BUPA 10K

Today I ran the BUPA 10K in 25 degree London heat. This was my first 'proper' event since the London Marathon. I've done a couple of the British Heart Foundation jogs in the last couple of weeks but they are definitely fun runs rather than competitive events.

I hadn't really followed any particular training plan for today, my aim was just to get around, hopefully running the whole way and enjoy the run. The course is the same as the one which will be used for the London 2012 marathon route - they will run 4 laps of the 10K route which starts and finishes on The Mall and takes in lots of famous London sights along the Embankment, through The City and back.

The race started at 10am so thankfully it wasn't too early a start but as I made my way to Green Park I realised just how warm it was. I haven't trained in the heat at all and I realised that it might well make things difficult for me, and everyone else. I arrived at Green Park, dropped off my bag, picked up some water and made my way to The Mall to join my starting pen - green B towards the back of the field. The event is run by the same people as The London Marathon and the organisation felt slick and familiar.

 It was quite a sight standing on The Mall waiting to start - the route lined by Union Jacks

Before long it was 10am and the elites were underway. There was an impressive sounding field with Mo Farah, Scott Overall and Mara Yamauchi among the British runners. We were started in waves and before long it was our turn. We moved towards the start line and were soon off, running down The Mall, through Admiralty Arch and down Whitehall.

The first mile, as with most races, felt easy but I was really surprised when my Garmin beeped at me to tell me that I had completed it in 9 mins 49 secs - my fastest ever mile. I didn't feel like I was running that fast and at that point there was a nice breeze along The Embankment so I wasn't feeling the heat too much. That soon changed and when the first water stop appeared just after 2K I was very relieved - so was everyone else judging by the queue that formed around the tables. I walked for a while to take on some water and then set off again towards the 3K marker where I knew Mr J was waiting.

He'd been there for a while and had managed to see the elite men go past and take some great pictures of everyone running past St Paul's.

I spotted him as I ran past St Pauls and gave him a wave as I went past.

The course made it's way through the City, past the Bank of England and the towards the Lloyds building where it turned right and went through Leadenhall Market. This was a great part of the course with some much needed shade and a brilliant drumming band making a lot of noise in the market. Before long we were at the halfway point  my Garmin said around 35 mins and I felt as if I  had a chance of beating my best time at 10K of 1hr 12 mins.

But it wasn't to be. Not long after the halfway point I twisted my ankle in a dip in the road that I hadn't seen. It hurt and I stopped for a bit trying to put weight on it to see what would happen. It felt just about OK to walk on so I limped along gingerly for a while hoping to walk it off. We were now headed back towards The Embankment and I was close to the spot where Mr J was going to be waiting for the second time. I looked a bit of a sorry state as I limped my way towards him.

He checked that I was OK - I said that I was and was going to carry on and hope that my ankle would feel good enough for me to run again. He waved me on my way and I carried on walking, trying a bit of a jog here and there for the next few kilometres.

Before long we were back on the Embankment and headed towards Big Ben and the final 2K. My ankle felt OK - not 100% but good enough for a bit of a jog so I ran as much as I could of the last part of the race. It was so hot and there was hardly any breeze or shade to be found. I turned the final corner of the race back onto the Mall and ran the last 200m with as much energy as I could muster. I crossed the finish line in 1:18:48 according to my Garmin which I was pretty pleased with given the heat and what had happened to my ankle.

After crossing the finishing line we had our timing tags removed and were given goody bags with our medals and T-shirts, in scenes that were again very reminiscent of the organisation of the London Marathon. I made my way to pick up my bag and make my way home, desperate to get out of the heat and under a cold shower.

Overall I loved this race which was on a brilliant course through the heart of London and was very well organised. It's amazing to know that I have run on the same route as the Olympic Marathon will be run on in the same field as some of the best British athletes. The medal, which is one of my favourite pieces of race bling ever commemorates this with the words - 'Run the Course'

I know I am capable of a better 10K time than this and now have 6 weeks before the British 10K on July 8th to train properly to make sure that I achieve the best time that I possible can. Bring it on!

