Mixed emotions

Fret not followers, I haven't disappeared off the face of the earth, just been a little tied up with a few things over the past few weeks/months! Where has the time gone since my last post on April 2nd? April 2nd, that is shocking really. Lax you may say, and I don't blame you for thinking so. 

Well, many of you will know that the Virgin London Marathon took place on Sunday April 17th, with the female contingent of Team Jones - Sam, Suzie & I - donning our running shoes and name-embellished Maggie's running vests to do our bit. The two weeks leading up to the big day was a little odd with the newly introduced world of 'tapering' coming into play. It certainly doesn't feel natural to be resting so much 10 days before running a marathon but the training plan text is gospel and must be obeyed and obeyed it was. We said our farewells to our family & friends on Saturday morning and headed straight to Excel to register and collect our run numbers, timing tags and final bits of information. It was a loooooong journey, there and back, and we tried to take the advice of friends & tweeters who have previously run to rest up as much as possible and do our best to stay off our feet all day. Easier said than done when you've got to traipse from Paddington to Excel but we did our best. On checking into the hotel, we all took to reading our final bits & pieces and confirming final plans for the morning before heading off for a final carb-loaded meal and a natter to help settle the little butterflies. Admittedly, it wasn't the best night's sleep we could've had, due to a drunken domestic a few doors away, but we were all up & about and good to go on time. At the train station, we had to go our separate ways, Suzie & I on one train and Sam on the other; this was due to ballot & charity runners starting at different points. Not the nicest of feelings when you are all part of a team and knowing you wouldn't be starting this mammoth task together. However, we had agreed to meet up at mile three so not too long to wait. Before we knew it , we were lining up at the start. The size of the crowds of runners was unbelievable and some of the costumes were mind blowing; huge respect to the guy running with a washing machine on his back raising money for The Parachute Regiment Afghanistan Trust (Pete Digby I think his name was). 

As you will have seen, the weather was exceptionally warm for a marathon and it certainly added an extra element to the course & the challenge ahead! The crowds en route were fantastically supportive and seeing the ‘Maggie’s Mafia’ supporters aka nearly 20 family members & friends at mile 6 was a welcome sight indeed. Unfortunately, I had to withdraw from the marathon at mile eight due to exhaustion, which wasn't an easy decision to make as you can image. Despite Sam's best efforts of encouragement, support & tough love (!) nothing was working, my running mojo had deserted me at my time of need; I seemed to have had my 'off day' on the only day that truly mattered, and I was devastated not to have made it. Devastated, disappointed and upset. Suzie and Sam battled on through the tough conditions though and with the support of the Maggie’s Mafia again at miles 13, 23 and 25.5 they made it across the line in less than 7 hours – which is a fantastic achievement. The conditions were incredibly rare in terms of weather and many, many people suffered in one way or another. But Sam & Suzie got around and I am really proud of them both for crossing that line.  

It took me a week or so to put my withdrawal from the run into perspective but I know that I definitely made the right decision as if I had tried to continue, something more serious could have happened. I would like to thank the staff of St Johns for their support (foil blanket & tissues.....boy, did I blub!!), the doctors on the sweeper bus and all my family and friends for their incredible support and kind words. Sadly, they think that they will never hear the words 'London Marathon' again but I will be back, as it will not beat me, so roll on October when I find out if I have been lucky enough in the Ballot for 2012!! 

Just after the London marathon, our Team Jones fundraising total stood at £5167, which is incredible! Particularly as our original target was £4,000; people's generosity has completed astounded us all. 

So, with two out of the three of us finishing the course, it was all down to the boys to get around Edinburgh on Sunday 22nd May. Find out in my next post how they got on!

If you would still like to show your support for the fantastic cause that is Maggie's cancer caring centres, then you can do so my visiting our webpage: www.justgiving.com/teamjones2011 

Reaping the rewards

Well, since my last blog, things have been somewhat up and down! 


A reward was offered for the return of my 'running mojo' following a disastrous attempt at a 16 miler, when my temperamental legs gave up the ghost at 3.5 miles resulting in a long, cold walk home followed by a week of (frustrating) rest.  The impact that something like an enforced break has on you is really hard, a lot harder than I thought it would be, especially psychologically and emotionally. Actually, scrap the enforced break part of the training, the whole training has been tough mentally, emotionally and physically. But the positive is when you think about how far you have come and look around you at all of the family, friends and total strangers who are supporting you through this whole epic challenge - be it with sponsorships, pledges, motivation, emotional support or all of the afore mentioned - and there is a glimmer of positivity and self belief that you can, and will, do this. A bit deep early on in the blog there people, sorry about that!


