A half marathon left to do!

Which is 91 laps! I'm hoping that the weather and sea state in the Bay of Biscay will be kind enough to allow me to finish my run before we get into the English channel. We'll see though.

Over the past 2 days I've completed 9 miles, running into 35-40 knot winds and being drowned in spray from the waves. I'm 5 miles ahead and am very much looking forward to running on dry land!

Marathon photos.

The (early) start.














More minders than Madonna!























The last lap (notice the camber of the deck and the incline at the end!).





The finish.






















The ice bath.

A stitch in time......................

Happens with 9 miles left to run! I was cruising along until the 17th mile, when I got a stitch just behind my ribs on the left hand side of my back. It's still there now, so it could be a pulled muscle. But anyway, I completed the marathon in a reasonable 4 hours 54 minutes!

I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank all the members of HMS Richmond's Ship's Company who ran with me today and to the others that came up and cheered me on. It was a massive help to me, particularly when I was in the pain locker. I know a few of you ran further than you expected to and some have never covered the distances before, that you acheived. It was a fantastic effort by all of you and my heartfelt thanks goes out to each and every one of you. To show my gratitude (even though it is a bit twisted!), I've recently posted my application for the Richmond Castle 10k. You may be thinking that 10k is now nothing to a marathon runner, but I'll be doing it in my Square rig, ice cream suit (Junior rates tropical suit, for my civvy readers!).

Well, I'm still 8 miles ahead and I have 22 miles left to run which is just over 3.5 percent. I'm praying for good weather in the Bay of Biscay though!

Marathon Day!

Am I weird? I think that I might be, as I'm really looking forward to the marathon today. I've been up since 3 and I start the run at about 6. I'm just hoping that the weather isn't too hot today; a little bit of rain would be great! I'll post an update around 1100, UK time, if I've finished by then!

I tried to do 20 miles, but didn't manage it..............

..........So I did 21 instead! I've finally managed to crack the elusive 20 mile mark and I'm really pleased. I don't think my knees or ankles are though! Many thanks to Bambi who helped me through the last 6 miles! I'm even more pleased that I felt fine all the way through the run. I only stopped at 21 miles because my knees were nipping a bit and I didn't want to overdo things so close to my marathon. I stopped 3 times through this run: For a posh Paula at 3 miles and to top up my water bottles at 10 and 15 miles.

On the injury front, I have blisters under my old blisters and I'm just generally achey. Apart from that I'm absolutely fine. But I know I'll be quite sore in the morning. I'm definitely looking forward to my 5 days off from running.

I am also into my last 50 miles, well 48 to be precise (336 laps) and I'm 8 miles ahead of schedule. Disco Dancing!!

32 miles in 4 days!

Now it's got that bit cooler, I've been trying to get back above the curve. I now have 69 miles to complete and am 7 miles ahead. I have a rest day tomorrow and on the 10th, I have a 20 miler to look forward to. And I know you're going to think I'm mad, but I am really looking forward to it!

No further injuries to report! Happy days!

The end is in sight...............

.........Well almost; it's 94 miles away. I can almost smell the finish or is that my feet? Talking of my feet; I think I'm going to lose the nails on both my port and starboard 2nd toes. I've had blisters on them for weeks and the blister has gone under the nail. Not to worry though, as I'm feeling no pain there at the moment. I'll just keep strapping them up and jogging on.

I'm bang on schedule now, which is ok. I'm still disappointed that my 14 mile advantage has disappeared so quickly and I've not much time left to get back ahead. I'm just wishing that I'll be lucky enough to have calm seas for the rest of the deployment.

I've been pledged £2970 at the moment which is absolutely fantastic. It's still not too late to sponsor me though!

Why have I got Il Divo on my Ipod?

I blame Emma. There can be no other explanation. I know I like to listen to classics from years gone by while I'm running, but I feel I have to draw the line at Il Divo.

I ran 17 miles yesterday, not the 20 I wanted, but it was still quite bouncy and I was running into a 35-40 knot head wind. I also got hit by 4 waves, which was strangely enjoyable. I've now gone from being 14 miles ahead of sechedule to 1 behind. It's still not the best position to be in, but definitely not the worst.

I now have 101 miles left to run and 44 miles of that will be run this week! I just hope the weather stays as it is now until we get home; not too hot and not too cold. Less wind would be good though.

Pesky global warming.

What with the bad weather and on the 29th I had a really bad run; I'm not having a good time of it. I was attempting another 18 miler and only managed 10, having being sick twice during the early miles. I was well hydrated, well up for it, but the heat was outrageous and I just couldn't go any further. Since then the sea state has really picked up, I've had a headache for 4 days and I've not been able to do any running at all. I'm now only 2 miles ahead with 118 left to go. Not a good position to be in. I'm meant to do 20 miles tomorrow, but we'll see what the sea is up to first. Who knows what it has in store tomorrow?