This is my last post about the marathon I promise! Even I’m getting tired of hearing and talking about it. 

In the grand tradition of running blogs this entry is supposed to be a post-event overview but to be honest there isn’t much to say. The first half was tough the second half was worse and involve me getting almost run over by a giant Bagpuss (he was on the telly!). Although my legs muscles are a little sore it’s my joints that truly hate me now. But I did have some fun along the way. Not least because my iPod decided to play Hammertime 3 times in the course of 2 hours (can’t touch this) 😄

Besides any pain I’m in now is entirely my own fault. I didn’t train properly and somewhere along the way I lost enthusiasm in the whole thing which I think was worse. I am however very glad I did it. Not least cause I managed a course PB, and the whole process has taught me a lot. Such as 

1) if a training programme recommends lots of running you should probably do that (or at least some of it)

2) I really don’t like running and am not a natural distance runner

3) my dislike of Blackpool marathon was not just because it was horrible but also because I don’t like running. Had I not run London again I would always have wondered. 

4) while physical fitness is important mental strength is perhaps even more so. I clearly didn’t do the training required to run a marathon but positive thinking, self-belief and sheer stubbornness got me round in a fairly decent time (albeit slow) and without permanent injury 😄

5) London 2012, while being both my first and slowest marathon, will always be the one I enjoyed most

While it was my little legs and crazy mind that got me round the course on Sunday I couldn’t have done it without the support of my dear family and friends. Massive thank you to you all for putting up with all the running talk, for encouraging me and for cheering me on!

Extra special thanks go to:

– Tom who managed to convince me that I could run further than a 10K in the first place, for braving the hideous Blackpool marathon with me, and for all the support and advice along the way.

– Ying for braving that first half marathon with me on an unseasonable warm April day in Edinburgh.

– Anne Caroline for getting me fit enough to try my second marathon and PB the half marathon shortly beforehand. It was the first (and only) time I ran all the way round! 

– Rash and Nish at Lift365 for trying to encourage me to run and getting my fitness back up to a level where I could survive the marathon. 

– and last but by no means least, Agata from Bromley Massage Therapy who tried her best to fix my very tight muscles ahead of the marathon so I wouldn’t injury something. Plus she going to (hopefully) fix all the marathon damage later this week. 

That’s the last big run I do and the last one I will blog about (probably). In the future I will be focusing on getting my weight down, fitness up and trying to lift heavier weights 😄🏋🏻

So I’ve been keeping pretty calm on the build up to race day. This has generally been through refusing to think about it properly and breaking it down into little tasks. Tuesday this week I bought all my supplies and started putting together stuff I needed to take. Thursday I went to the expo and registered. Saturday I got my kit bag packed and checked through my iPod to make sure I wouldn’t have to skip stuff too much. 

This morning was less calm. I tried to break things down again. First have breakfast (not easy when nervous), shower, dressed, triple check all kit and train times then walk to the station. That’s all done now and I’m on my way to the start with plenty of time to get lost, delayed or queue several times for the toilets. But I’m fast approaching the point where the next thing to do will be ‘run the marathon’ and no matter how much I try to break it down I have a rising sense of panic! Hopefully it’ll be fine once I start but that’s a few hours off yet!!!

Deep breaths. Think calm. Keeps eyes open for famous people 😊😳🏃🏻. 🏅?

Just one little week left and it will all be over. I’m very much looking forward to not having to think about running and not having to feel guilty about not running. I’m hoping the day itself goes well but to be honest I’m not sure it will. As I’m sure you can imagine I am feeling very underprepared and quite anxious. I think determination to finish (or sheer stubbornness) will see me through. Only time will tell and it’s gonna take a long time for Tam to get round the course!! 

Just have to stay positive, enjoy being outside and keep putting one foot in front of the other (preferably in the direction of the finish line!). 

With just over a week to go it’s time to accept that there’s not much left to do before the big day. No amount of running training now is going to help. 

