the longest mile

As you might remember from last time I had a bit of a set back with an injury to my foot. It really put the whole run in jeopardy. Despite all the training I have done in the past year there is no way I was going to risk a permanent injury. However I didn't want to let down the people who had sponsored me throughout my training too. My total stands at this point at £741 and you can still sponsor me here hint hint, lol.

I didn't run at all until the Sunday before the Great North Run. The crutches were a complete pain, making my shoulders and back ache but they were a necessary evil. On the Sunday before the Great North Run I did a slow paced 5k run to test my foot, and despite it being a couple of minutes slower than my usual 5k time I got round without any reaction to my injury. For the rest of the week I continued to rest and made sure I didn't stress the foot any further.

On the Saturday night I taped my foot and ankle with KT tape  and taped my toes which are prone to blisters. I felt like a bairn at christmas when I went to bed. I had asked my pal Graham to give me an alarm call at 6.30am if he hadn't heard from me before that to make sure I didn't sleep in. I was full of nerves and excitement and could I sleep? Could I heck! I was up and down like a yo-yo and was really hacked off by 3am. I was sure I would have trouble getting up when my alarm went off at 6am.

However when my alarm went off I was up and raring to go. I had my shower then my porridge and coffee and was out the door to catch the metro at 8am to meet my other friend Karen in Newcastle.

So many people were on Northumberland Street in Newcastle when I emerged from Monument metro. I saw teddy bears, batman and robin, cavemen and runners in all sorts of charity vests and t-shirts as well as the club runners making their way up to the start line. Despite being in Newcastle early I managed to miss the baggage bus by 1 minute, and had to put my bag into the late van!

After hugging Karen, who was in another pen, I made my way into my area and wandered about until I found a space that felt right. I got talking to a few girls around me who were psyching themselves up for the run and for once I actually joined in the warmup. We all agreed that we had a massive amount of butterflies in our stomach. Just before the race began the Red Arrows flew overhead which was immense.

It took a while to walk to the start line but with each step my nerves seemed to decrease. And then we were off. Along the central motorway with people already cheering us on and I felt good. Running through the tunnelled parts chants of "Oggy Oggy Oggy" were met with "Oi Oi Oi" and a mile flew past. Before I knew it I was at the Tyne Bridge, and I actually got goosebumps as I ran over the iconic landmark and was through the 2 mile point with ease and heading towards Gateshead International Stadium.

At 3 miles I took my first energy gel and grabbed a bottle of water at the drinks station to wash it down. The people at the sides of the road clapped and cheered us on despite the drizzly rain. Four miles down and I was actually enjoying the run. Then at just before five miles I felt a twinge in my foot, I managed to get to 5 miles in 55 minutes which was a cracking time but my foot was starting to really hurt.

I decided to walk for a while and see what happened. I walked for about 100m then started jogging again, and basically this was my strategy for the next 8 miles. I would run for as far as I could before the pain in my foot would force me to walk for a while. I knew my brilliant first 5 miles had been whittled away by the injury but still hoped to get to the finish before the 3 hour mark. My friend Ali would be between the 10 and 11 mile point and so I focused on getting there, getting a hug and a pep talk and making it to the end of the run.

Each mile was becoming harder and harder as not only the pain in my foot increased but my toes started to blister too. I kept overtaking people around me, but would be overtaken back by them when I walked and then overtake them again when I ran again. At 8 miles I took another energy gel and got a bottle of water and a hug from British Paralympian and one of my sporting heroines, Tanni Grey-Thompson. That was a massive boost for me. As the roundabout approached where Ali would be I spotted her immediately and ran to get a hug. I can remember saying "Ali I'm struggling" but I can't remember what she said to me, but it gave me a boost. She got her lads to unwrap some chewy sweets for me to carry with me to keep me going, got me psyched up again, took a couple of photos and then I was away again.

Each step was now agony. I passed through mile 11, the Killer hill, and on to mile 12. There is a steep downhill section before you turn on to the sea front. I tried to run this, but the force of going downhill on my foot was too much and I was slowed to a walk again. A lass in front of me was running well when all of a sudden she pulled up too. By the looks of it something in her knee had gone and she just about collapsed. St Johns Ambulance were soon with her but as I passed her she was protesting that she would be finishing.

Turning on to the sea front I passed the mile 12 point and knew I was nearly finished. However I think it is the longest mile I have ever done. It just seemed to go on and on and on. I was definitely on empty. Each step now felt like I was treading on glass, my toes were blistered, my foot was shooting a sharp pain through it whenever I put weight on it. I was trying to concentrate on anything other than the pain, and looked for my family in the crowds, as I knew they would be at the end of the run somewhere.

As I approached the end of the run I could see the finish line, and putting in one last burst of effort crossed the line, forgetting to stop my garmin as I did! DUH! The feeling of elation was something I can't describe. I had done it. My mobile phone buzzed and my official time came through and it was 3 hours 8 mins and 42 seconds. Slower than I had hoped but considering I had struggled for 8 miles, missing my goal of 2 hours 45 minutes by 23 minutes was nothing. I had done it!

The longest walk of my life then ensued as I made my way from the finish line to the T-shirt point. I limped my way to the goody bag point and on to the exit towards the NSPCC marquee when I saw my brother and his lass. The hug he gave me has never felt so welcoming. He grabbed hold of me and just about carried me to the tent, where my mam was waiting with a coffee and a massive hug that nearly suffocated me. The NSPCC team were giving out bananas, donuts, coffees and more importantly massages and I got my calves immediately massaged while my friends Clare and Barry who had just finished too came and chatted but I'm not too sure I was good company at that point lol.

I still cannot believe that I have completed a half marathon. It has amazed me that a lass who couldn't easily walk 2 miles 18 months ago has completed 13 miles. I need to rest my foot for a while but I will be back and on to my next fundraising project soon.