9 weeks to go...

OMG, OMG, OMG!!

9 weeks tomorrow I will be lining up for the start of the 2008 Flora London Marathon and running for 26.2 miles... OMG!

So now it is crunch time, I need to get on with training, fundraising, oh and yes, some panicing about what I am doing and whether it is really going to be OK!!

This week has been a good training week, I did some great runs, my knee injury (damn, skiing!) is healing well and I feel like I have crossed that barrier and mentally I feel like a distance runner now. That's sounds like some kind of motivational speak, or just a stupid cliche, but really this week I have got my head around running a whole marathon and really know that I can do it!

This week I ran 12.1 (don't forget that 0.1, it really is important to the overall distance, much the same as the 0.2 in the marathon really does make all the difference, ask any runner at the 26 mile marker!!) in just a breath under 2 hours. I am really pleased with this. I don't want to think about times or putting a target on what I am doing or when I finish, but I do have a time in mind and I'd like to keep visualising it and see how close I can get...

I also went to Mil Fit on Monday, which was great until I fell awkwardly on my knee in the last 10 minutes and went down. I was fine, a few streches and a little walk around put me right, but it really took my breath away from me and I was worried that I had done some serious damage. Alas no, I survive to run yet another long run over over 12 miles - lucky me!

Also, went for a little three mile dash around the park on Friday lunchtime, how can 3 miles feel like hell when I can do 12? It doesn't seem right to be, but everything ached and complained the whole way round, I was tired before I had even taken half a dozen steps, it wasn't good! Still, more miles on the legs, more training on the plan, more of an excuse to mainline chocolate like it is going out of fashion!!

In other news I have decided to put my ballot place to good use and raise some money for Get Connected. Please see my fundraising page at: www.justgiving.com/goingthatextramile for more details and the chance to donate large sums of money to a good cause as a way of making yourself feel better for revelling in my misery as I train for this!