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