British Heart Foundation Tower of London jog

Last night I took part on my first post marathon event - the British Heart Foundation Tower of London jog. This is part of the London jog series which I found out about through the lovely Dashinista. I was already signed up for the Canary Wharf event on 23rd May but found out that Dash was taking part in the Tower of London one so decided to join her. Unfortunately on Monday night she suffered a calf injury which meant she couldn't take part so I turned up at the Tower of London at about 5pm on my own and unsure of what to expect.

The jog took place in the grassed area outside the Tower - the course itself was a loop of just over half a a mile. You could choose to walk, jog or run as few or as many loops as you wanted to. I chose to complete 12 laps or 10K. After registering and picking up my race number, T-shirt and timing tag I dropped off my bags and got ready to run. I'd decided just to treat this as a bit of fun, not aiming for any specific time but just a chance to see how my legs were feeling and run in an unusual location.

I started off well and completed the first mile quickly but things rapidly started to go downhill. I haven't really run on grass before and certainly not waterlogged grass that other people have been running on. The course was muddy and squishy and at times it felt like running on sand - not easy on the legs at all! I also started to feel a stitch coming on - this has happened to me many times before and I'm usually pretty good at getting rid of them by a combination of walking, breathing and stretching but for some reason this time I just couldn't get rid of it at all. So I just decided to take things easy, enjoy the friendly and fun atmosphere.

There were people taking part of all shapes, sizes and ages. I saw some very young children walking with their mum, teams of people from a variety of different companies who were obviously being quite competitve with each other and a couple of very elderley gentlemen walking the route. It was a really inclusive event.

On my 10th lap I saw Dash who had turned up to say hello - I'd been struggling with the stitch the whole time so it was nice to see a friendly face to take my mind off it. I picked up the pace for the final two laps and finished my 10K in 1hr and 12 mins, a minute faster than the baseline time I'd set at the weekend so I was pretty pleased. Between the mud and the never ending stitch is really wasn't the most comfortable of runs!

Overall I thought this was a really well organised and great value for money event. For £12 I got chip timing, a T-shirt and medal, there was a baggage and changing area and water on the course and at the end. I'm looking forward to the Canary Wharf event in a couple of weeks and would recommend this to anyone looking for a beginner friendly 5K or 10K race.

So I now have more race bling to add to my collection and have run in the grounds of the Tower of London. A fun way to spend a drizzly Wednesday night!

The Virgin London Marathon 2012

On Sunday morning after a fitful night's sleep I woke up to the day that I had been waiting for since I got my place back in October. The day I would run the London Marathon. I hadn't expected to sleep well, but I had at least had some sleep and I didn't feel too tired when the alarm went off.

As I got dressed in my gear and ate my porridge and banana a strange feeling swept over me. I still can't quite put my finger on what it was - a mixture of anxiety, nerves, excitment and ever so slight sadness that by the end of the day it would all be over. It was a heady mix of emotions, so when Mr J came to give me a hug and tell me that he was proud of me it pretty much sent me over the edge and I became a sobbing mess dressed in lycra for a few minutes.

Having regained my composure I was ready to set off and meet my fellow Team Thinking Slimmer runners Darin and Dawn at Limehouse DLR station. I waved goodbye to Mr J and his Mum who had come to support me and headed out of the flat.

Darin and Dawn were waiting for me at the station and we set off on the DLR to Greenwich. I was hoping that we might bump into my friend Lisa at some point before the start and as luck would have it she was standing right outside Greenwich DLR station when we arrived. We all walked up towards the Red Start together. Walking through Greenwich Park it all started to become very real. Hundreds, thousands of other people getting ready to take on the 26.2 miles.

We said goodbye to Lisa and went off to try and locate the Nestle Pure Life tent as Dawn needed to meet them before the race. Having established our meeting point we went about our pre-race business - toilet stops, topping up the water levels, depositing our bags in the luggage trucks and getting ourselves ready for the start.

It was a beautiful morning in Greenwich Park - sunny and a bit cool - perfect runnng conditions. At 9am we watched the start of the women's race on the big screens located in the park. My stomach flipped - in 45 mins it would be our turn. After another toilet stop it was time to head for our starting pens. We were all in pen 9 - the last pen for everyone who had indicated a greater than 5 hour finish time. As the start time drew nearer the pen got busier and busier. There were people in front of us as far as my eyes could see.

