End of chapter six/ The beginning of the end

Twenty six days remaining. Just over three weeks until the big day. Six months ago, I replied to an email at work, expressing my interest in running the London Marathon. It was a pipe dream, nothing more. A wild fantasy. They'll never pick me, I thought. And why would they? At the time, I was barely able to complete three 10k jogs around the local park every week. Look at me now!

GOAL SMASHED!

Twenty freaking miles, baby. And not a bad time, either. In fact, with this run, I tried to learn how to pace myself. It really did the trick. I ran five miles, then walked the sixth. Alternated like that for a while. Got pretty hungry at the end and grabbed a pasty from the bakery at the bottom of the road. Ate it and walked a few laps. Ran home at the final stretch. Still finished in good time. I'm happy with this. Really, really thrilled with it. I never really believed I could achieve this kind of distance. But here I am!

Maybe it's a bit late in the day to learn how to pace myself, but I've picked up everything else by myself as I went along, so it kind of makes sense. Taught myself how to run. How to breathe. How to conserve water. How to maintain a steady pace. How to keep my stamina up. How to hold my back while running. How to stretch after. What stretches to do. I didn't know any of this before I started. Now I'm running twenty miles on a Thursday afternoon and walking around the flat afterward without screaming in agony. Pacing works!

So it's now April and my intention is to start winding down and tapering my runs. I would like to hit the big 2-0 again, just to prove beyond a doubt that I absolutely can do this, before that happens. Then I will slowly reign myself in. Fifteen miles. Twelve. Six. Right up to the big day. Marathon day.

My journey is almost at an end. A part of me will be sad when this is over - I've looked forward to this for so long. But another part of me just wants to get on with it. I know I can do. All I want to do is get out there and prove it!