On a lighter note, the 'week of rest' seems to have helped and I managed to complete my last big run before the tapering weeks. 20 miles was the target and 20 miles we did, huzzah!The weather started off being in our favour with being a bit over cast and not too warm.....but the sun came out and I think it was the only time I have ever wished that it would go away! It was energy zapping and made us consume more of our water than expected. Again the generosity of complete strangers was amazing as we cheekily asked for a top up at the racehorse stables in Ginge and also from a couple doing some gardening in Upton! It certainly wasn't in the quickest of times but bearing in mind the niggles that Sam & I share between us...dodgy knees, tight leg muscles, a lot of fatigue and the odd bit of nerve damage to the toes...I think that 5 hours is blooming brilliant and it felt sooooo great to know that we can do it! And knowing that all the hard work we have put in, even on the 'off' days, has been worth it.  With the arrival of the final instructions for the big day, it is all becoming very real indeed........but in the words of a certain Mr Obama "Yes we can!"

The last few weeks have been a rollercoaster ride and a half of a crisis of confidence, followed by feelings of inadequacies & many scenarios of negative 'what ifs' but that's normal, right? (someone please say yes!) There have been many conversations between me, myself and I about positivity and visualising me running the course and the feeling I will have when (you see, when not if, It's working!!) I cross that finishing line and the immense sense of achievement and pride I will be rewarded with. 


And should I falter once more with any crisis of confidence I will think of all the people who we will be helping with our mammoth amount of money we have raised over the past few weeks and months. We have smashed our original target of £4,000 and could well hit the £5,000 mark. If you would like to support us, please visit our webpage at our Team Jones Justgiving page any amount you can offer will be gratefully received. 

So, with the reward offered for the return of my running mojo withdrawn, I can focus on the rewards ahead......knowing that completing the 26.2 mile world famous marathon route on Sunday April 17th will give me a huge sense of pride (and relief!) and by getting across that finishing line the money we have raised will help support people and their families living with cancer. In the words of Napolean Hill my mantra will be "Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit"


Only 2 weeks to go *gulp*......


www.maggiescentres.org
www.twitter.com/chiltondiva
www.justgiving.com/teamjones2011

Overwhelmed, every step of the way

Well, last weekend was our mammoth fundraising evening to help raise funds for Maggie’s cancer caring centres as part of the Team Jones 2011 marathon challenges. The weeks leading up to it were stressful as we wanted to ensure the night was as perfect as possible and that all who were coming were going to enjoy themselves and that we would raise as much money as possible - that’s a lot of pressure on only a few people; would we sell all the tickets, had we got enough raffle prizes and, if so, were they good enough to get people to actually buy some tickets, would people actually turn up, was the music the right style to get people up on the dance floor, had we raised people’s expectations too much on what to expect on the night??! Honestly, I now have a huge amount of respect for party organisers who go through this week after week after week! The team at Maggie’s were incredibly supportive and provided us with the largest ream of banners I have ever seen, a box full of balloons and some t shirts to wear on the night (wardrobe crisis averted – thank you Charley @ Maggie’s!) which helped us dress  the venue and made it look totally amazing and special.

It was a long day preparing the venue, putting up tables and table centre pieces, helping the band set up (I say helping but should really state that dancing & singing along to their sound check was as far as we went!) setting up the raffle prize table and making sure there were enough nibbles on the tables for our supportive family & friends but when 7pm came, we were as ready as we would ever be...and we really shouldn’t have worried! As a stream of guests arrived, they were greeted by Chris & Kev on the door and gently approached (I think hounded is really such a harsh word!) by Suzie, Sam & myself to buy raffle tickets for our fantastic draw later in the evening. I mean, who could resist the chance to win a Wii games console, a massive choctastic hamper, a trial flight in a glider, a family ticket to Cadbury World, bottles of booze, cuddly toys, a family photo session, a pink plunger  and afternoon tea for two at The Randolph to name but a few! The fantastic live music, courtesy of Steve & Paul Mellin aka 20^th Century Pop (www.20thcenturypop.co.uk) went down a storm and got everyone up on their feet, and surprised us all with copious amounts of costume changes & impersonations, truly brilliant (Freddie Mercury was a personal fav). The raffle went down a storm, despite a few issues with similar colours of raffle tickets but the compere, Prof John, did a sterling job of keeping everything on track. By the end of the night, the bar had been well visited, the snacks on the tables snacked upon and some serious shapes thrown on the dance floor. As the evening wound down at Midnight, we were faced with the task of tidying up and heading back home to grab a few hours sleep before tackling the Adidas Silverstone Half Marathon the following morning. Now, that’s commitment and I hasten to add that we all refrained from drinking alcohol during the evening – give or take a well deserved ½ pint or two!

