Week 17 complete - the start of taper madness

So this is the end of week 17 and I am now well and truely into the taper. Just one week from now I will have completed the Virgin London Marathon!

My training this week has been very much reduced from weeks gone by. 3 runs of 7, 4 and 6 miles and a couple of yoga classes. The runs have been OK in general although I have started to worry that I've not done a really long run in a couple of weeks. Apparently this worrying is totally natural and part of the 'taper madness' that can set in at this point.

On Sunday I went out dressed in my marathon kit to try it all out together for one last time before the day. You may have seen my flourescent vest in a previous post but I have decided that if I've got to wear colour then I may as well completely embrace that so I'm going for an 80s inspried fluoro look on the day.

At least my family should be able to pick me out in the crowd!

I decided to run part of the marathon route on Sunday and made my way to The Highway to run miles 14-18 around the Isle of Dogs. As I was running along The Highway I saw a lorry which was delivering these at the side of the road

The barriers which will eventually line the route! Although I know that the day is really near now, seeing things like this still stop me in my tracks and make me feel sick with nerves and excitement.

So there are now less than 7 days to go until the day that I've been training for for the last 4 months. Part of me can't wait, part of me is starting to feel a little sad that this training will soon be over and so will the day. But I'm trying to keep that part at the back of my mind so that I can enjoy the build up and make sure I'm in the best shape that I can be for the day itself. This week involves a small amount of running but mainly a lot of rest and eating. I'm pretty sure I can handle that!

I'm absolutely delighted to report that I've also reached my fundraising minimum target and have met my Golden Bond pledge for my charity. It has always been my aim to have been at this point before the day of the race and I'm incredibly grateful to everyone that has sponsored me and made this a reality.

I have increased my target as I'd like to raise as much as possible for the charity which I think is a very worthy cause. If you'd like to support me by sponsoring me please visit www.justgiving.com/Rebecca-Jones12

Thank you!