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

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!! 

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! 

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/

Presenting...

I mentioned previously that a colleague had kindly offered to make a fundraising video for me, well thanks to Brian Smith that video is now out there for the world to see. 

After watching it for the first time & being incredibly emotional, I'm proud to share it with you...

If you'd like more details on the ITS Celebration Day that is referred to during the video please contact me & I'll be happy to provide some further information. 

Keep Glowing!

What a great surprise to come home to a delivery today from Virgin Money Giving with probably the most useful running accessory you can have - a hi-vis running vest! 

I was one of the first 5000 runners to get donations on the Money Giving page so got sent this. 

What a nice letter too! 

Thanks Virgin Money Giving! 

In the spotlight

Over the past week or so I've been working with a videographer creating a fundraising video. Brian, our work videographer kindly offered to film & produce this when he heard my 'story' during a recent work event. 

It really is amazing how people offer their skills to support me & I'm amazed on a daily basis by just how much support I'm getting. 

Brian recorded a sort of interview with me last Saturday where I basically gave my history & story. Having never been one for the spotlight this was a lot harder than I even imagined. I find it really difficult to articulate my story & feelings in words at the best of times but with a camera in your face it's even more pressure. Luckily Brian is an absolute pro so was able to coach the best out of me & hopefully got some really good quotes. I was also fortunate that my friend Alex joined us for the filming so rather than talking to the camera I directed everything to her, so it was just like having a conversation with a friend, the camera was just in the background. 

With that done Brian suggested he do some B-role filming which will go over my talking. He kindly came down to Essex in the week & recorded me doing normal things like making the tea, chilling on the sofa, then a lot of running along the seafront whilst he drove alongside with his camera in the window (apologies if we held anyone up along the seafront on Tuesday but all for a good cause!!). 

Brian also wanted to capture me walking into the hospital which has become something of a regular haunt for me this year. This was probably where I felt most exposed, and there was me thinking it'd be when I was running along the seafront in the middle of winter in Lycra!!! I guess the hospital when I visit is generally quite a negative place so to be back there wasn't easy and to remain inconspicuous & be filming was just a lot weirder that I imagined. 

Anyway, the filming is all now done & the footage is all in Brian's capable hands. Normally I would dred seeing myself on camera but actually I'm really looking forward to seeing what he comes up with. 

As soon as it's all finalised I'll post it on here so look forward to seeing what everything thinks of my big screen debut!! 

Huge thanks to Brian for doing this all for me & to Alex of course for getting me through the filming!