New Challenges

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Two things have happened since I was last here. Well, maybe four. Let's count them as we go.

A nice easy one first. Last Friday I got out in my shoes and completed a half marathon to cover Southampton Half, yet another event cancelled and changed to a virtual. Fifteen quid for a medal and a T-shirt sold me, though. Bargain.

I've been in regular touch with the Lullaby Trust who had places for the London Marathon in October, although they had a £1,850 fundraising target. The LM has since been changed to a virtual event and, fortunately, places will be £20 so charities have offered their places for the cut price of £100 in fundraising, a very achievable amount. So achievable that, last night, after setting up a Justgiving page, it took about an hour to entice some very generous sponsors to donate. I am now IN for the London Marathon, albeit a virtual around Helston.

This got me thinking about how achievable a virtual marathon would be given that I've seen everything in Helston and the town is only 3.5 miles long. I managed to map out a decent 13.1 mile course last Friday and thought I may as well give the marathon a go this week by doubling it. I have a place for Newport Marathon as explained before and felt I should get in touch to see if I could count this run since their stipulation is for an October marathon. Good news - I can. I guess having paid for a place that's now gone virtual means I can do it however I like as long as the distance is achieved. So I did.

I asked my coach to park our car at a location in the centre of town and ran away from and then towards it, meaning I could use it as a bit of an aid station. It worked really well, not just because I could grab water whenever I passed but because it was windy and I had to wear a coat for the most part, shedding it as the sun came out and ditching the armband I used to carry gels for the first 13-16 miles. This has given me a great opportunity for a comfortable run on October 4th to complete my virtual London experience and I'm really looking forward to it. If you ever wondered just how valuable volunteers are at big events, they make the events. Grabbing a water every mile is such a luxury.

Finally, I have new running shoes. URR took most of the mileage out of my current pair, although I also used them for a half and a full marathon so they'll be pleased for a rest soon enough. Now to get training...

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lyvitvlm2020?fbclid=IwAR3pNWeJKnXqiyzcfHYiRdfnhlITgmZH5lJdvoWsxFqHp0h34JRCDO7f0jc

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