9.45am finally came around and we moved.....nowhere. Then gradually and slowly we started to walk towards the start line. It must have taken about 20 mins for us to get to the gates of Greewich Park and turn the corner to see the start line. Finally we crossed it and at last starting running the London Marathon!

We had a strategy for what we would do - run for 9 mins and walk for one at a pace of no more than 12 and a half minutes per mile. For the first mile this was relatively easy as there were a lot of people around but we soon had to concentrate on keeping our pace down and not running too fast. It was easy to get carried away - there were huge crowds lining the streets, cheering us on right from the start and the excitement to finally get started meant that the adrenaline was really flowing.

The first few miles felt effortless and a lot of fun. Darin was working the crowd with style - high fiving all the kids along the street and lapping up the cheers. Dawn and I were keeping an eye on the pace and making sure he didn't go rushing off ahead!

Within the first two miles I had scored two off my marathon bingo - I'd been passed by someone in a ridiculous costume (actually several rhinos) and a man who looked old enough to be my grandad.  I was having a whale of a time, laughing and joking with Darin and Dawn and just soaking up the atmosphere.

By mile 6 we were headed into Greenwich and towards the Cutty Sark. I was feeling pretty comfortable but was aware that Dawn had started to fall behind a bit. Darin and I have run together before and know that we are pretty evenly matched pace wise. Running with Dawn was a new experience. We had promised before the race that we would go ahead of her if she wanted us to and by the time we had passed the Cutty Sark she signalled to us that that time had come. Relucantly Darin and I headed off - we knew she'd be OK as she's so strong and determined but we had hoped to stay together for longer.

Miles 7-8 passed quickly and we noticed that we had picked up the pace a bit. At that point I began to feel it in my legs and said to Darin that I felt I needed to back off a bit. From the start I had been thinking that I needed the toilet. This often happens to me at the start of a long run - the phantom wee - usually caused by nerves. Every time before it had gone away, in all my training I have never had to stop for the toilet. This time it was real. I needed the toilet so soon after crossing the 10 mile marker we stopped to use the loos.

Relieved, we set off again towards mile 11. I felt like I was struggling a bit at this point so it was a massive surprise to suddenly hear "Go Becca, Go Darin" being shouted at us from by a voice that I recognised. I looked up and saw my friend Rachael standing by the side of the road, cheering us on. That gave me a real boost as we headed towards mile 12 and Tower Bridge.

For me Tower Bridge is an iconic part of the marathon and as we turned off Tooley St and onto the bridge I had tears in my eyes. I was really here, really running the London Marathon

The noise that the crowds on the bridge were making was amazing, it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. My legs were starting to hurt and I'd been needed to take more walking breaks but I found a surge of energy from somewhere and we turned onto The Highway and towards the Mile 13 marker. I was now in home territory. I knew the route from here to mile 19 like the back of my hand. And I knew I had my family waiting at mile 14 - I was tired and achey but this thought gave me a lift.

As we neared the 14 mile marker my calves were starting to hurt quite a lot and I asked Darin if we could take an extra walking break. He seemed quite relieved and admitted that his calves were hurting too so we walked for a while before turning off The Highway and onto Narrow St. We started running again as we turned the corner and headed towards the stretch of road where I knew my family would be waiting. It was fantastic to spot them all - they were waving like crazy and making a lot of noise.

After quicky introducing Darin to everyone and some hugs and kisses we set off again down Narrow St giving them all a wave as we went

Literally a minute after we'd left my family I felt a tap on my back - it was @lozzatron from Twitter and the first member of the #vlmfamily that I'd spotted on the day. It was lovely to meet her, she looked like she was doing well and using the same kind of run/walk strategy as Darin and I. Then, just over the bridge I spotted my osteopath Glenn waiting for me - I ran to give him a hug and he ran with us for a while wishing us well and making sure we were OK.

I felt on top of the world and like I could have kept running forever at that point but we were due a walking break and so we took one. We started running again as we turned the corner onto Westferry Road, but Darin pulled up quite suddenly with a pain in his calf. He said that it felt better when he walked so we walked for a while to see if it eased off. We tried running again but it was no good. Darin kept pulling up sharply and we knew something was wrong. We stopped to stretch for a bit and then carried on walking. I suggested that we should stop at the next St John's Ambulance point and see if he could get a massage.

