in the words of the Wonderpets

This is serious! 28 weeks to go. No more rest days, no more colds, no more sore backs, no more summer holidays, no more messing about. So today whilst the children were at school I got the little one off to bed for an afternoon nap and fired up the treadmill. I am slightly ashamed to admit that apart from a little run before my sinus infection became a chest infection, I haven’t really done a thing all summer.

I ran for a whole half a mile without stopping, which might sound like nothing, but it’s not. It’s fabulously amazing and I am really pleased with myself. No runabitwalkabit, but proper half a mile of running. Not bad considering I haven’t done anything for aeons. I did a good bit of brisk walking too. I have my training programme all sorted out now, and I’m going to post it up on the blog on a page of its own.

But first I’m in the process of moving house. I’ve become a dot com, a decade late. Fashion never was my strong point. I’m hoping that if I start training with a marathonmummy.com t-shirt on, I’ll gather lots of supporters who’ll give lots of money to Heart Research UK.

no more excuses

I wasn’t going to run today because I’m tired and I still feel grim. Then I saw a friend running past my house and I remembered that I have a marathon in just over seven months. (Seven months! Argh!)

Those of you allergic to boring details, skip this paragraph. I ran as follows: Run 1m, Walk 1m, Run 2m, Walk 1, Run 1m30s, Walk 1m, Run 1m, Walk 1m, Run 1m, collapse in sweating heap whilst walking for several minutes, Run 1m30s, cool down. For run, read jog at a really pathetic snail’s speed, but I’ve set the treadmill at 1% and I’m planning to put it up to 2% next. The back of my calves was a bit achey, so I’m hoping that was because of the virtually non-existent gradient. I’d like to say how far I ran, but being a bit of an airhead I forgot to check before I turned the treadmill off. It was probably a mile. Only 25.2 more of them, as Zoe likes to tell me on a regular basis. She’s doing really well on her training. I’d like to say that sibling rivalry is spurring me on, but instead I’m wondering if I could wear rollerskates and she could tow me along.

Oh dear. I am a bit of a mid-afternoon slump person, and that combined with being a bit tired from running has left me inarticulate and needing to have a little snooze on the couch. Can you just imagine something entertaining here, whilst I have a little sleep? Zzzzz.

brace yourselves

It’s a little known fact that Paula Radcliffe and I share a pre-running ritual. We like to get up, get our children off to school, then stop at the roadside cafe for a bacon roll and a delicious polystyrene cup of builder’s tea. Then we pop into Ikea for a bit of shopping with our friends, followed by a healthy lemon and ginger tea (very good for the energy levels) and a slice of Dime cake. Then, and only then, do we head home for our daily training.

Yes. I did say training. It’s official, I have dusted off the trainers (and removed a fine layer of dog hair and fluff from the treadmill) and this afternoon, fuelled by cake-made-from-chocolate-bars, I ran. Shuffled, really. Gosh it’s sweaty, this running business, isn’t it? I ran and walked for a mile and a bit, whilst watching Strictly Come Dancing on tv. There was an awful lot more walking than running, and my face looked like a very red thing when I was finished, but it’s a start. Only another 24 and a bit miles and I’d have done a marathon. If Eddie Izzard can do 43 marathons in 52 days with only 5 weeks of training, I can run one with 7 months. Just keep your fingers crossed, everyone, that there are no more back problems, chest infections, holidays or other excitements. From now on it’s serious.

crossing a line

I ran this morning.

I ran for 10 minutes and 20 seconds.

I ran without stopping. I ran when my legs hurt, I ran when my heart was pounding, I even ran when I felt sick. I kept going because yesterday the currently-injured Other Runner in our house was really lovely and encouraging when I whinged about my crap run yesterday morning and he said the hard bit was running through the pain. So today I ran and thought about the things that were irritating me and used them to keep going, and I looked at the lambs getting fat and the yarrow taking over the verges and the tiny crab apples starting on the trees and I listened to the birds and I didn’t stop running. And I kept on going when my legs hurt because I remembered that I had given birth four times and that pain wasn’t always a bad thing. And then a van stopped in a gateway in front of me and a man got out and I thought oh help he’s going to say something rude about fat girls running.

But he didn’t. He said ‘keep going, you’re doing really well’ and I said ‘don’t…I have to run a marathon next year’ and he said ‘nice one, keep it up’.

So I did.

my legs are like a shield of…wobbly stuff

I stayed up till midnight last night reading which was a really bad idea. At 4.30 I was woken up by about fifty million birds yelling outside my bedroom window, and I eventually dragged myself out the door about an hour later feeling like death.

I did 7x 1minute walk, 1 minute run, plus walking to warm up and cool down (aka get my breath back). My legs were like lead weights and I got cramp in both calves – something tells me that’ll be the late night and 2 large glasses of wine before bed catching up with me! I’m going to have to start being a bit more virtuous and only drinking on a Saturday night, I think. No more celebrating the end of the weekend with cheesecake and wine.

Anyway,  the good news is my marathon pack from Heart Research UK has arrived. The bad news is the running vest is rather small (and other excuses). I tried it on this morning and couldn’t move in it, and when I showed my friends they peed themselves laughing and then J had to help me out of it whilst I was helpless with laughter. I bet that never happens to Paula Radcliffe.

Finally

Dear Rachael,

Thank you for entering the ballot for the 2010 Virgin London Marathon

We’ll let you know in early October 2009 if you’ve secured a place – you’ll receive a magazine through the post letting you know if you’ve been successful.

We started trying to get on to the Virgin London Marathon website at 9 this morning, and finally, 12 hours later and so many hits on the ‘refresh’ button later, we’ve done it. K, my sister Z and hopefully as we speak S is celebrating having completed her ballot application too. If we get a ballot place, we’ll all still run for our chosen charities, so they’ll make even more money. Fingers crossed till August now…that seems a long way off.

Eek

Well, having watched the marathon all day today, I’m feeling excited and terrified in equal measure. The ballot opens tomorrow morning and so I’ll be online at 9 trying for a place, although I’m hoping to get a place to run for Heart Research along with Z, in memory of Dad. Just watching the stories of the charity runners today I was sniffling, and knowing us we’ll probably cry our way round London next year.

Next mission: start working out a training schedule. Ooh er.

You know they say you have to walk before you can run…?

Well, I say no, I think I’ll just leap in there in my usual fashion.

So I got up and went for another run, but the difference this time was that I’d read Running Made Easy, a book given to me by my friend and marathon running goddess, J. The book shows you how to go from couch-ridden chocolate eating lardypants (aka me) to marathon running wonderperson, simply by combining little bursts of running with bigger bursts of walking. So, I followed the instructions and did the following:

1 minute (Ooh, this is easier than the other day! Look at me, passing cars, I’m running!) jogging, 3 minutes walking, 1 minute (Hang on, this is really painful – how can 60 seconds be so LONG?) jogging, 3 minutes walking, I minute (Help!) jogging, 3 minutes walking, 1 (final and very painful) minute jogging and 3 (breathless, leg-aching, why-am-I-doing-this-I-should-be-in-bed) minutes walking.

Whilst I was jog/run/walking, I mulled over the secret little idea I’d had the day before, and when I got home I told K I’d decided to run the London Marathon in a year’s time. It’s always been an ambition of mine to run a marathon, and now the children are old enough with them all at school or pre-school (or nearly). He was planning to run it next year in any case, and my-friend-J has a deferred place for next year, so I’d have moral support. When I talked about it with fellow beginning-running friend S, she agreed she’d love to do it too. All this from a vague conversation a few weeks ago about doing the Race for Life, but running it instead of walking it! Oops.