I'm very conscious that I need to get my distance back after a few weeks of either flat-out not running, or what now seems to be even worse - giving up early and walking home on fairly short routes. After a few days of strapping it up and using it as little as possible, followed by reintroducing my walks, was my foot up for a proper run? Could it stand up to any useful sort of distance? How long should I give it to heal? I would have to see how it felt.
The answer is that my foot didn't like being squeezed into the tubigrip support, and it twinged when I put in into the trainer, but after that, it was absolutely fine - a perfectly normal foot.
And so I warmed up, stretching my feet, ankles, calfs and heels carefully, and off I went. And surprised myself for the 2nd time in the course of this training. I ran down Kirkstall Road, past the Abbey, turned up the hill just before Morrisons, and joined the canal, following it all the way into town in the most beautiful morning sunshine. I didn't stop or switch to walking, even though on this occasion I'd told myself it wouldn't be such a bad thing considering the amount of work I've got to do in the next few days to catch up, and felt fantastic by the time I touched the wall of the bridge at Lock No1 at Granary Wharf. I last completed this run on the 24th April, and although I loved it then, and have promised myself I'd do it again one of these long weekends or bank holidays, I'd not managed it since. It's 4.5miles to Lock No1 from my doorstep, and I ran all the way, then turned around, stretched again and set off walking and running back. So I've done 9 miles on foot, with probably about 5 or 5 and a half miles of running, and was home by 8.45.
I think this might be the way it'll be for the next couple of weeks. It's time to move up a gear with the training - more frequent and longer runs must happen now if I'm going to make the full 10k distance on the 19th. On this route, I can extend my run by just keeping going for more of the way back. My shifts at work between now and the 19th mean that if I'm out of the house by 6.30am, I can fit it all in, come home, have a shower, then set off walking (back down the same route) and get to work on time.
I'm tipping the scales at just under 14 stone (my weight is still going down despite eating like a proper pig and consuming more beer than is sensible during the week that I was "resting my foot"), and the runs are feeling much easier already. Fingers crossed I can shed a little more of the wobbly stuff before the big race.
AND - I am incredibly grateful, stunned, and filled with new motivation at having exceeded the sponsorship target I originally set. I'm not one to push for sponsorship, or harass people, and I know that giving to charity, and the choice of that charity is a very personal thing. My methods so far have been to put the message out there and see who wants to sponsor or donate to the charities or organisations I've selected.
I'm now terribly proud to have the sponsorship of Dave and Sallie, Sadie's Mum and Dad (my brother's lovely parents-in-law). Macmillan helped their family immensely in terms of information, advice and support all the way from Sadie's diagnosis to her death from kidney cancer. I want to raise money to ensure that other families going through such a difficult time can continue to get this vital help and support.
I'm running with a new determination, and now, on Dave and Sallie's instructions, I'll be keeping an eye out for hearts and butterflies for Sadie along the way.
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