Another milestone to my goal

My sponsorship amount crept past the magical £1,000 mark today, less than £300 away from the target that I have set out to raise at the beginning of this journey. All thanks to some wonderful family, friends and colleagues at work for their kind support, although quietly I will still be hoping to "stalk" a few more bigwigs to pitch in. Also hoping that my request to my company to match the amount raised will be approved by the management team in their meeting tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

As for my training, there hasn't been much progress for this week as I have been staying back in office much later than I would like over the past few days. Gave myself an off day yesterday as well to watch Liverpool play Inter Milan, at least it was worth it in the end, although at one point, I did start to doze off. Goes to show how "exciting" pool can get at times, or maybe I was just too tired... 

Past 50% mark, major milestone

The sponsorship amount quietly crept past the 50% mark that I have set myself to raise for this run, all thanks to those that have been so supportive of my goal. With less than 5 weeks to go, it is time to step up on my fund raising efforts and push myself further in the training. Will be pushing for an extra early run tomorrow before heading out to Stratford upon Avon with friends. Especially looking forward to a night at the Blues Bar on Sunday with mates.

A day of rest

BBC said it was going to snow tonight, and as usual, there was not a single fleck of white in sight. Decided to take a break tonight from running to give my knees some rest before resuming again tomorrow. Six Sigma report came back with more edits to make, oh well...

Painful day

My old problem played up on me this morning as I went for my usual "4 London Parks" run, having to stop several times as the pain on my right knee became unbearable at times. Eventually I cut short my run by halving the route around Hyde Park and staggered back to Victoria Nero in about 75min. Bought 30 capsules of Glucosamine + Chondroitin from Boots, hopefully it can help to repair the cartilage faster.

First attempt at half marathon

Glorious weather today, with clear blue sky. Seems like a good day for my first training attempt at the halfway point of the full journey. Wind was slightly too strong for my liking as I moved comfortably into my first 2km point at Battersea Park, where there was a race going on at the same time (was offered liquid as I passed by the drinks station only for her to withdraw the offer at the last minute when she realised that I did not have a racing number). After a short unexpected visit to the loo in the park, I continued on across Vauxhall, by MI6 building, behind St Thomas hospital, London Eye, Oxo Tower, Tate Modern (the new outdoor exhibit is up!), Mr Livingston's office and across Tower Bridge. By this time, I was about 12km into my run and had to struggle slightly at various stages mainly due to the strong headwind + tourists who can't seem to work out where they are walking! 

From the U-turn at Tower Bridge, I continued on the other side of the river passing Tower of London, Old Billingsgate Market, along Black Friars, Somerset House, Embankment towards Parliament Sq. My last stretch along St James park mimics the last 800m of the actual race although I had to improvise on doing a slight detour to Lambeth Bridge along Millbank, Tate Britain before ending back in Pimlico. Took 1.46 to complete about 20.6km, quite disappointed with the timings, but I have to admit it was tougher than I expected and my steps were becoming smaller towards the last 5km. The strong winds did not help and again, had problems sweating but I hope to improve further in the next 2 weeks. I will try to do another 18km tomorrow if my legs allow.

Thank you to those who have generously sponsored me so far! You are incredible and your donations will keep me going to the finishing line.