To keep it brief, the Half Marathon was hard to say the least and in hindsight, wasn’t the cleverest of ideas we had, but knowing that we had secured a place for Maggie’s sealed the deal for us and we were committed to getting round, no matter what. Tiredness and lack of energy overwhelmed us every step of the way but we all made it round in one piece with finishing times between 2 hrs 13mins and 2 hours 52mins....and Suzie gained a NBF in the form of Katie Price en route!

The weekend was exhausting and challenging but completely worth it when I received the news of the amount of money we had raised on Saturday evening. A whopping £2717.34!! In one night!! To hear that all our family and friends had supported us by contributing so much money to our fantastic cause was completely overwhelming, astounding and pleasingly-shocking. And it made me incredibly proud knowing that everyone is wholeheartedly behind what we are doing, every step of the way.

We couldn’t have asked for a better night and cannot thank our family, friends & sponsors enough for their continued encouragement and support. It really means such a lot to us all and will make such a difference to helping us get around our marathon courses and, ultimately, helping Maggie’s to continue to provide their valuable support services to people and their families living with cancer.

We are now at an amazing £3847.34 on our fundraising target which, without wanting to labour the point is, bloomin’ fantastic! We are hopeful that we can meet, and hopefully exceed our £4,000 target so watch this space. And if you are feeling generous and want to support us, please visit www.justgiving.com/teamjones2011

But let us not forget that myself, Sam and Suzie have five weeks until the Virgin London Marathon with Chris and Kev have ten weeks until the Edinburgh Marathon so training is now firmly at the front of our minds. The most overwhelming task of all is yet to come..........

How mental are you?

I'm not being derogatory to anyone reading this, just alluding to the importance of being mentally ready for the mammoth task ahead and the training runs leading up to the big day itself. It goes back to my previous blog about 'Whatever it takes' (feel free to read it, I think it's quite good) to get you around be it the superstition element of your routine or actual true benefit of carrying out those 'rituals', for want of a better phrase. The mental state of mind has just as much to do with it as putting in the miles themselves. How often have you not been in the right frame of mind to do any task and failed because you're not quite feeling it, or you just can't get into the rhythm? How much of it is due to mental attitude of how you are approaching the task ahead? A hell of a lot. Now, obviously I'm not qualified as a psychoanalyst or in psychology so this is purely based on me but I definitely notice the different when I'm 'in the zone' and can have a much better run when I'm mentally ready for it. How do you get ready for it? At this stage in the training, you know what you have to do so need to strike the balance between knowing that you have to get the miles in versus any personal goals you might have set in terms of timings versus feeling good at the end of the run whilst ensuring that you remain uninjured. The phrase 'spinning plates' springs to mind. But the tolls of daily life sometimes allow little time for the transition from being in work mode to strapping on the shoes, plugging in the iPod and getting the miles under the belt, so it can be a struggle to switch your frame of mind. I know that I struggle with this and if anyone has any tips on how to mentally get prepared for the long training runs, the Silverstone Half and the Virgin London Marathon then please let me know, it could really help!

That said, this morning's training run of 11 miles (the first 10.5 miles without stopping, get me!!) was good; hard going but good. So how I can mentally get in the right place for this, after a week of rest, and get round so far without stopping is beyond me but I would like to replicate it at every run here on in, so I'll be thinking about how I prepared for this morning and repeating at every available chance......but maybe eating Quorn sausages, beans  & eggs and being tucked up in bed at 9.30am on a Saturday night is not the best for one's diet & social life!! It's all a 360 - what worked last time, what did I eat/drink the night before/morning of the run, what tunes were on the Pod, which route was it.....once again back to 'Whatever it takes' and mental prep. And focus. It's easy to see how training for such a big event can take over a huge part of your life, there's a lot more to it that putting one foot in front of the other with a bit of velocity. It's all a bit mental, to be honest.

