Running Through the Pain to a Parkrun PB

Bedford Parkrun

I took ten days off training after the Bedford 20 in the hopes that my rib injury would heal in that time.....it hasn’t. I think it actually might be a bit worse. Every time I laugh or cough (or cry at this point) it exacerbates it. So what to do now? Drug myself up at every opportunity and continue like nothing has changed! Granted this isn’t the greatest of plans and I will probably be in a world of pain after the marathon but I don’t feel like I have a choice. The marathon was the beginning of this challenge; where it all stemmed from and I feel like if I cant complete this marathon then it will all have been a failure. So yesterday I headed to Bedford for another Parkrun in a bid to convince myself that running 5k will be about the same as running as 42k. So I lined up at 0900hrs ready to start and when I started running I felt pretty good. A bit of pain in the ribs but overall very good. That lasted for about half a mile before I started feeling like I was dragging around lead legs and someone was stabbing me in the ribs. But I pushed on and managed to finish the race in 27:52 which was actually about 1:40 quicker than the last Parkrun I did in January. So its not all bad news and I’m hoping that it wont be as painful doing the marathon as I will be running at a slower pace (I realise I’m kidding myself here as running a marathon with no injuries will be painful). I continue to be stubborn and ignore advice from others and I can assure you that I will cross that finish line next Sunday even if I have to crawl across it! Wish me luck!

Thank you to my sponsors from the past two weeks who have pushed me to 33% of the way to be target. I would love to be nearing 50% by the time I run the marathon. Thank you to:
Viv St Leger Moore, Carol McCartney, Sarah Devenport, Emma Arnett-Davies and Dan Kent.

If you can support me on this journey then please visit my fundraising page on

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/HelenFrancis10

This Weeks Sponsors!

KM Complete 83
KM To Go 217

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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