Run with me....thoughts and ramblings before NYC

Five days! A fistful of fingers! OH my how my stomach churns. Bags are being packed, final preparations are being done, five miles to run today, four tomorrow.....

My mind is a list, a mental checking off of what I have to do to be ready for Thursday morning.. for Saturday night, for Sunday at 10:20ET. It all awaits. WIll I be ready, will my nerves hold tight? Ramblings of my mind, rumblings of my stomach. Thoughts sprinting through as I prepare what I need to do each day, each hour. I write, I ponder, I wonder. I dream. I plan! Yes, I plan! That is what I have been doing for days, weeks, months, and even years. I am getting ready. I WILL be ready!!

Each of you will be with me. Those who know what it takes to run a long distance, those who can't even imagine what is involved. Those who will be preparing for this type of event, those who utter a prayer/cheer of support. All of these are my cheerleaders. All are carried along with my warrior spirit, my road awaits. Your thoughts, prayers, well wishes, are felt on my shoes, my shoulders, my number on my vest 44971, I hear your voices echoed in the throngs that will be NYC.

I write now, before the hectic pace of the rest of the week envelope... Run with me in spirit, in unity, in like mind, run with me in determination, in fatigue, in passion, run with me for those things you too dream and work hard to accomplish..run with me in celebration of life, of all we are given and all we work hard for......... thank you for all that you are. My hand is held by your hand and together...we RUN!

In ONE hand

That is all.. just one hand, five fingers to represent each of the days left until I am in Staten Island, atop the Verazzano Narrows Bridge, steadying my nerves to run the New York City Marathon. Queaziness hits me right now as I think about it!! But, I'm not there today. I still have a 5 mile easy paced run in the frosty temps of today to complete. Then tomorrow,there is my last 4 mile run on these shores before heading over to NYC on Thursday.

All of that is so exciting, I just need right now to step away from it and say a huge thank you to the people who have taken the time so far to sponsor me for this race. As I wrote in an earlier post, I am raising money for the Hepatitis C Trust here in the UK and want to thank the ladies in my Women's Running Network, Preston, Fulwood group for their donation. I enjoy Tuesday night runs with them and the support and encouragement they provide. Especially Freda and Felicity the group leaders. Paula, one of the members donated on her own and I am very appreciative of that. It's great to see someone come into the group and blossom in her running. Well done!

Back a couple of years ago I took part in the Salford Women's 5.25 mile race and met up with a fantastic group of women who even though they didn't know me, cheered me on as I finished my first every 5 mile race. We have stayed in touch for over 3 years and Thank you Elaine for your donation and kind words.

The wonder of technology has brought us the inovation of MP3 players and podcasts. It is though such a podcast, Phedippidations,http://www.steverunner.com/ that I first "met" Drusy. Then we had the fun of meeting up for real prior to running the London Marathon in April 2008. Thank you for your blog, http://www.drusy.blogspot.com/ your podcast, The Runners Roundtable http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/23997with all the others around the table, and mostly for your donation to my cause.

I would also like to thank some of the local business in the little village I live in for their donations, Sharps Butchers, The Mellor Pharmacy and Fiona at my church. You each are helping me to reach the goal I have set of £400.00 I will update this list as more wonderful people as they sponsor me.

So onward..... The World Wide Half! Yep.. I did do it. Nope, not in a great time.. but this wasn't about time, it was about doing a 20 mile training run. That is what my focus was on and that is where my mind set took me.

Speaking of minds.. I have a great imagination and it helps me when I am out running long distances by myself. I use mind games and thoughts to get me though those miles on the rural roads and to just focus. Saturday morning 11 October was a misty start and my start line was drenched from earlier rain. I set out with the voices of others preparing for their WWH,Zen Run 10 or Kick the Couch 5K in my ears. I also was thinking of my son over in the USA who would be running his second marathon, KC Marathon, that morning as well.

With these images in my mind I could mentally see all of us lined up together on the road in front of my house getting ready to head up the hill and off to our various finish lines.

The shared route would take us along some busy roads and then out into the countryside, I would get to show the other runners some of my favorite views. The first group to stop and applaud us were those in the kick the couch 5k. This finish line was across from the entrance to one of the country clubs (golf courses) Well done to each of those who ran that distance. We shared hugs and then continued on. The skies were trying to clear a little but still coldish.

Approaching the 6.2 mile mark was now out in a more rural road on a bridge taking us over one of the busier duel carriageways in the area. Again we applauded those who had finished their Zen Run 10k and they in turned wished us well as we moved onward to the beautiful Ribble Valley.

Now was the time to really enjoy the scenery, listen to the shouts from around the world on the podcast AND to focus. Legs were getting a bit tired as the long uphill at 11 miles took it toll. But I pressed on with the rest of you towards that 13.1 mile mark!! We were on a very busy two lane road and mentally celebrated with each of you once more for having completed the WWH. BUT, that wasn't the final for me.. nope I needed to get to the 20 mile mark. More rural roads, more scenery .. more cows, sheep, pheasants, and horses to watch and just follow my foot strikes.

Finally!!! 20 miles! So tired, so pleased! This run was all part of my training, and now, in the partly sunny early afternoon, I had completed it. I was standing on the top of my Marathon training. This was the most miles I would run in a week and now it was accomplished. It would be a steady decline of distance leading up to NYC.

But, in my mind, I saw those who were running the marathon distance that day, my son included, reach with in themselves and press onward. They had more miles to go... more distance to cover before their day was complete. I stood there, smiled and applauded, and mentally shouted out.. well done!

We don't live on this world alone, we don't run on this world alone. I am thankful to each of those reading this for being part of a running community. We are all better people because of it.

Time is like a vapor..

..that is how I have been feeling lately. I've been attempting to get back here to update what has been going on in my training, and I keep missing the opportunity. Today I can wait no longer. Time is slipping by too fast and I want to just hold it in place for just a short bit.

Where have the last 5 weeks gone? There are only 12 days till I run NYC! But before all that I want to put down what these past weeks have been like.

Going back to the half marathon in Anglesey Wales...it was an experience. Graham and I were looking forward to the short couple of hours drive and the bed and breakfast near the start. We allowed some time on Saturday afternoon to visit the amazing Irish Sea front of Hollyhead.What fantastic views! The day was like out of a picture book and look promising for Sunday's race.

The half start was the mid point of the marathon distance, so we were actually running from sea level to one of the highest points in the middle of the island. A late start time of 9:30 meant we would be running as the temps got increasingly warmer and the hills longer and steeper. I kept my focus but knew it wouldn't be a PB time. I was pleased with the 2:45:46 finish considering the hills and heat. It was difficult but the best part was meeting, talking with and capturing a picture with Tracie Morris, Team GB Athens Olympic Marathon runner! What an honor and wonderful woman. She was the second finisher, and first woman finisher in the half and waiting for her sister to finish her first full marathon.

My training enabled me to have a strong finish due to all the hills around Lancashire....more on that and the World Wide Half Marathon in the very soon to come blog entry.