With only 9 days to go before Brighton, I'm feeling rather apprehensive.
The training has been done, I've got my fitness up, I'm carb loading (I think this is the same as my normal eating though...) and I feel ready. Sort of.
I have to say that my final long training run of 20 miles wasn't a wholly pleasant experience. Feeling rather despondent at the prospect of running by myself, I enlisted the help of a friend (thank you Fiona of Rayleigh Road Runners!) and we trecked across the Essex sea front. We kept a steady pace, tackled the mild hills and ran around the big ones, and we did it.
After hobbling back to my parents' place I had a bath, checked myself for injuries (surprisingly intact toenails! Hurrah!) but was appalled to see that my fingers had swollen up. They looked like sausages! I decided to wait 30 minutes then check them again. Still huge. Googling 'swollen fingers after running' on my iPhone was tricky, as my digits were so unwieldy, but it turns out this is a normal phenomenon after holding your arms up for such a long time. Phew.
Fat fingers aside, training for the marathon has been an immensely positive experience. It has been a unique opportunity to test myself physically and emotionally. I've learned about how delicately balanced the body is, and how interconnected the body and mind are (thanks to the brilliant osteopath Lucy). I've eaten many many cakes with absolutely no guilt.
I'm so happy that come 6th April, I'll not only be able to achieve something hugely positive for me, but I'll be able to say that I've helped Burgh House. It is such a unique and wonderful place, and deserves to be cared for and enjoyed by many generations to come.
Including mydonate donations and cheques, the total we've raised in sponsorship is almost £1000 - thank you so much to everyone who has donated!
I'd like to boost this in the next week or so.
Not only will sponsorship help us keep Burgh House open and free, it will help us maintain our unique collections, develop our permanent exhibitions to include more about the history of this building and its inhabitants, and help people to continue to enjoy it to the full.
I look forward to seeing you there soon!
Becky x
