In May this year, I saw a note on the OCD-UK Bulletin
Board asking for volunteers to run in the Flora Light Race in September.
Please bear in mind that I am a person who would never run when she could
walk (there's always another bus) and would never stand when she could
be lounging on the sofa with a glass of wine, the remote control and a
packet of cheese and onion crisps. Therefore it was a bit of a shock when
I found that I had volunteered to run (it may have been after imbibing
in too much of the aforementioned wine!)
After deciding to enter for the race the next issue was to find someone
to run with me. My husband, Neil, came up with the idea of my mother-in-law
(she used to be a games teacher so is fighting fit!). The only trouble
was that she had sprained her ankle during a recent walking holiday, but
still felt that she could manage the race.
Once
we had entered I thought about training but knew that I would need a good
pair of trainers and a sturdy bra - both of which I was sadly lacking!
By the time I had got myself into gear and purchased these essential items
it was only 4 weeks to the race and I was starting to panic a bit. Neil,
who had trained for two London Marathons, believed that I would be ok!!
My training started well. I ran round the block a couple of times (with
Neil and our dog, Bobby D) and didn't collapse at the end! I then had
an idea that I could run home from work. I walk to and from work every
day which is about a 25 minute walk. The plan was that I would run home
- which would help with the training and mean that, hopefully, I would
arrive home more quickly!
The first day I tried I slipped into the Ladies loo after work and got
changed. It was only when I looked out of the window that I spotted that
it was pouring with rain. "Never mind", I thought, "it
could be raining on the day itself" and therefore decided to brave
the rain and run home anyway. Feeling very self-conscious I ran through
town, past the station and was just running past a long queue of cars
when I heard a noise. Looking round I saw that my purse was on the pavement,
and then "crash" so was my mobile! I took my rucksack off and
noticed that the zip was open and assumed that it had worked it's way
loose. Properly zipped up I set of again, crossed the road and was just
stepping onto the pavement when I heard a loud splash and looked round
to see my handbag in a huge puddle. Unfortunately my rucksack zip was
broken! I was soaking, clutching together the edges of my rucksack and
very despondent. I had to ring Neil and ask him to come and collect me!
I have to confess that experience did put me off running home from work,
so I focused on running on my days off. I mainly ran about 2k which was
a nice run that Neil, Bobby D and I could manage comfortably (poor old
Bobby D is getting on a bit and anything more and he flags a bit!).
Another confession is that I actually liked running! Shock! This from a person who used to hide behind a cupboard at school to avoid games lessons (don't tell my mother-in-law!). The huge bonus is
that I improved quickly and could really feel the difference. Meanwhile
Judith, my mother-in-law was training in Barnsley where she lives, and
then on the running machine on cruise whilst on holiday (such a dedication
to the cause!).
When it came closer to the race itself I did start to get a bit more anxious
- and had a couple of sleepless nights (hence I am not looking my best
in the photos!!). However, the trip into London on the day itself was
really enjoyable - we met some other runners at the station, and the closer
we got to Hyde Park the more runners we came across. Arriving at Hyde
Park itself and hearing that there were 22,000 of us made us realise how
enormous the event was, and how small the numbers of runners for OCD were,
just the 3 of us! Vicki another member of the Bulletin Board also ran
for OCD-UK.
On
arriving there is so much to do, get bottles of water (it was baking hot
weather), go to the loo, get more water.....you get the picture.... There
was also an organised warm-up event. I gave it a kind of half-hearted
effort, partly because I was rather rubbish at following the movements,
and partly because I wanted to save what little energy I had to the race
itself.
About half an hour before the race was due to start we lined up - quite far back as we thought we'd be slow. We waited, and then the klaxon went for the start, and we waited. Fourteen minutes later we crossed the start line and we were still walking. By this time we were getting annoyed, all this training and we weren't even getting a chance to run! Following the lead of like-minded runners we escaped under the barriers and ran on the grass alongside the road - and managed to run the final 4k more-or-less continuously. At the 3k mark we met Vicki who was also running for OCD which was fantastic. In the 22,000 people running we never imagined that we would find her, so it was great to see a fellow OCD-er!
Just at that time, Judith turned her ankle again. It was a worrying moment
as I wasn't sure how bad it would be (or whether she was hoping that I
would give her a piggy back for the final 2k!). However, she is made of
stern stuff and carried on, running up the final hill (which neither of
us were expecting) and following my lead decided to sprint for the finish!!
We made it in 42 or 46 minutes (we had a disagreement with the maths of
working it all out) so were really pleased!
Being on our own we didn't have anyone to take our photos, so were really
grateful to those that we approached who agreed to take help - discovering
that it's a great way to meet new men!!
Afterwards we felt ok, if rather sticky and stinky, and decided to head home. Apart from suffering from a headache (too much heat I think) I was fine until we came to an escalator on the Tube which was out of action. Climbing all those stairs really made our tired legs hurt! As we were in trainers etc we felt that we could not let the side down and have a rest so battled on - just grinning and bearing the burning muscles.
We walked from the station home, expecting a heroes welcome - but found
Bob, my father-in-law muttering about some problem with the electrics
that he had been working on whilst we were out. So we helped ourselves
to large (if you don't believe it look at the photos!) glasses of homemade
pear wine and relaxed in the garden. A well-deserved rest!
The scary thing is that I bought a book on running yesterday - I think
I may have caught the running bug. HELP!!
I would like to thank everyone who sponsored me (and for Ashley for setting
up the online paying system - fantastic idea). It was overwhelming to
have so many people supporting me and the OCD-UK charity. My estimate
is that Judith and I have raised approximately £211 for OCD-UK between
us!
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