The people of St John's Ambulance were fantastic - massaged out Darin's calves and advised him to take long walking strides and heel strike to help his calves. So we both did this for most of mile 16. At this point Darin turned to me and said "do you want to go ahead?" I had a decision to make but it took all of a second to make - we had started as a team and I intended to finish as a team. At that point the goal became to finish in one piece and all thoughts of mile timings went out of the window.

As we turned the corner towards Mile 17 Darin wanted to try running again. We did for a short while but it was still no good - there was another St John's Ambulance station and we decided to stop again to get him another massage. Once this was done we headed off towards Mudchute where I knew that @Dashinista was waiting. We nearly walked right past her as she was tracking me online as we went past but luckily I spotted her. After a hug and some words of encouragement we set off again towards Canary Wharf.

Darin kept trying to run with no joy so we decided just to stick to the walking until we had got past 20 miles and see what happened then. So we power walked our way around Canary Wharf with me setting the pace and were soon arriving in Poplar and mile 20. At this point I started to get excited again as I knew my family would be waiting near mile 21. We were walking at a good pace and I was feeling good. Although this was new territory for us both I knew that if nothing else I could keep walking for another 6.2 miles for sure and I felt that as long as I did, Darin would as well. We were going to finish.

We came back onto Commercial Road and soon spotted my family with my nephew holding up a banner for me

We stopped briefly for more hugs and words of encouragement before we set off again towards the finish line. Still over 5 miles away!

As we turned the corner back onto The Highway and back towards the Embankment the sky was turning dark, the temperatute dropped and the wind picked up. The forecasted rain was clearly on it's way. At this point the crowd came into their own. So many people shouting our names and wishing us luck - it was amazing, I can't describe how much difference it made.

Before long we were back at Tower Bridge and at this point the rain started falling. At first it wasn't too heavy but before long it was pouring down. Luckily we were close to a Lucozade fuelling station who had just started handing out rain ponchos. We grabbed them gratefully and stopped under Blackfriar's underpass to put them on. It's a good thing we did as we emerged from the other side into torrential rain.

By this point we were at mile 24 and Big Ben was in sight. We kept trudging on knowing there really wasn't far to go. The crowds were still there in the pouring rain. I was trying really hard to acknowledge each person who shouted my name with a smile and a thank you. One woman told me that I had given her the best smile she'd seen all day!

Finally we got to Big Ben and turned onto Birdcage Walk. It had stopped raining so we took off our ponchos and got ready to complete our final mile and a bit. We had agreed to run from Buckingham Palace to the finish so we continued to walk until we got to the top of Birdcage Walk and saw the sign that I had been waiting all day to see

Followed very shortly by something that I hadn't expected to see. Sandra and Chris from Thinking Slimmer standing in the crowd cheering us on. To say we were delighted would be an understatement

After a quick stop for hugs we turned the corner onto the Mall and ran the final few meters of the marathon. Crossing the finish line felt absolutely amazing. I had finished the London Marathon. The clock said 6hrs and 27 mins but I didn't care - my goal was to finish with a smile on my face and I did that with style.

We were given our medals and goody bags, picked up our kit bags and made our way back to Horseguards parade to the meeting area. I felt pretty spaced out at this point. I knew I needed to keep moving but I really wanted just to collapse.

Once on Horseguards I spotted Mr J who had been waiting for me and we were re-united with Dawn who we later realised had crossed the finished line just minutes before us having kept her steady pace all the way around. Team Thinking Slimmer had done it. I had done it.

Only once I'd got home did it all really start to sink in. I had completed the London Marathon. Slower than I had ideally wanted but given what happened on the day I was just grateful to have got around in one piece. On the way home we started to hear reports that a young woman had collapsed and died in the final mile of the race. That just put everything into perspective. I had completed the race and I was alive and that really was all that mattered.

So I Rebecca Jones am now a marathoner. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. Maybe not next year - I have a lot to work on in terms of strength and speed. But I will absolutely definitely be back to run those 26.2 miles again. There's something very very special about them indeed.

