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
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