I’ve been fairly defiant of the standard marathon training rules so far – I’ve not stuck to a consistent programme of varied running training, I don’t carbo-load and I haven’t yet run anything into double figures since my last marathon in 2013. There are a few rules that are not to be messed with though including not running in shiny new kit and not trying fancy new food the day before or day of a race. 

That does leave me with one rule led to break though. And break it I did 😄 never get your first sports massage just before the big day. Now while yesterday’s massage was my second and it was a good week before the big day it does rather fly in the face of convention which lets face it is part of the fun! Many people take this marathon training Malarky far too seriously. 

The massage itself went well. My first massage just a week before hand had been tough and very painful and the lovely lady masseuse said that I had the tightest muscles she’d seen in a long while. That apparently is not a compliment! She was amazed I could run at all let alone run a marathon. Still she did her best to fix me and the results of her hard work proved good in my second massage. This time it was lots less painful (note I said less not un painful). Apparently my back, hamstrings and calves are 40-50% better than they were and even my quads and hips (my main concern) are better. That’s me done though till after the big day. So in the mean time I’m going to stretch, foam roll and hot bath my way through the next week in the hopes that my legs and hips last the course. I’m sure it’ll be fine 😊

Next challenge is deciding what I’m going to eat/drink on the day. Do I switch to gels? Or stick to old faithful jelly beans? I have a week to trial stuff and figure it out. All fun and games this running lark 🏃🏻

There is now less than 2 weeks to go until the big day and I’m starting to feel a little nervous. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that I haven’t done much in the way of running training so far and a fair bit to do with so many people telling me I shouldn’t do it. To be fair they probably have a point. I initially entered the ballot to see if I could run a third marathon (3 makes it science) and hopefully better my time. Somewhere along the way though it became more important for me to succeed in the challenge of training. That may sound stupid to most people but I’ve done 2 marathons and 7 half marathons to date and some of very little/no training. So I know come race day I’m stubborn enough to complete the course. I know my physical limits so I’m unlikely to push myself too hard but I’ll get there in the end. The challenge for me has always been with training. More specifically with consistent training. I tend to lose interest, get injured or get distracted and time flies by before I’ve really noticed. Sadly that was also the case this time. Despite my best intentions time has flown by over the last few months and I have failed to run consistently. That said I have been working out at least twice a week, I have improved both my strength and aerobic fitness and am now seeing a sports masseuse who is going to try to fix me before the big day. So I am hopeful that the day itself will be quite fun if a little painful. 

The plan then for the next few weeks is some what different to my fellow runners. They have all put in lots of running training and have thoroughly exhausted themselves if the latest Facebook posts are anything to go by. Many are also injured so by comparison I’m not doing too bad. They are now looking to taper their running over the next few weeks so that they are full of energy on the start line. I’ve never really understood the point of tapering but then I’ve never run enough beforehand to get a chance to taper 😊 this time will be no different. 

I currently have a week or so off work. I will mostly be concentrating on studying but it does give me the time and, more importantly, the daylight to fit in a few weekday runs. The aim is to fit in 3 runs before I back to work on 18th. If I do more then great! But it seems unrealistic to expect that I will based on past behaviour. I’m gonna do 2 short(ish) runs of 5-10k just to get my legs used to running and figure out the best outfit for the current weather and then try a longer one mostly so I can burn off enough calories to try out some gels. In the past I have fuel on sugar (generally jelly beans or chocolate raisins) but thought I’d try gels this time. Less stuff to carry being the main incentive. I also have round 2 with my sports masseuse to look forward to. I still have bruises from round 1 which was a week ago!! Apparently all my muscles are consistently tight and she was amazed I managed to run at all, ever, let alone run 2 marathons before. She’s going to work on loosening my shins, calves and hamstrings which are so tight they are causing my hip flexors to hurt pretty much all the time. Hopefully it will help me get round more of the course before things start to hurt. Anything up to 18 miles would be great as I can push through for the last few miles. But time will tell. 

In the interim I’m going to have one final push to reach my fundraising target. I’m only £140 short now so should be doable. Feel free to donate after reading this by visiting my fundraising page at uk.virginmoneygiving.com/trainingtam 😄