Week 15 complete

I'm sitting on my sofa typing this in my recovery compression tights having just completed the longest run of my training for the London Marathon. There are now just 3 weeks to go before the big day and I'm now feeling ready and confident that I will make it around those 26.2 miles one way or another.

When I first looked at my training plan back in October this week was always the one that I stared at in disbelief and wondered how on earth I'd be able to do it. But 15 weeks of training and it's done. To be fair I've not done all the runs that were scheduled this week as I thought it was more important to rest my legs for today but what's 5 miles these days between friends?

This week has been all about building up to the 20 miler. I have run all my long runs so far on my own and at times it's been pretty difficult. So when of of the girls that I've met via Boutique Sport mentioned the 16 mile Kingston Breakfast Run to me I thought it would be a good way to run the majority of my longest run with other people around me. My parents live a convenient 4 miles away from Kingston so my plan was to run the 16 mile race and then run back to their house.

So Saturday evening saw me waving goodbye to Mr J and heading to Surbiton to spend a sober Saturday night at my parent's house. The alarm was set for 6am so I could get up and have my porridge and banana in time for it to have digested before the race which was due to start at 8.35am. It's been really warm all week but had cooled dow quite a lot on Saturday so I had packed both long and short sleeved options to decide between on Sunday morning.

I woke up bright and early, made breakfast and tried to decide what to wear. It was frosty but the sun was coming up and the sky looked pretty clear. I decided while I might be a bit cold to begin with that short sleeves were probably the best way to go. I'd rather be a bit chilly than too warm when I'm running.

My Mum and Dad were also up early so that my Dad could drive me into Kingston in plenty of time for the start of the race. It was strange being at the start of a race on my own. Previously Mr J has come with me and I've been meeting other people before the start but this time it was just me on my own. Runners are a friendly lot though and it wasn't long before I was chatting to a fellow marathon trainee about gels, the weather (it was much colder than I'd expected) and training the general.

The 8 mile race went off at 8am followed by the 16 mile sub 2hr women, then the 16 mile men and then finally me with the rest of the 16 mile women at 8.35. As I was continuing running after the race I had decided to run with my Nathan hydration rucksack so I had plenty of water and somewhere to put my bits and pieces while I ran.

There were two cut off times for the race, one at halfway of 1hr 40mins and 3.5hrs for the whole distance. I knew that I could make the halfway cut off in time but wanted to give myself a bit of breathing space by putting in a fast first few miles. Which is exactly what I did. By 4 miles in I knew that I had done enough to get around within the cut off comfortably.

The course was lovely, running along the side of the Thames on a bright and chilly morning, perfect running weather. On the first lap I felt pretty comfortable, I was averaging sub 12 minute miles and it felt good. I knew that at some point I would pay for it though as I can't keep up that pace over longer distances. I was prepared for having to slow down later in the race.

At around about 6 miles I was passed by the first of the fast men who were on their second lap and on their way to the finish line. It was amazing to watch them run past at a speed I can only dream of. Before long I was approaching the end of the first lap and was pleased to see that I'd made the time cut off with 5 mins to spare.

I slowed my pace straight away for the second lap. I knew that I needed to or my legs would want to give up on me later on. By this time the field had thinned out a lot. I knew that I'd be among the slower runners and was a bit concerned that I'd be last, but that wasn't the case. By the time I got to 10 miles I was feeling quite tired and was walking for more of each mile. Thankfully I'd put in enough faster miles that I knew I'd still make it around in plenty of time.

I eventually crossed the finish line in around 3hrs and 15 minutes - I was delighted with the time given that I was running on my own. I had my mp3 player on the whole way around and that definitely kept me moving at times when it felt tough. I collected my mug - there are no medals for this race and then a well stocked goody bag. I stopped for a couple of minutes to re-arrange the contents of my rucksack and make room for everything and then headed off for my parents.

Stopping turned out to be a bad idea. My hamstrings siezed up and felt really tight. I stopped to stretch them out which helped a bit but I found it very difficult to get running again. So I walked for most of miles 16-18. Then, after a few jellybeans and with my hamstrings warmed up again I found enough energy to run for some of mile 19 and 20. Those last 4 miles were really tough physically and I knew I was paying the price for my early pace.

