It’s The Final Countdown

Well it is two days to the marathon and the nerves are really setting in. Whilst this past months training has been extremely disappointing I am still looking forward to getting out there on Sunday and completing the distance, no matter what!
I have been referred to the Physio and after our first consultation she has said that the cartilage surrounding the floating ribs is inflamed and that the two are rubbing together which is causing the pain. She is hopeful that it will burn itself out eventually and that I can continue to train without causing further damage. I do however need to concentrate on keeping myself healthy as the coughing is exacerbating the pain and stopping it from healing. So hopefully with a bit of rest and recuperation after the marathon I will be ready for my next race.
As well as this blog, I was asked by Dementia UK to write a Guest Blog for their website about why I was doing this challenge. I got to write about my Grandma and her experience with dementia and how it affected me and my family. Please follow the link below to read the article:

https://www.dementiauk.org/running-300km-for-dementia-uk/

A massive thank you to all my supporters from the last week. I am now 40% of the way to my target which is a great place to be at this point in the challenge. I would love to get close to 50% of the way by the time I finish the marathon though! Thank you to:
Laura Doyle, Emma Jessup, Daniel Ryan, Lisa Lane, Trevor Francis, Val Storey, Marina Elstob, Stephen Pattinson and my Anonymous Donor!

If you haven’t donated yet and would like to then please visit my fundraising page at:

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/HelenFrancis10

Thank you for all the support. I’ll see you on the other side!

Comments

It was raining.....

I completed the first 5k of my challenge on Saturday at Bedford Parkrun. It was raining....a lot! So I managed to drag my freezing cold and wet behind around the course in 29:24 placing 233rd out of 418. Not my best time but definitely a good place to start. I am planning on doing the Parkrun every month this year and hopefully with some more training and some better weather I will look less of a mess than I do in this picture! Please visit my fundraising page and help support me in this challenge. I am still looking for that first donor to get me started. Will you be the first?? https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/HelenFrancis10

Half Marathon Success

Slightly red faced after the Hampton Court Half Marathon This morning I had the pleasure of getting up at 5:30am and travelling to Hampton Court for my first half marathon of the challenge. It was absolutely freezing when we arrived but by the time the race started the sun had come out and it was perfect running conditions. Despite arriving only thirty minutes before the gun went off and navigating my way through the insanely long lines for the toilets, I was ready to go at 8:30 am and start my run around the Thames Ditton area accompanied by a slightly wheezy Batman and a gentleman who loudly shouted encouragement to himself when things got tough! The first half of the race was fairly sedate but I managed to push through the second half and storm down the finish coming in at 2:03:32 which was over ten minutes faster than my current PB. Woo hoo! It only got better when I looked into my goody bag and discovered a Tunnocks Caramel Wafer! That made all the pain worth it. The hour an

Wish Me Luck, I’m Going to Need It!

It has been a really tough month in my marathon training and I am hoping my luck will change NOW! After the success of the Hampton Court Half Marathon I unfortunately had to take nine days off training due to a bad cold. Whilst I was annoyed that I was ill I thought “Well at least I am getting the illness over with now” I was wrong! Raring to go after my forced rest the Beast from the East had me running in -4 temperatures and forcing me into the gym to run on the treadmill which I absolutely hate. I managed to get out and run 16 miles once the snow had melted before being hit with the flu on Mother’s Day. We are 13 days on from then and I still have a chesty cough and have managed to pull the muscles around my ribs from coughing which is painful to say the least. Tomorrow is the Bedford 20. ‘20 Miles of Magic’ supposedly although I am currently sceptical! So what do I do? Should I withdraw from the race because running probably isn’t the best idea right now or should I give it a go

300km for Dementia UK

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