Speaking of taking over a huge part of your life....there's the fundraising side of it too! We're doing really well so far with our online donations - if you'd like to support us, visit our Team Jones Just Giving web page - and we have sold out of our Maggie's Fundraising Evening tickets which we hope will give a welcome boost to our total and get us well on the way to exceeding our £4,000 target. Brilliant. Just Brilliant

The weeks are flying by and this time in 6 weeks it will all be over and I will no doubt be doing a 'Saturday night' i.e. tucked up in bed by 9.30pm - but it will have all been worth it. I hope. No, I know it will because as I said, it's all a bit mental :o)

Whatever it takes.....

Well, training has been a bit non-existent this week due to a niggling potential injury following last weekend’s planned 12 mile training run which actually turned into 10.5miles. Tuesday’s 6 miler was aborted after 2.5miles resulting in a slow cold walk home. Still, I’m resting this week until this Sunday’s 12 miler and with new trainers arriving tomorrow, I’m sure I’ll be good to go and get back on track with the miles. Up until now, it’s been going well and I have been feeling good after every run, with recovery time reducing and the endorphins kicking in. Last Thursday was the first run without any music at all following the unfortunate demise of my iPod but I managed it. I wasn’t sure if I could cope with a 12 miles ‘sans music’ so dug out the brick-like first generation of the iPod shuffle....maybe that’s where the injury came from; too much extra weight onboard! It’s funny how we get used to, and attached to, certain items, ways and superstitions; can’t run without music, can’t run without that water bottle, can’t run unless I wear a cap, can’t run unless I’m on the right side of my running mate (you know who you are!), only one song can spur you on to the end, got to have an energy tablet/bar at x miles, can run better in this t-shirt etc, etc.  I’m also convinced that the much debated ice baths help too although it’s a mental struggle to get into the water in the first place but I feel much better afterwards. (I would recommend if you’re brave enough!) So how much of it is psychological and how much of these things really matter, really make a difference? If I’m honest, as long as it gets me through and round which ever course I am running, then I will keep on wearing the t-shirt, taking the energy tablet at the x miles, listening to the best running song and making sure my running mate is on the right side of me!

It’s just over a week to go until our Team JonesBig Weekend; Saturday 5^th March being our fundraising evening followed by the Silverstone Half Marathon on Sunday 6^th March. We’ve sold out on our fundraising night and have some great raffle prizes so we should raise a good bit of money on the night too. Maggies have been great with their support and the hall will be well kitted out on the evening to make it look as spectacular as possible. We’re all hopeful for a big night and that everyone has a fantastic time and we’re making sure we do all we can to make it happen! So, if you’re coming along and reading this, you’re in for a cracking night; if you’re not lucky enough to be coming then you’ll just have to check back here in a week’s time to hear all about it!

If you want to support us in our quest, you can sponsor us at www.justgiving.com/teamjones2011 

A lot of firsts....

Well it's my first foray into blogging and I never thought I would get to do this, I mean, who wants to read what I'm doing in my life? The answer being that I'll just have to wait and see!

One of the reasons for the blog is to keep everyone updated on the progress of the training for my first ever London Marathon (VLM). Yes. Me, running a marathon. I know, it's a little hard for me to get my head around it too but I've had my bluff called (so to speak) and am doing it in 9 weeks time. Oh lordy, I've just realised its in 9 weeks time, eek! I'm running for Maggie's cancer caring centres http://www.maggiescentres.org/ and have a target of £4k to raise for them, along with two friends who are running the VLM and their husbands who are running the Edinburgh marathon. Don't be misled, none of us are athletes - or claim to be - so it's hard. Very hard. But we're doing it and will get round the course. So expect a few more updates as the weeks go by on how we're getting on.

As a sign off, I have to figure out how to get my iPod to work again after it becoming water logged during last night's 6 mile training run in the pouring rain. At least I know I'm not a fair weather runner. Every cloud and all that jazz.