It's all over now (baby blue)

A funny blue thing starting ahead of me.(Shortly after I put my camera away, I overtook the bloke with no legs. Really!)

I forgot to take a photo to immortalise the moment, around 3.5 miles, when a bloke dressed as Great Uncle Bulgaria overtook me going DOWN a hill. You couldn't make this stuff up...!

Just before the seven mile post, and the first time I saw my parents. This one, however, hides the fact that I'd had my first serious breathing issues around Cutty Sark, and I couldn't actually do anything other than grin and wave here!!

Looking remarkably happy at approaching 11 miles. Possibly because I've made it through Millwall territory unscathed.

A rhino. Overtaking me just before Tower Bridge.(Don't worry, after a bit of "cat and mouse" I got him back!!!)

Warning: the below image is not pretty. A pictorial representation of the phrase "hitting the wall", captured by my Dad at about 16 miles. I should add that my Mum was not running the race with me (though perhaps was emotionally. Well, either that or she was taking the piss with that face!!)

Seem to have got It back a bit (could be the well-known-sports-brand energy gel!).

Just about to cross the line. My iPod shuffled round to The Clash's 'Train In Vain', and I got a massive lump in my throat running down the Mall.

Tired but happy. And wearing MEDAL!!

Aaarrggghhh!

Right, that's it... off to the start now.

I presume the men in white coats will be there to collect me from the finish?

13 hours to go

I'm at home in bed, missing out on all the pasta parties, as I'm full up with cold and unable to breathe properly.
As Daddy Dobbo always says, "if I could spell fnerrgh, I'd write to you"!
(and I can't spell it, but it's supposed to be a full-up-snotty sound!!!!)

I did do a final 3 1/2 miler earlier, though, just really to "shake down" and check I'd re-laced my race-day trainers properly (don't want to be faffing about tightening and loosening tomorrow in the heavy traffic I'm anticipating for the first 4 or 5 miles).

Again, I'm just a little bit scared about the enormity of running a whole marathon. I'm sure I will feel sick to the stomach on the train to the start in the morning (just hope I can keep my porridge down, haha!), but by about the 3 mile marker I'm sure I'll be getting into the swing of things.

Good to see Villa hiting 6-0 today (even if it was ONLY Derby) to keep my spirits up.

Right, let's see if there's any good new films on the magic tellybox to take my mind off this for a bit.

Distance: 7 miles
Time: about an hour
Music: shuffling
Score: Mind Over Matter AFC 40 - 6 Dynamo Dobbo's Demons

Excel-ing

Just got back from Marathon Registration at Excel. I felt all sick and stomach-twisty on the DLR just for this, so heaven only knows what sort of state I'm going to be in on Sunday.

Only took 4 minutes to get my running number and chip. Then over to the Macmillan stand to get my photo taken and say hi to a few people. Good bag of freebies (plenty of energy gels), and I was out of the door.

Going to try and get a last gym session in tonight, just to keep moving, but let's see.

The curse of my blog?

(Two gym sessions and a 5-miler have passed, unremarkably, since my last post. Didn't want to bother you!).

I'm not sure I should be running this far this close, but the nerves (and even more insomnia than usual) have set in now, so I had to.

The "curse" refers to the fact that a couple of things my eager readers (humour me on this one, okay??!) may remember me commenting on earlier in training.
1) The "lovely lady" on the 48-sheet poster advertising Rowan's bowling in Finsbury Park is no more. Well, she may still be alive, but her poster site has been replaced by a smart new swooshy scrolling thing which tells you the time and the temperate (always 5 degrees - I'm not sure about this function!), as well as what to buy and where to go
2) The Holloway Castle pub has had a (slight!) refurb, and has been renamed The Castle (perhaps I have readers within the vast Bass Taverns empire??!). Still has the same delusional picture, though...


Distance: 7 miles
Time: about an hour
Music: shuffling
Score: Mind Over Matter AFC 39 - 6 Dynamo Dobbo's Demons

Tapering starts here

The shin splints, thankfully, have been fine since Sunday. But the right ankle has been giving me some grief, so I've had it strapped and bandaged for a few days.

Whilst I'm supposed to be tapering now, I still need to do a bit. So a bit of jogging in the general direction of work this morning.

I guess this is just in case I strangely forget how to run between now and the 13th!

Distance: 7 miles
Time: about an hour
Music: shuffling
Score: Mind Over Matter AFC 35 - 6 Dynamo Dobbo's Demons

Shinning out

Bit of a risky "all or nothing" test on the shin splints, but it surprisingly worked.

What killed today was the headwind, which was with me nearly every step of the way. And as an added free bonus, for several steps, there was also rain driving straight into my face! I was running back from Harlow again, and the boat-dwellers thought I was certifiable. Still, if it rains on April 13th, I can't exactly shelter under a canal bridge, can I?!?

By 18 I was pretty much all-out, with a bit of pain creeping in from the shin splints. Then I went over on my ankle, so I stopped when I got to the North Circular in Edmonton and got the bus home.

Distance: 19 miles
Time: about 4 hours
Music: shuffling
Score: Mind Over Matter AFC 34 - 6 Dynamo Dobbo's Demons

McCain's

Nope, I'm not about to get all Republican on y'all. Rather this is a paen to frozen oven chips: my attempted salvation from shin splints. I slept last night with a bag of frozen chips wrapped against my leg with a sleeping bag!! Just hope it works...

It puts me in mind of a John Hegley poem:
'There once was a Martin from space
Who entered a three-legged race
He wasn't very fast
In fact he came last
Because he was a bag of oven-ready chips.'

Score: Mind Over Matter AFC 33 - 6 Dynamo Dobbo's Demons

Soggy achy morning

Didn't run all the way to "school", but did need to test out just how much my shin splints were hurting. Answer is, unfortunately, a fair bit. But it will be okay with some rest & ice.

Distance: 7 miles
Time: about an hour
Music: shuffling
Score: Mind Over Matter AFC 33 - 5 Dynamo Dobbo's Demons

Leeds leeds leeds

Just back from Leeds, where I've been on my mate Lucy's hen weekend. I was always going to have to let the Demons team chalk up a couple this weekend, but the pain from my shin splints hasn't helped either.

Friday - 12 mile hike (4 hailstorms, lots of rain, bit of snow)
Saturday - not much
Sunday - 7 mile run, 4 miles walk (freezing cold, pain in my shins from Kirkstall Abbey onwards, hitting 'excruciating' levels by the time I reached Headingley cricket/rugby grounds).
Monday - nothing

Distance: 7 miles or so running, plus about 16 walking
Time: ages
Music: shuffling
Score: Mind Over Matter AFC 32 - 5 Dynamo Dobbo's Demons

Splints schmints

At about 9 miles this morning, I developed shin splints in my right leg. Shortly after finishing I was pretty much unable to walk.

This is not good. I need to rest & try and stretch it out over the weekend.

Distance: 10 miles
Time: 1 hour 50, I think
Music: shuffling (but only in the left ear: damned aged headphones!)
Score: Mind Over Matter AFC 31 - 3 Dynamo Dobbo's Demons

(By the way... gym last night, so +1 on the score again).

This morning I'm defnitely feeling it a bit in my thighs from Saturday. Nowhere near as bad as last week, though, which is an improvement.

I only managed 6 miles, which was more to do with me having a phenomenally bad night's sleep than my legs, I think. Still, something is better than nothing, and a good burst of Manic Street Preachers around Seven Sisters woke & speeded me up.

Distance: 6 miles
Time: about an hour
Music: shuffling
Score: Mind Over Matter AFC 30 - 3 Dynamo Dobbo's Demons