I arrived back at my parent's house feeling exhausted and ready to collapse. When I did my 19 mile run two weeks ago, which had been far more evenly paced, I felt as if I could have continued. Not today. It was a really good lesson in pacing and something I need to be very careful about on April 22nd. Had I needed to complete another 6.2 miles today I would have done so but they would have been very tough. Much better to get to mile 20 feeling like I have something left in the tank for the last push.

So that's it - the longest run of my training done and I must admit I'm quite relieved. I now enter the hallowed taper where the mileage decreases to give my body time to rest and prepare for the big day.

Just 3 weeks away now! I know I've trained well and I'm ready which is a great confidence boost heading into the final 3 weeks of training, Bring it on!

Halfway through and halfway there!

This week I completed the 9th week of my training for the London Marathon. I'm amazed that it's come around so quickly. I've come a really long way in that time but there is still much much further to go but I am feeling excited about the next 9 weeks and ready for the challenges that I know it's going to bring.

This week was all about the Brighton Half Marathon. I entered this race last year before I ever really thought about getting a place for London. So it's always been there in my head and my calendar as my next goal. Brighton is somewhere that we love and have visited a lot so I was excited to be running my first ever half marathon there.

Since getting my place for London the Brighton Half has taken on much more significance, not just my next goal but the halfway point in distance to my bigger goal. A chance to put my training to the test and see how I'm doing, a chance to try out my fuelling strategies and a chance to run with one of the people that I'll be running with for the London Marathon, the amazing Darin McCloud. If you've not read his story you really should - it's all captured in his blog here and it's one of the most inspiring stories I've ever come across.

After a week of tapered training Mr J and I travelled to Brighton on Friday night and booked into our favourite B&B The Twenty One. On Friday night we had dinner and a couple of drinks and then on Saturday we had a relaxing day wandering around town and a lovely lunch at Dermot O'Leary's restaurant Fishy Fishy. When we left the restaurant at about 3pm the weather, which had been cold but dry, took a serious turn for the worse. The rain was pelting down and the wind was really strong. I had heard horror stories about freezing cold, soaking wet Brighton Halves in the past and started to get seriously concerned that we were going to have awful weather the next day.

Thankfully when we woke up on Sunday morning the sun was shining and the sky was blue. It was cold but it was great weather for running. I was feeling a bit nervous but mostly excited about my first ever half marathon. After an early breakfast of porridge and banana we met Darin and his partner by the Brighton Wheel - a new addition to the Brighton skyline since the last time we visited, and something which would become a bit of a landmark for us throughout the race.

We established our post race meeting points and then got into the queues for the toilets. There were several other people who were making use of the local facilities!

Having said goodbye to our other halves, Darin and I made our way into the crowds to get ready for the start. With around 7500 runners and what felt like as many spectators it was quite a spectacle

After an aerobic warm up it was soon time to start. I wasn't feeling too nervous, I knew that I had trained properly and would be able to do the distance. This wasn't about time, it was about getting around comfortably without killing myself and giving myself the confidence to move into the second half of my training knowing that I had got halfway.

The serious athletes at the front of the pack got underway at 9am.

Soon the pack had moved forward enough for us to start running and we crossed the start line at about 9.07am. Amazingly Mr J managed to pick us out among in the crowd and managed to get a photo of us starting - I'm in the light blue top.

The first mile took us up into Brighton town before turning us around and heading back towards the sea. It felt comfortable. Both Darin and I were conscious of not wanting to run too fast and so were keeping things at a comfortable pace. We have both trained to a 9 minute run, 1 minute walk strategy and implemented this from the start of Brighton. We were both amazed to look at our Garmins at the end of the first mile to see a 10.34 figure staring back. It's one of the fastest miles I've ever done. I knew we needed to slow down a bit, but we both felt good.

We dropped the pace a bit for the next couple of miles knowing that we had a long way to go. As we headed out towards the marina the sun was beating down straight into our faces and I began to regret my layering. It was getting quite warm and I was very glad of the first water station. Around about mile 3-4 we noticed that our Garmins started to get a bit out of sync with the mile markers and by mile 5 the Garmin thought we had run 5.4. It seemed really odd, I knew it wouldn't be totally accurate as each course has a racing line which we couldn't have been following the whole time, but 0.4 of a mile felt like a lot extra.

