OK, so I DID IT!!!!!

Went down to London Friday night, registered Saturday and did my little trot around London on Sunday morning.

Started to die at 16 miles, started to REALLY die at around 21 but I bloody well finished it!

My first estimate was 4h 58 - I did it in 5h 02, so only 4 mins slower.

Official pics still to come, but I have a few pics here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?fb...6&l=bf72f5742c

You can still sponsor me here: http://www.justgiving.com/Julie-Reilly

OMG...I am so proud of you and so JEALOUS! I am going to soon be training to run a full marathon, and honestly, I keep secretly trying to talk myself out of it, thinking I won't be able to complete it without the sag wagon picking me up. Seeing that you have done this is giving me great inspiration, thank you so much!

I tried to click on your link, but it wouldn't show me anything. Would you mind sharing how you trained, how you felt during the marathon, and what it was like? I want to hear it from someone who I feel I have something in common with. IYKWIM?

Again, so great! You should be so proud. Not just anyone can run a marathon.....you go girl!!!

OK, I fixed the link so you should be able to see the pics now - I don't know why, but it cut it short.

I followed the 16-week training plan in the official London Marathon magazine that was sent out - but there are plenty of marathon training plans out there. Quite often there will be a pre-pre-marathon training plan to follow before you start the official pre-marathon training.

Things I wish someone had told me during training:
1. Don't wear heels. At all. I had so many problems with my calf muscles, strains, pulls etc. As soon as I realised that possibly wearing heels at work, and heeled boots in the winter, was a problem and switched to flats all the time, all my calf problems went away - but not before I had lost 6 vital weeks of training.

2. When you get onto the longer training runs, the 10 mile plus ones - think about fuelling during the runs. I used sports drinks instead of just water, and jelly babies - two after every mile.

3. Don't be scared of the long runs. You'll think you can't do it - but you can! If you have followed the training plan properly, you CAN do it.

4. Don't be afraid to eat. Your body will tell you what it needs during training. Don't try to lose weight - you need food for energy. I was SO hungry and ate like a pig! I didn't lose any weight according to the scales, in fact I put a few pounds on, but I lost about 5% body fat.

5. Use plenty of vaseline under your bra straps and under your boobs too - sweat can cause rubbing and chafing and I got quite sore on my long training runs. Also I got a sore belly button because I wore a waist pack so I sweated under there too, so a bit of vaseline there would help too.

How did I feel during the marathon? Honestly, it was damned hard work. The feeling of having DONE it is fantastic. But the doing of it is very difficult - a bit like childbirth!! The support from the crowd was amazing so if you do a big popular marathon then that will help. The weather was on our side, sort of. It was a lovely day with no wind, but it was just a little too warm for comfort during running.

What was it like? Incomparable. It wasn't like anything else I have ever done.

I am very glad I did it, but I probably won't do another one.

Oh, congratulations! I am proud of you too! Thanks for sharing the pics...how's the ankle? Do give us a full race report!

The foot is a lot better. It is still sore but the redness and swelling has gone down a lot.

I was almost disappointed - to be able to say, "Yeah, I finished the Marathon on a broken foot" would have been cool - but NOT having a broken foot is better!!

I was so excited to see your pictures! Thank you for fixing the link. I felt like I was there with you. I felt the same way you described when I finished my first half marathon. On cloud 9. Also, as you described it like childbirth, that is perfect. I was never a screamer during cb, even with my first child weighing 10 lbs. 2 ozs. I looked at it like a difficult task and the labor that it really was. Coincidentally, during difficult periods in life, I have often thought of that very analogy to get through things.

Running a full marathon is on my bucket list and I figure that I will probably run the full in Dec. this year, and then that will be it, except for shorter runs. I always thought I was a long-haul runner, but have recently enjoyed faster running more and more. It's funny the things we find out about ourselves if we do self-discovery, and of course, live long enough. LOL

I'm glad your foot isn't broken. I had a friend who ran a full marathon and the same thing happened to her. The doc told her that it was extremely swollen from overuse, but nothing was broken. Please keep me updated on how it is feeling. Also, thank you so much for the tips and info about the marathon. I know what you mean about feeling like you were going to die after 16 and 21 miles. I hit a "wall" after 10 miles in the half. A guy in front of me yelled back to his friend "hey, we only have a 5k left in this thing". Up until that statement, I was doing great. When he said that, the term "5k" for some reason, hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt like my legs were no longer moving.

Also, your time was terrific. That should be close to my time as well. My half was 2 hours/19 minutes. Anything around 5 hours will feel great to me.
Again, congratulations! You rock!!!

That is awesome! I am very impressed and inspired! I started running a month and a half ago, and I still can't really run more than a mile and half to two miles. One day though, my mom and dad want me to run the Rock Marathon in Tempe AZ with them. When I finish my first, I'll think of this-it really is a wonder, the human body. That's a wonderful accomplishment.

Love the ferrets, too! Haven't had one for years, and was thinking recently that I am missing having a little furball of some sort to tote around the house. Still debating whether I want a ferret again or maybe a couple of ratties...they're both fun in their own way.

Julie, congrats on your marathon finish!
I'm training up for my first ultramarathon, a 50 miler, June 4. So excited and scared and nervous, I can't tell you. Just hope to finish, injury free, and without (too much) crying, lol. Not being the last of the last and getting passed by all the 80 year old walkers in the race would be a nice bonus.

I am SO impressed!

Oooh, that's AWESOME! Congratulations! Be careful though, soon you'll want to do another one just to beat your time - and that's how you become a marathon addict.

Wow congratulations .... that is a wonderful accomplishment

Well, when I finished, I said "Never again!" and meant it. It was bloody hard.

I can see myself doing halves quite regularly though and I'd like to increase my speed over shorter distances.