My family and friends have always said I am a little bit crazy. And I guess I can agree with them to some extent, particularly with my latest challenge that I'll be undertaking in less than 12 hours from now...
It was Easter Friday and I was enjoying breakfast in a Primrose Hill cafe after Project Awesome. As always, conversations move onto crazy events, challenges and adventures that people are about to undertake. But one caught my attention more so than normal this time. nohtaraM ehT.
Still none the wiser? Try reading it backwards...It's a run that starts at the finish line of the official London Marathon race with the aim to run the route back to the start line in time to watch the official race get underway at 9am the following morning.
I've always dreamed of running a marathon in my own city, but competition for a place in the official marathon are fierce, with approximately 7 applications for each place. If you remove the charity places then the odds are even slimmer. So when I heard about nohtaraM ehT, I couldn't get it out of my head. That was only 3 weeks ago.
Since then questions have been running through my head as to whether I'd be able to actually do it. Running has very much been off the agenda since getting back from the Amazon, mainly due to some issues I've been having with my knees from doing too much too soon. In the three weeks that I've had to prepare, I've taken a 'tapering off' attitude, joining the Project Awesome sessions, as well as a spot of cycling to and from work. A 44 minute 10km run a week ago has boosted my confidence somewhat, but I can't deny that the nerves are there. But mentally I'm determined to do it, and I think that's going to be half the battle. If I don't do this now, when will I?
So, despite my lack of preparation, at 3am tomorrow I'll be gathering with a few others at the finish line on The Mall. We'll set off to run the route backwards, running past Westminster and along the Embankment. We'll head east towards Limehouse and complete the Canary Wharf and Mudchute loop. We’ll then head back West to cross Tower Bridge just over the half way mark. Once over the bridge, we will make our way east through Bermondsey, Canada Water, Deptford and out to Woolwich before turning again and heading for the start line in Greenwich Park in time to wave the Wheelchair race get underway at 9am.
I not expecting a record breaking time, but completing it with as little pain as possible would be nice. Still think I'm crazy?
Of course, if I had had time to train properly for this event, then I would have followed a race training programme. There are loads out there on the internet and you can tailor them to fit around your schedule, but something like this might work well.