By mile 6 we were headed back towards Brighton town with the wind blowing in our faces, I was now very glad of my extra layers, it was cold. I was feeling pretty good, our pace had been reasonably consistent and still felt comfortable. At the 10K mark Mr J popped up with the camera and some encouragement.

Miles 7 to 8 felt really hard for me. My hanstrings started to complain quite a lot, not something that has happened to me before and we took a few more walking breaks that we had previously. At around mile 9 I took my second energy gel which helped a lot and we got the the 10 mile mark (on the Garmin) at 1hr and 55 mins. We were delighted - a whole 7 mins off my time for the Great South Run and a whole 16 minutes off for Darin. Amazing progress in just 4 months.

Miles 10 - 12 involved quite a lot of walking. My hamstrings were playing up and Darin's calves started to cramp. We decided to be sensible and listen to our bodies, no point in pushing things when we still have another 9 weeks of training to do. So we walked and then ran, ran and then walked. Darin was brilliant at this point, gently pointing out how long we'd been walking for and checking if I was OK to run. I am sure I would have walked more if I had been on my own but with his encouragement I managed to get running again.

At mile 12 the Brighton wheel was in sight and we knew the finish line wasn't far beyond it. Up popped Mr J once again with the camera and more cheers of support

We were really nearly there. The Garmin was still showing that we had covered 0.4 of a mile more than the mile markers which by this point had started to get a bit disheartening. We had a final walking break, knowing that we still had another half a mile at least to get to the finish line and then picked up the pace to cross the line with smiles on our faces in a time of 2.39.50. I was delighted with the time, although we'd had to walk more than I wanted I didn't feel like collapsing, I felt pretty good all things considering.

We picked up our medals, bananas and much needed lucozade and made our way back to our meeting point. We were feeling pretty proud of ourselves - does it show?!

So that's it - I'm officially a half marathoner. Who'd have thought it. Halfway through my marathon training and able to run half the distance. And I'm also delighted to add, over halfway to my fundraising target. Quite a day.

It was brilliant to run with Darin and test out the strategies that we've both trained with. It was so great to have someone next to me, going through the same thing as me and there for encouragement when it got tough. I know that I did better for having him there so a huge 'thank you' to a quite remarkable man.

On Monday through various updates on Twitter and Facebook I realised that a lot of people thought that the course was too long. The organisers published an official apology confirming that due to human error the course was actually 13.42 miles rather than 13.1!! My official finishing time was adjusted to 2.36 - not that it really matters.

After getting back to London on Monday Mr J treated me to lunch at our local pub which just happens to be on the London Marathon route. As we left I noticed a sign outside which confirmed what I already knew. It's happening and it's happening really quite soon. Bring on the second half of the training. I'm ready!

The Great South Run - it's a bit of a long one!

I ended my last post saying that if it hadn't been for Thinking Slimmer then I never would have taken part in the Great South Run and I shall pick up that story from here.

One of the keys to Thinking Slimmer's success is that it gets you to set yourself goals. Your goals can be weight or dress size related but it also encourages you to set goals around things which will become easier or more fun to do as you lose weight. It won't be any surprise to know that one of my goals is around running.

Having completed the 5K in June, I had set myself a goal of taking part in a 10K race by December 2011. One day having got back from a training run I tweeted something about how I'd done and got a response from Sandra asking if I'd like to join the Thinking Slimmer team that were taking part in the 10 mile Great South Run in October. One of the other 'Thinking Slimmers', Darin McCloud that I've mentioned previously, had set himself this goal and the Thinking Slimmer team had decided to support him by joining in.

Now 10 miles is quite a lot further than 10K but I do like a challenge. So without thinking about it for too long I accepted Sandra's invitation and set about training to run 10 miles rather than 6.2 a whole 2 months earlier than I'd intended to!

I actually really enjoyed the training, it was great to keep up with how others were doing and share stories of how we felt in the run up to the big day. Each Sunday as I went out for my long run I was breaking into new territory, running further and for longer than I had once ever thought I would be able to. The day I completed my first 10 mile run is one I'll never forget - I was so proud of how far I'd come and it gave my confidence a huge boost to know that I would definitely complete the distance on the day.

