Wonderful feeling! Wonderful day !!!

So, today was the day. The 10k day. I woke with the alarm at 8am. Don't laugh !!I do like my bed. Having had baked potatoes last night, I continued my carb quest with organic porridge for breakfast and a banana an hour before the race. To be honest it was like forcing down liquid cardboard. I was soooooo excited/nervous that I didn't feel like eating, but I knew I had to, so I did.

The day was GLORIOUS!! Blue skies and sunshine, a frosty feel to the air, dew on the grass. My plan was to take it slow, about 7 minutes per kilometre, walk through the water station and run as much as I could. I started at the back of the runners and even though I was plodding I steadily made my way through - a new sensation, I can tell you. Me ? Overtaking people ?? At the halfway mark water station I walked while I drank the set off again.

At 6k I got a stitch in my side, something I have never had before.I had just run up a hill which was the biggest on the course, so maybe that had something to do with it ? I couldn't run it off so I let myself walk for 1 minute and get my breathing steady ( not that it wasn't steady anyway ) and stretched my side a bit. Then off I ran. The stitch was gone and I felt good.

At 9 k I let myself walk for 1 more minute and then just ran.I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed myself !! The course was gorgeous, across parkland and through woods, mostly flat and downhill with a few uphills thrown in for good luck ! But none of the hills were anything compared to what I am used to slogging up so I felt proud of myself for running up them. Lots of other people were walking too !!

At the start my lovely friend GB1 was there with her daughter. They screamed encouragement there, midway and at the end. It brought a lump to my throat and meant the world to me. As did the support of M and my mum who drove for over 2 hours to be there for me. My mum would never have come without M so I owe her !! At the halfway point M was there with the camera, shouting me on.

As the end drew near I was full of energy. I think I smiled the whole way round !! The marshalls were fantastic, my favourite one was singing " Zippedy doodah! Zippedy ay ! Wonderful feeling!! Wonderful day !! " And that was just how I felt. All these weeks of training have made me stronger and easily capable of running 10k. Who would have thought ??!! I kept to my plan and finished in 1hour and 15 minutes. I know that's pretty slow really, but this is all part of my master plan and I was glad that I set myself a target and met it. It felt amazing to be so in charge of my body.

As I ran through the finish my Man was there and, with him, my boys, M, GB1 and my Mum. It brought a lump to my throat and pride to my heart. Thank you to them and to everyone who sponsored me. That is the end oh Part One of my Training Plan. Now I move on to Part Two.

Flora London Marathon........ I'm a coming !!