Woohoo.......Race for Life rocked.......

Well...so the day arrived... I have to be honest, I was very nervous this morning....Excited as well...but the nerves were definitely there...not about the RfL in itself, but about whether I'd be able to complete it....I was really worried that I'd fail and let everyone down....As it turned out, I needn't have worried.... The sun was shining, it was hot but we did it... 1 hour and 15 minutes... which isn't bad considering I have a dodgy knee (and am still at the very beginning of my fitness campaign), J has a bad ankle, and her daughters are only 11 and 8...... But I'm getting ahead of myself.....

I cycled to the seafront (about 3 miles I think) and arrived to a scene of pink EVERYWHERE....and lots of noise...

As you can see the weather was lovely and because the route was on the seafront there was a nice breeze as well...Which became very important later on...lol... Anyway, J and the others arrived just in time, and we joined up (at the back of the walkers...lol) ready to go....

Here I am, ready to go...I couldn't get the pictures of Jack and Joseph onto my t-shirt or back plate, so I held them in my hand all the way round. I kept looking at them as I was walking.... So we started, by the time we made it through the start point however, 15 minutes had passed so I decided to time us on my phone so we could be sure of our correct time. It was lovely walking in the sunshine, and the first part was through the common, where there were plenty of trees. There were lots of people cheering us on, and the marshalls were brilliant at clapping us and gee-ing us up. It was quite moving actually, seeing all these people walking, and then the people there just to cheer us on or help us.... Hugely proud of Portsmouth today, we did good :D

A decided that he was going to walk with us.....I have to say that I'm not sure whether or not his decision was made because he wanted to support his lovely mum, or whether the fact that J's daughter E was walking it as well, influenced him... Luckily he's asleep as I write this, so I'm not getting moaned at for daring to suggest that...lol....

I never actually thought I'd say this, but it was relatively easy...don't get me wrong, my knee was painful and I was hot and tired but it never felt like too much, it wasn't overwhelming and I never wanted to give up. The first kilometre went well, the 2nd felt like it flew by, the 3rd and 4th were slightly tougher but balanced out by walking along the seafront and also the sea breeze..... As we hit the half way mark, a white butterfly flew right in front of me, and then out to sea...was beautiful....

I kept on saying, all the way round, I can't stop because if I do I'll never start again...however shortly after half way there was a bit of a bottleneck and so I had to...Again, amazingly, I didn't have a problem...so so grateful for that....

You can just see A in that pic, goodness only knows why he was wearing black jogging trousers....no wonder he was hot....lol.....

The hardest part was when we turned away from the sea, because there was no shade on the road, and it was hot, plus we were at 4k at that point and starting to tire.... J's daughter A, who's 8, was doing brilliantly...so impressed by her, she's fantastic. Thankfully (for me) we soon moved back to the common, and saw the sign for 500m to go....we did cheer.....

The last 500m were pretty emotional, people cheering us on again and a bit of disbelief that we'd actually done it.... then, we were at the end and getting our goody bags, medals, drinks and fruit and finally sitting down.....feeling so proud of ourselves, because we did it....

See, I was still smiling.... 

Then we went back to J's for paddling pool time, and a roast dinner.....All in all a fantastic day..... We're definitely doing it next year, and if anyone wants to join us then let me know... early entry is £10 so we're aiming to get that done...

So, before I go and collapse in bed I just want to explain why I'm so proud, and emotional about this. Today I cycled c.3 miles, and then walked 5k, before cycling another mile (and then another 2 later)..I did that. Those of you who know me, will recognise how much of an achievement that is for me. Not just physically, but mentally - believing and knowing that I can do it has been a huge boost. It's proof that the hard work over the last few months has worked, and it means that I can look forward to the 5k Great South Run in October and then the 10k Great Manchester Run next May (both to be walked I think) with renewed confidence. It also means that I did something that a few months ago I wouldn't have even thought I could do... Yes I'm still overweight, and yes I have a long way to go on the fitness front but considering that a few months ago I couldn't have dreamt of doing the exercise I did today (and did without even thinking at some points) I think it's something to be proud of, and to cheer about.

So, to Jack Marshall, Jobo and Rachel, all of whom have inspired me in various ways over the last few months, and who will, I know, continue to do so - THANK YOU.... Jack would, should have been 7 in a few days time, today was my little tribute to him....he fought so hard, with a smile on his face and never gave up....he's missed so much but he'll never be forgotten......

Night all..... :)