So, on Friday 28th October my husband and I left London for Portsmouth for the weekend so that I could join the 23999 others running the race with me on Sunday. We enjoyed looking around Portsmouth on the Saturday as we'd never been before

However, as Saturday progressed I started to feel a bit under the weather and by the time I went to bed I had the startings of a miserable cold. I was so cross - months of training for the race and I had to come down with something the night before!

On Sunday morning I woke feeling quite under the weather. If it had been a normal Sunday I wouldn't have gone out on my long run but I decided that it was just the start of a cold and I wasn't going to let it spoil the day. So at just after 9am we found our way to the Charity Village where I met Darin for the first time in the flesh. It was great to meet him after months of chatting on Facebook and Twitter - he looked so different to some of the photos that I'd seen of him - he'd lost so much weight!

As the clocked ticked down to the start of the race we made our way over to the starting area for our wave. I started to feel quite nervous. I knew I could do the distance but I'd never taken part in anything this big and as I wasn't feeling 100% I was worried about how I'd do. We lined up for another team Thinking Slimmer photo - we'd now been joined by Trevor as well

The final member of the team to arrive was Lorraine, Darin's diabetic consultant who had been the person to suggest to him that he should take part in the race. As I said to her later, at about mile 8 I think - "this is all your fault then?"

At just after 11.15am our green wave set off, by this time I was excited and ready to run. By a stroke of luck I managed to see my husband just before we went over the starting line and it was lovely to have a last minute smile and cheer of support from him.

We had decided that we would use a run/walk strategy for the race. Running for around 10 mins and then walking for one to recover. I was a little apprehensive about this as I'd never tried it in training but Lorraine assured me that it would help me to achieve a better time, so I went with it.

The first couple of miles were really crowded, the atmosphere was brilliant with the crowd cheering and people hanging out of their windows waving and shouting encouragement as we went past. The route took us through the historic dockyard and past HMS Victory where there was even a brass band playing!

After about the 3rd mile, I realised that we were a little ahead of Darin. I think Lorraine and Trevor must have agreed between them that she would run with me and that Trevor would run with Darin because before I knew it she was asking me what time I'd like to aim for and encouraging me to pick up the pace for a bit.

We got to the 5 mile mark in a good time, I was feeling OK and the run/walk strategy was definitely working. We pushed on through mile 6 and I was amazed when Lorraine told me that we'd got to the 10K mark in an hour and 14 mins, 6 mins faster than I'd ever managed in training.

Mile 6-7 is when it started to feel tough for me, my legs felt tired, I could tell I wasn't well and I think the early pace started to take its toll. But we pushed on through to mile 8. At this point the course takes a turn out onto the seafront. We were greeted with a wall of wind and rain coming straight into our faces. It felt like running through treacle. The hardest mile of the whole race without a doubt.

By this time I was exhausted, I just wanted the finish line to appear in front of me, but I was given a massive boost when out of nowhere my husband appeared by the side of the road, cheering me on. He took this picture, the smile on my face is no reflection at all of how I was feeling at this point!

Before my longer there was suddenly only 400m to go and Lorraine was encouraging me to give it everything I had. I crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 1 min and 58 seconds - over 6 mins faster than I had ever run in training. I was elated, relieved and exhausted all at the same time.

Lorraine and I collected our water, medals and goody bag and we made our way back to the Charity Village to meet our other halves and find out how Darin and Trevor had got on. After a very welcome cup of tea and a banana from the lovely people in the Diabetes UK I saw Darin coming across the field looking pretty much how I felt. He'd done brilliantly - it was an amazing achievement and his friends and family were obviously brimming with pride.

I want to say 'thank you' to Darin, Sandra, Trevor and Lorraine. Without you I wouldn't have taken part in this race, proved to myself that I'm capable of running 10 miles and had a fantastic experience. Most of all I want to say 'thank you' to my husband, for being so supportive of what I'm doing, for carrying my bags in the rain and for magically popping up in the crowd, cheering me on at exactly at the point I needed to see him.

This is me, home showered and changed in the T-shirt and medal. Tired and achey but very proud indeed.