THE GREAT NORTH RUN: A bopo babe's journey from start to finish line!

Hello my beauties! I hope you are all doing well and feeling good!
So as some of you may know from my Instagram, I completed the Great North Run yesterday! I thought it would be fun to share with you my experiences from the moment I started my training to the moment I crossed the finish line; nothing but the truth. I hope this will show that ANYTHING is possible when you work for it.
So here goes.....

Getting a place:
It was February when I found out I had a place in the run, through a local charity. I was super excited!! And then, OMG the realisation that the furthest I'd ever ran was 4 miles and even then that involved A LOT of walking! 
I had always liked the idea of running but I'd never been any good at it! Being the little chubby kid at school, I hated athletics and I'd always be last in cross country running (I bet if you told my old PE teachers I'd just ran a half marathon they'd think you were joking!). 
It dawned on me that I had one heck of a lot of work to do if I had any chance of completing this thing alive!

Setting a training plan:

After a bit of searching on Pintrest, I found a training plan I thought seemed manageable:

Source: www.orlandoortho.com

I worked out that this meant I had to start properly training in June. But between February and June I wanted to work on improving my running and endurance. 

Issue number one: Plantar Fasciitis  

So it's March and everything is ticking along nicely, I have a few park runs under my belt and I'm feeling positive. My speed and endurance are both improving. Then one morning I wake up and realise I can hardly walk!! It hurts to even put my heel down on the floor and the arch of my foot is hot and inflamed. This is what they call plantar fasciitis my friends. After some Google research, I discovered this condition will affect most runners during their lives and is damn hard to get rid of! This was the first moment I thought I wouldn't make it to the Great North Run.

I tried several attempts to cure this on my own, (I would NOT recommend doing it this way!!). Me being me I tried to battle on through the pain with my makeshift remedies and I managed to tear the ligaments in the outer edge of my foot! So a trip to the physio was my last hope! 

It took a few appointments and doing stretches several times a day at home (which I still have to do now in order to keep it at bay) before I was able to walk again! 

I also had to invest in a pair of properly fitted running trainers, (neutral Asics if anyone's interested!) 

I would SERIOUSLY recommend if you guys are wanting to get into running that this is the FIRST thing you do! Don't make the same mistake as me, properly fitted shoes will prevent injuries and a lot of stress and tears! 

Issue number two: Kidney infection followed by kidney stones

After I'd managed to get on top of my plantar fasciitis, I began running again. I was just getting back into it and starting to make progress with the distance I was able to run. And then BAM trouble rears it's ugly head again! 
One day I woke up with a super bad back. It was hard to breathe, it hurt that much! Typical me though, I just thought nothing of it and went about my day. Gradually, it got worse and worse to the point where I couldn't stand up straight. By the time I was driving home from work I was feeling sick and my temperature was sky high! I spent the night having uncontrollable convulsions, one minute feeling freezing and the next feeling hotter than the surface of the sun! 
Anyways to cut a long story short I went to the doctors and was told I had a pretty bad kidney infection. It took about a month to fully go away! This was the second time I thought I wouldn't make it to the Great North Run.

Just when I thought I was on track for the second time, I felt that same niggling in my back that I'd felt with my kidney infection. This time though, the doctor said I was infection free. So after an X-ray and an ultra sound it turned out I now had kidney stones! And damn did that hurt! I spent several weeks with a hot water bottle permanently glued to my side. It hurt to lie down, it hurt to sit and it hurt to stand. Not a fun time my friends! By now I was thinking, me and running just aren't meant to be! 
Eventually though, the pain subsided; the stones lay dormant for a bit but eventually passed. And OMG did I know about it when they did! Also not a fun experience!!

Training gets underway!

So it's June by the time I'm able to seriously get into my training! I'd like to say I stuck rigidly to the training plan above, but life just gets in the way and sometimes you don't have time to train 5 days a week! But I did try and get in a minimum of 3 runs per week, prioritising my long runs. 

More detailed accounts of my training progress can be found on my Instagram! I won't bore you with it again here! 

My first ever race:

My training had many ups and downs, one of the major ups however was taking part in my first ever race back in August. 

For me this was totally a pivotal point in my running journey. It was the moment when I thought to myself, "yeah, I'm actually ok at this!". 

I was aiming for a time of 1hr 15 mins; my official race time was 1 hr 2 mins!! 

Never underestimate your own abilities!! 

Last long run before the big day! 

So this was the furthest I'd ever ran in the lead up to the Great North Run. 

11.15 miles! And I was so not prepared! I'm sure this was one of the hottest days of the year and I made the rookie mistake of not taking enough water with me! Big booboo! Meaning by the time I got back home, I was hot and sick and dizzy and ready to pass out! 

But we learn from our mistakes right?

The final training run:

Standard selfie after my last run of 4.25 miles! Feeling apprehensive and excited! All the hard work has been done now its just time for the main event! 

The day before:

This involved lots of pre-hydrating and carb loading! I kept my legs active by taking my Sidney puppy out for a walk.

This is my HUUUGGGEEE bowl of pasta (of course gluten free!) That I ate for dinner on Saturday night. Now this resulted in a bit of a carb coma, I'm not gonna lie to you! 

The picture doesn't do justice of just how HUGE this was!!

