Half Marathon and more

I got very spoiled by my partner Richard, and got very lucky with the weather....

As part of my birthday present, he booked a hotel in Kingston to be near the start of the half marathon.
And the hotel had made sure to provide an extra early breakfast on a Sunday morning for all the runners staying there.

The night before the race we found a lovely Italian restaurant. En route, we found the sign for the 4mile, and I nearly stayed there to save me some time the next day ;-)

 
 With an 8:30am start it made a big difference. Especially when it comes to eating proper food vs eating in the car.

It was a lovely morning. Very cold to start with, but sunny. And it stayed dry, until 1h after I finished.

I was on my own the whole way, but the route was quite nice. I can't say I loved it, but I didn't dislike it or ask myself why the hell was I doing this like I did two years ago in Edinburgh.

Although I was a few minutes slower, we had 1/2mile at mile 12 in thick mud, which was really unhelpful.

I think it was one of the first races where I actually overtook people. Sounds funny, but I for once didn't come last. YEAH!

Since then, the runs have been shorter, but actually not very good. My legs are tired and only starting to recover now. So a few runs had to be cut short. Which isn't very good, but I know I sometimes have to listen to my body as well.

Especially as I have to face a 10mile run on Saturday afternoon, and a 12 mile run next week Wednesday.
Both I will most probably have to do on my own as Rakhee can't join me.
Might try and see how it feels to run with some music. I only have rubbish earphones, that might be falling out of my ears every minute, so we'll see how it goes.

I've been thinking a lot about this training process, and I have to admit that had I known how intense it would be, together with work, I'm not sure I would have embarked on the journey.

On most days of the week I start early, sometimes very early, and finish late. Fitting it all in without feeling exhausted is not an easy task. Especially as I also work on a Saturday.

Rakhee and me are holding a coffee morning to raise money for The Children's Trust, the charity we're running for.
There is also the opportunity to enter our Bake Off competition, and a raffle.
If you are in the surroundings and free on Wednesday March 25th between 10 and 12, do come and support  us.
If you want to enter a cake, or have a raffle prize, do let us know in advance.
It will take place at the North London Business Park, building 3.

And if you can't make it, there is always the option to sponsor us online on
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/RakheeandAnne