#MyMarathon – The Finish Line!

The end of May, for one, meant something fantastic – the end of #MyMarathon!

When I started this challenge at the beginning of the month, I’d assumed I would struggle, lazing around unwilling to put on my trainers, dragging myself outside in all weathers to pound the pavement grumpily. But it was quite the opposite.

As you’ll have seen in my previous posts, I’ve actually really enjoyed* it!

*minus the painful shin splints!!! 

Before I went to Barcelona I still had 6 miles to finish off, the first 3 of which were painful! With some fantastic suggestions from lots of lovely people, I definitely made my shins a bit happier, but I was worried one of the problems was my trainers. Stretching helped massively btw, all the stretching, far more than you’d ever think!

Adam had discussed my running issue with one of his colleagues and he suggested we take a trip to Frank Elford, a running and yoga specialist in Plymouth city centre. I was dubious, but went through with it and I’m so glad I did.

They spent ages with me, measuring my gait and running/walking pattern, then bringing down multiple sets of trainers to try on. Without knowing anything about them I jumped, walked and jogged along with each pair in turn and noticed significant differences, one by one.

It was interesting to try on multiple pairs one at a time as you could really tell how they all felt, but I was worried as I hadn’t been given any indication of prices. Surely they would be ridiculous cost from leading brands?

Luckily, they weren’t. I mean, I still paid £95 for a pair of trainers (which, FYI is the MOST I’ve ever paid for any shoe ever!) but running in them afterwards felt significantly better and I’m hopeful they were well worth the money! Yes, I could have found them cheaper online afterwards, but after all that effort and time spent measuring and helping me, that would be pretty harsh on the independent running store!

So for the remaining 6 miles of #MyMarathon, I split it into two sessions. The first was when I really should have rested, followed by a cheeky cream tea and cocktails as a late birthday present from Adam’s granny. The perfect running diet, right?!

The other was after a successful week without any running (walking and cycling the length of Barcelona don’t count right?!). I felt rested and flexible and my final run, which completed #MyMarathon was a joy rather than a pain (literally)!

Yes, I’m still red faced and wobbly.

Yes, I still find it hard to push myself further.

But you know what?

I’m glad I did it.

I might look like a sweaty chubby mess, thundering around parks and along roads, but at least I’m out there, getting some fresh air, doing my body some good and getting that blood pumping.

I did it, I ran a marathon, and although it took longer than 4 hours, I’m proud because it wasn’t just any marathon, it was #MyMarathon!

To see each of my posts throughout this Marathon journey click on these links  | 1 | 2 | 3 |

#MyMarathon was in support of The British Heart Foundation, but rather than requesting sponsorship from anyone else, I’ve actually donated myself! I highly recommend getting involved with any of their events as they provided so much inspiration and motivation throughout and it was amazing to join in with something and help out such a great cause!