Sweet baby jeebus, where did that 8 months go ? It doesn't seem that long ago I was just embarking on this adventure and now its less than two weeks before I fly out to Ouarzazate in Southern Morrocco and board a bus for 6 hours that'll take us out into the desert.
Training continues to go well, with albeit less mileage being covered in the weeks up to the race. One particular highlight was a parkrun I did in Swansea Bay two weeks ago. I hadn't done a competitive 5K for some time, so I thought I'd give it a go and see where I end up. Due to the nature of my training for this event, speed work has been restricted to the club sessions when I can make it. So off I went at a decent pace and managed to keep it going for the full distance, crossing the line in 20 minutes 59 seconds ... yes ! I'd PB'd my 5K time by 46 seconds, along with a few others from my club as well. Looking forward to more speed work on my return and to see if I can get close to 20 minutes before the year end ( I may be dreaming a bit here but look at the title of this blog !)
Following on from that success, did a nice half along Swansea Bay, with full kit weight on my back, half of the distance was on sand as well. Then on the following Saturday, hit Merthyr Mawr again, this time with fellow Port Talbot man Chris Rees ( who's also doing MdS ) and did just under 22 miles, again with 8kg on my back. That long run signalled taper time, so a couple of short runs and pacing a friend to a 5K PB on the weekend has been the sum efforts during the lull before the storm !
I've signed up to do a few hot pod yoga sessions, to help get used to expending effort in some heat. I did my first Easter Monday, now, I have the flexibility of a house brick, so yoga is hard enough for me, but in around 35 degrees heat ... it was memorable for sure !
Kit admin is all but done, just need to buy the remaining food ( nuts, chorizo etc) and vacuum pack it all into the separate day bags .... one last bit of admin that was carried out was the ECG and medical examination. A very kind gentleman performed it all for free which was very generous of him. My local GP would not do it for fear of litigation and a private hospital wanted £150 !
On the fundraising side of things, its taken off in the last couple of weeks. One big bonus has been the great gesture that Amanda and Chris Erskine made on their wedding day, where they requested people donate to my fundraising page instead of giving them presents ... the running total is in excess of £6150 ( theres some adding up to do with cash I've collected recently along with the online donations) ... so it's there or thereabouts !
For those who are interested, there is a chance to track my progress during the race, you can register here to do that, and I also believe there is a method for emailing me ( I will get emails each evening - which I'd appreciate if you have the time !).
Here's the link --> http://live.marathondessables.com/
Anyhow, ending this blog with the heading, " You will never know your limits until you push yourself past them" ... this is so true, I never dreamt in a million years I'd be embarking on this run. Similarly, I've seen people achieve so much in the past year, from sub 3 hour marathons, to completing their first 5K ... all great achievements which are not to be sneered at .... its great to see people try something they fear and come out the other side smiling & signing up for more and more races .... its addictive !
As normal, heres the link to my fundraising page, if you can spare some cash, it would be very much appreciated --> click me to give me your money ;-)
Special mention to The Camel Club ... keep up the great work team !
Til next time
Fatboy
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