV so I now wonder how different this last year could have been had I been offered or aware of the vaccine? 

I've recently received my Jo's fundraising pack and will be raising awareness in my local area. Any support you can give or awareness that you can raise really would make a difference. 

And finally, I have one message to all women - GO FOR YOUR SMEAR! 
Don't be embarrassed, Don't be scared. 
It's such a really simple procedure, over with in a few minutes & it could save your life. And it'll keep me quiet if you go! 

You can find full details about the charity at their website - http://www.jostrust.org.uk/

A bit of history on the why!

As you can see from my blog header, I am supporting Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust. I thought I would share with you my reasons for this which I hope in turn will help others. 

In November 2012, I went for a regular smear test, having had them a few times and the results be fine, I hadn't really given it a second thought. A week or so later I received a call from my doctors letting me know the results had come back as abnormal and I was being referred to the Women's Clinic at our local hospital. My mum has had this a number of times so reassured me that it would be just a formality. 

So bright and early on 6th December, me and mum went along to the hospital. When I was called into a room by a lovely lady called Tracey (a colposcopy nurse) she introduced me to Mr Lee, he would be my consultant. 
He explained the reason for being brought into the hospital. I won't go into the details of a colposcopy, it's not the most pleasant of procedures. 
(If you want more information, Jo's Trust have a great information page you can view here.) 

During the colposcopy, the abnormal area was viewed using a camera, Mr Lee decided to take biopsy's of the area. This really wasn't comfortable at all but like most women, I laid back and thought of England! Job done!  

Over the Christmas period I was really quite down and spent of lot of time thinking about results and really worrying myself. It was then that I was looking on the internet and came across Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust. 
(More to come about them in my next post!)

Having read through the website getting as much information as I could, I was back at the hospital to start off the new year. Again I saw Mr Lee who explained that I would need further treatment of the cervix. This time it would be a bigger procedure and he talked me through this, they would be removing part of the cervix which contained the abnormal cells. Due to some breathing problems I had the year before (I'm asthmatic), it was recommended that I would require a general anaesthetic. Mr Lee reassured me that it would all be ok and along with the colposcopy nurse really put my mind at ease. 
I left and turned to the Jo's Trust website to find out more details then joined their online forum to talk to others in similar situations. 

After a few weeks of worry & some really great support from my friends, colleagues & family (it's true what they say you really do learn who your friends are when something like this happens!), I went into hospital on 6th February, I was admitted as a day patient. Although I felt a little groggy from the anaesthetic after it wasn't as bad as I had imagined and a week or so of rest and I was back on my feet. 

5 weeks later I was back to the hospital for my results, I was feeling really positive and having had the support from the forum on Jo's Trust, I felt in charge of the facts. 
This time Mr Lee again explained everything and I would be needing more treatment to remove more cells. Having been positive for months I was starting to feel really tired and a little lost in the world of hospitals & doctors. 
Turning to my family, friends, colleagues & Jo's Trust for support I spoke to the doctors about having a few months off before the next treatment to let my body and mind rest, they agreed. 

It was during this time whilst watching the London Marathon in April that I realised how much of an important part of my journey so far Jo's Trust had played. The following weeks I thought of nothing but the marathon, having been running short distances for a few years I toyed with the idea of actually running it. 

On 29th April whilst on holiday with my friends, the ballot for the marathon opened and I applied. I do not find out if I have got a place until September so it's all fingers crossed at the moment. I also decided that I would absolutely be running for Jo's Trust and will apply for a charity place through them also. Since then running has been my main focus and it really has helped to get my mind and body fit and healthy. (Well that and dieting with my good friend Gemma to get our bodies in shape for the summer!)

I returned to the hospital a few weeks ago feeling really positive & ready to take on whatever it is in my body that isn't meant to be there! 
Mr Lee explained that he would be doing another colposcopy there & then to see how the cervix was now. Feeling much calmer I was ready to take on whatever happened. 

Having now recovered from this visit, I am waiting on the next lot of results from the hospital which should be in the next couple of weeks. Myself, my family, friends & colleagues have everything crossed and I know that with the help of them & Jo's Trust I can see off anything. I'm also hoping the ballot or fundraising place comes through too & I can look forward to fundraising and supporting a charity that means an awful lot to me personally. 

    

Running after treatment

Last night I completed my first run in 2 weeks. I was injured a few weeks ago with a stress fracture to the 3/4th metatarsals in my foot so had to rest for a while.

Then I was at the hospital last Thursday for treatment of my abnormal cells. But 5 days on and I felt well enough to go out for a light run. Managed 4K which isn’t a lot but I know I can now start building on this once again. 

It just goes to show what a PMA can do for you. 

Hoping to go out again this evening for another light run and see if I can stretch myself a little. Then a few days off before I really go for it at the weekend. 

Literally the best feeling in the world too, sounds silly but I’m sure those of you who also have been told you can’t do something that you enjoy so much will understand. 

Happy Running!