Ok. Not to panic or anything, but since I did my last long run - 23 miles 2 weeks ago - I've only done one 10 mile run and some kung fu classes and short runs!!!
Now I know that in theory this is exactly what's supposed to happen - in the last couple of weeks you're supposed to taper down your training and rest your muscles a bit more so that you're not tired on the Big Day. But being a first time marathoner I can't help feeling like I've completely lost my momentum. Mainly because I came down with a cough in the last week which has stopped me sleeping properly and have only done one 10 mile run in the last 6 days - and that was on Monday.
Anyway, being philosophical about it I realise there is nothing I can do now except hope and pray that my cough goes away ASAP and make sure I carb load in the days leading up to the race, and sleep asap.
But given the amount of training I've done for this, I thought it only fair to give my charity, the British Heart Foundation, one last shameless plug. I've already raised the minimum I needed to run the race so don't feel compelleoverwheld to give, but if you're reading this and this hits close to home and you do feel like donating I would of course be grateful as will the British Heart Foundation: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JodieSurendran . I want to write a bit about why I run and how I came to this point where I feel this ming urge to run a marathon - and if successful probably longer distances eventually, if I can avoid injuries.
Like many people who discover running and fall in love with it, I use running as a kind of meditation - a sanctuary from my everyday life as a headhunter which can be extremely challenging and fast paced. There is something about running which allows you to let go of a lot of things mentally and just concentrate on the rhythm of your stride, or lose yourself in some music. For me, it's a great opportunity to be more aware of God and just generally the world around me and stop thinking about the little things in life which are really unimportant in the grand scheme of things.
I said at the beginning of this blog that my dad, Dr PN Surendran, who died in August 2010, was the original inspiration for this marathon as after his death I needed something consistent to focus on and as his heart was one of the many things that led to his death it made sense to choose the British Heart Foundation as a charity. He was proud of the extensive training I have been doing over the last few years for various challenges and always encouraged me.
However another source of motivation for my training has been the sheer amount of comments - even from people who are complete strangers - along the lines of this:
"You're running HOW far? I could never do that."
"Wow, you must have a lot of energy."
etc etc.
Every time someone says something like this to me I can't help but have a little smile to myself as it just couldn't be further from the truth. And the truth is: with the exception of those who are physically unable to run, the vast majority of us can do this. I don't care how old you are, or how unfit you think you are, or how little self discipline you tell yourself you have. If you decided to, I bet you a hundred quid you could run a marathon. I should know. I'm not even a good runner. I doubt I'm even average. But I'm doing it, and enjoying it.
So, watch this space, I will be blogging my final time (assuming I finish - eek!!!). And if you do feel like donating, you would be very welcome to support me at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JodieSurendran .
Thank you for reading!
Jodie x
