I'm doing Ok with the fundraising. Reached my WellChild target of 1500 and already raised £150 for Gloucestershire Young Carers. but let me tell you that I would have raised it all much quicker and then some if I 'd had a penny for every time I' e had the following conversation: Jane to whoever: 'I'm running in the Marathon'
Whoever: 'What? the London Marathon?'
It absolutely floored me each time that happened. What a strange reaction. Is the London Marathon somehow longer than other Marathons?
Anyway, so here I am...sitting on my bed in the hotel room. I got through the injury that wasn't an injury (according to my physio who really didn't feel the pain), I have avoided Max's numerous attempts to curtail my training with various viruses he's conjured up, I managed 20 miles - admittedly in pain and what seems like months ago now - and I've even resisted the temptation to run this week. I got all this way and now only one thing is threatening to hinder my performance....SLEEP. Or lack of it.
for so many years I have dreamed of having an excuse to take myself off to bed for a few early nights and catch up on the sleep that I swear I am owed from the first two years of Max's life. so this week, my chance came. with the family's blessing I went off to bed on Thursday at 8pm. by 9 o'clock I had put my iPod on...bit of music to calm me but, of course all my tracks are running themed in preparation for the big day. So I tried a podcast or two but Ricky Gervais makes me laugh out loud. I eventually turned to my audio bible...not surprisingly I finally drifted off in the middle of Deuteronomy. It was about 10.30 when I hit the land of nod and Max woke at 7.
So I tried again on Friday in the Hotel. neon who has tried to sleep next to two wired children will know that I didn't have a hope in Hell. At Midnight Max stopped flailing around in his sleep...making me fear that I make it to the start line with a thousand bruises. So no joy there.
As I write this I am freshly woken from a 45 minute nap which I opened my eyes from only to find myself thinking 'oh crap. I've forgotten my safety pins to pin my runnernumber on!'
And so my mind works.
But the two things I am loving most about this final weekend are...the commeraderie and, of course, the eating.
anyone who knows me will know that I haven't got through this year of training without a few books to help me. One such book has come into its own this week and is called: Nancy Clark's Food Guide For Marathoners. Firstly, I just like re-reading the title as I still can't believe I am a 'Marathoner' and secondly it is the diet for anyone who has dieted all their life. It is the Anti-diet. Like A Dawkins book to The Bible. Like Ozzie Osborne to Susan Boyle. Basically it says eat as much as you like...particularly the stuff you like for a whole week and if you put on four pounds by Marathon day then you are doing it right. Now this is what makes running a marathon worth it. And I have to say that as I sit here I find myself full and actually craving salad! I've eaten chips, bagels, pretzels, bananas, biscuits and consumed carb drinks...and I ate a bit like that yesterday too. It's fab.
Now all I've got to do is miss a meal tomorrow! Oh ... And run 26.2 miles. Keep forgetting that!
