The countdown is now on…only 5 days left to go until the London Marathon!!! 

After 3 months of fitness training, followed by 4 months of marathon training and numerous weeks of fighting knee injury, I am now injury-free and ready to step up to that start line!!! 

Whilst excited almost beyond containment, I must admit that the nerves are starting to get the better of me and there have been numerous nights of restless sleep over the last two weeks.  I can only hope to turn these nerves into positive “speedy gonzales” energy come this Sunday :o)

Over the next 6 days I must also settle on a plan of attack.  Attempting 26.2miles/42.2km without one will surely bring me to hit the dreaded wall otherwise!! At this stage, I hope to run between 9min & 9min 30sec miles and will adopt the run/walk strategy if the temperature on Sunday is forecasted hot. (Despite being Australian, I would melt running in anything above 15 degrees!)

I really appreciate all the support everyone has given me to date and I hope you will also choose to come and cheer me on this Sunday!!! 26.2miles is just as much a mental challenge as a physical challenge…seeing you there will mean a lot.

A big thank you again to all of you for your support.  The current fundraising total now stands at £3,030.95. 

Just think, by this time next week…I’ll be one marathon down, one more still to go and I’ll be the proud owner of legs that will only walk down stairs backwards!!!  :o)

Yesterday I undertook another public dress rehearsal and ran the Bromley 5km race in full costume!!!

I am very pleased with my latest achievement…I won the ‘Best Fancy Dress’ prize of the day, was the second female runner to cross the finish line and I managed to achieve my personal best time of 22min 45sec which has only ever been done once before and which I never thought would be possible again. 

I am also very proud of Aaron, who despite the fact that he ”hates” running, he ran the 5km race too and finished in a very respectable time of 30mins :o)  Well done xx

The costume made a second public appearance…this time in the Bromley Times Newspaper!!!  They called me a ‘wanna bee’  (hehehe)

I have attached the link to the article below:

http://www.bromleytimes.co.uk/search/story.aspx?brand=BMLYTOnline&category=News&itemid=WeED08%20Apr%202009%2016:02:16:720&tBrand=BMLYTOnline&tCategory=search

The Bumble Bee made it’s first public appearance on the weekend!!  I ran my 15 mile (24km) training run along the River Thames in full costume.  It took alot of nerve to work up the courage…but I did it!!!  Wig, fake eyelashes, antennas, wings…the whole she-bang! 

We arrived into London Bridge at 7.30am and almost immediately it began to rain.  While waiting for the rain to ease I almost lost my nerve…but 15mins later, we were off…me running and hubby riding next to me (there was no way I was doing this run alone!!). Luckily London Bridge was fairly quiet that time of morning, but definitely not so lucky on the return!!

Some people did a double take, others pretended they didn’t see me, lots gave smiles, cheers and knowing nods.  There were also the random comments, such as ‘What the frig?’ and ‘Hey George, I just seen a bumble bee go running past!’ and ‘I’m sure there is a perfectly good explanation?’ and ‘Are you running the London Marathon?’.  I also managed to capture the attention of an entire tour bus of young/old and became the tourist camera focus point at Tower Bridge.

I really enjoyed the run and I am proud for pushing myself outside my comfort zone.  Besides the fake eyelashes which I have never in my life worn before, my biggest worry was the wings; how they would move and if the elastic would rub.  The test run proved successful…the costume was comfortable and no adjustments needed.

So, next weekend is the Bromley 5km Fun Run…I plan to give the costume another rehearsal, this time under race conditions and under a larger public eye :o)

Too easy…I’ll Bee!!!  

I ran my last long run one the weekend in full.  It was a good test for my ITB and knee to see how they held up and luckily, whilst sore, I didn’t have any problems at all.  Now the real question is:

To Run or Not to Run?

I really want to run the entire marathon!  I love the physical and mental challenge of the long distances, the marathon is a distance you really have to respect.  However, it has taken me longer to recover from the run and I have noticed how much more tiring it was in comparison to the Run/Walk strategy.  This is something also to consider:

20 miles (32.5km) took 3hr 4min to run in full.

20.5 miles (33km) took 3hr 12min using the run/walk strategy.

There really isn’t a huge difference in times achieved and the run/walk offers so many benefits.  Yet, can I bring myself to walk on the big day itself?  I think it is going to take more self control to use the run/walk strategy than to run the entire distance…I think I will sleep on it for the moment :o)

With less than three weeks till my first marathon, it is time to consider the taper (cutting back the training in prep for the Big Day!).  Whilest most marathon plans recommend a three week taper, I am only planning to shorten my long endurance run this week, then focus on tapering my mid-week runs for the last two weeks, as I still have the second marathon to consider yet.  Yikes!

With last weekend being my last longest run, I hadn’t worked up the courage to run it in costume!  It’s a shame as the weather was perfect testing conditions…so now I am considering a test run this weekend…oh my!  :o)  The test run is vital before the big day, to allow me to make any changes or alterations to keep it as comfortable as possible.  I can just imagine the looks I am going to get already….

FLM.  Flora London Marathon.

Not long to go now, less than 4 weeks!!!  I am now in my final week of intensive training.  On Sunday, I completed 31km (19miles) on a treadmill…I chose the treadmill as it is kinder to the legs/knees.  I had a fantastic run, though I am sure the others in the gym thought I was bonkers…I got through the first hour on ABBA, the second hour on INXS and the third hour on EURYTHMICS.

Another great run last night…I even set a new PB (Personal Best) time for 10km…50mins!  I can see my training is definitely peaking.  I have another long run planned for this weekend, it will be my longest and final before the London Marathon, then my training will begin to taper (decrease).

I got my Red Laces!!!

All London Marathoners were sent a pair of Red Laces to wear on the big day, on behalf of HEART UK.  In previous years, money was donated to this charity for each runner who crossed the finish line wearing their famous red laces. 

I put my laces on my shoes on Sunday evening…I was so excited, I felt like I had a new toy and couldn’t wait to try them out!!  I ran with them last night in the gym…got a few looks…but couldn’t see anyone else wearing them.

Whilest the average person on the street may just think I have a strange sense of fashion, it is a great tool for us 55,000 London marathon runners to identify each other with.  Now I am on the lookout constantly…I am yet to spot another pair in my community.  No doubt I will spot plenty of them during my final long run this weekend along the Thames River Path.

Check out my cool Red Laces on my photo page :o)  However, for the big day, I am thinking of switching my Red Laces for my charity’s Orange Laces!!!!!!