Every runner will know, it's so important to prepare your kit the night before! 

With everything all ready the excitement was REAL! 

After half an hour of stretching and a bit of foam rolling, I covered my legs in tiger balm and headed off to bed! Gotta get the beauty sleep in before the big day!!

The big day is finally here!!

My alarm woke my up at 7am, and then my second alarm woke me up at 7:10! I was damned if I was gonna sleep in! 

So straight downstairs to prepare my breakfast. Yep you guessed it, more carbs!! Wholemeal gluten free bread with peanut butter, chia seeds and banana. And two cups of coffee...and a Berrocca! Gotta make sure you're energised! 

Breakfast of champions! 

More preparation - banana, water and energy gels (and some dark chocolate which I didn't have time to eat :-( ) to take with me to keep me going while I waited to start! 

Almost ready to go, kit on! And just time to pose for a few pictures for my Mum before I head out the door! 

My Mum told me to do the Mo Bot since Mo himself was taking part!

On your marks get set go!

So, after almost missing my start zone because I was waiting in a huge portaloo que, I finally was ready to go! The enclosure was PACKED, you could hardly even move! Well it is the worlds favorite half marathon right?

Green wave zone I: Can hardly move!!

The official start time was 10.40, Mo Farrah and Co set off at 10.40am on the dot! Us normal people however had to wait a fair while before we were even anywhere near the start line! 

The iconic red arrows moment where they fly over the Tyne bridge with all the runners running across...Yeah I hadn't even moved at this point! I think it was about 11.20am when my feet finally crossed the start line! 

And this is pretty much how it went:

Oh my, I'm off my first half marathon is underway! 

Mile #1

OK, lots of people in front of me, I'm sure I can squeeze past them. Whoops I elbowed that person "sorry!"

Ah wow this atmosphere! The camaraderie! Everyone singing "oggy oggy oggy" under the road bridges! So cool!

Mile #2

Oh my gosh! I'm running over the Tyne bridge! WOW! 

Oh damn I missed the first water stop! 

Mile #3 

Oh cool 5k, I can do this!

Mile #4

OK, I need to try and settle into my pace now! I'm gonna be here for a while....

Mile #5

Yes! I've hit my pace! OMG I love this I could do this forever!!

Mile #6

10k already? I LOVE THIS!!

Mile #7

Oh wow over half way! This is great! Better have an energy gel....

Mile #8

OMG I feel sick, I think I have indigestion from the energy gel. That pain in my stomach is unreal. I don't think I can run any more!!

Mile #9

Seriously this is impossible!! I can't do this!! 

If I hear one more person shout "oggy oggy oggy" I will make sure I elbow them ON PURPOSE!

Mile #10

Oh ok, mile 10! Only 3.1 more to go... maybe I CAN do this?

Mile #11

Not long to go! I can see the sea front! I'm getting close...yes I CAN do this!

Mile #12

Oh my legs! One mile to go, time to channel Dory, "just keep running, running, running...what do we do, we run, run!"

400m to go!

YES! that's the finish line! Come on legs go go go!! 

Oh bumping into people again! "Sorry!!"

THE FINISH LINE!!

YESSSS!!! I've made it!! I'm done! 

I'm never doing that again!!

Like, seriously! 

I'm not gonna stop walking in case I can't start again! 

Ignore the fact this says Shirley! Sadly couldn't get a place in my name :(

Time to collect my medal and t-shirt! 

Yeah go me I have a medal! 

Cheesy grin waiting in line for my DIET COKE!

Actually, that was AMAZING! I loved it! I wanna do it again!!! 

Sign me up for 2017!!!

The aftermath:

Pride of place

So I eventually found my parents, the finish line was MANIC! No one tells you there's no phone signal at the finish due to all the people there also trying to contact their families!! 

Sat on a wall waiting for my dad and the guy sat next to me congratulates me and offers me a can of larger; he thought I was crazy when I turned it down! All I wanted was a can of diet coke!! 

I felt sick and so dehydrated, my legs were jelly, I had a random nose bleed and the 20 min walk from the finish enclosure to the car was a nightmare; it took me about 45 minuets before I felt normal enough to stomach my post race MarsBar! But did I complain? Not at all! I was on the biggest running high you can even imagine! All the work I'd done for the last 8 months had paid off, I'd completed the Great North Run in 2:28:20 totally smashing my target of 2:45! 

Back home and pinned my medal on my wall, pride of place where it belongs; before hopping in the shower and refueling with a well deserved Chinese takeout! 

Some more stretching and foam rolling before bed meant my legs were still useable this morning! 

Yes I've been achy today, yes I've been tired, and oh my I've been SOOO hungry! But all the aches and pains are totally worth the massive achievement I made yesterday!

Writing this post for you guys has made me just want to do it all over again! Honestly, yesterday was the most amazing day! Something I never in a million years thought I'd be able to achieve! And I hope I've inspired some of you to go out there and achieve your own goals too :)

So now to plan my next challenge! I find out next month if I have a place in the London Marathon in April 2017 (fingers massively crossed!). And if not there's always the Sunderland half marathon in May! 

But for now my biggest challenge is getting down the stairs!!

Source: http://boredomtherapy.com/puppy-slides-stairs/

Until next time my beauties!

Stay awesome 

Becky XOXO