We survived!

What can I say, it was a hot, hot day! The weather forecasts had all been predicting rain! So we didn't expect temperatures of up to 20 degrees Celsius!

I have been injured for a few weeks, and until Friday was considering deferring my place to next year. But decided just to go for it and see how things went. My calf was fine until around mile 12 and it started to hurt a little, but I could of kept running with it. However, this was followed by severe hip pain in my right hip! The hip has been fine since December when I changed my trainers so it took me by surprise. Maybe this occurred because I changed my running gait and put more pressure on my hips? Or maybe it was the 75 kg guy hurling into me and pushing me hard so I nearly toppled over at Surry Quay! By this time I started to slow down a little and took a couple of Ibuprofen painkiller but it made me feel sick. I really thought I was physically going to vomit ( I actually did when I got home!), and hated every second of the marathon at this point. Hubby was amazing and when I kept stopping to stretch the hip he stopped with me and refused to run ahead. But at mile 15 I made him. By then the pain killers had taken the edge of it but the hip was still sore and stiff, so I just took my time going around the course. I ran when I could and walked when I had to. And I really enjoyed it. The sun was shining, the atmosphere was amazing and the crowds phenomenal. London should be really proud!

Our times! Terry completed it in 4 hours 42 minutes. Much slower than his normal marathon time but then he kept stopping for me:) I finished it in 4 hours 58 minutes! So was 16 minutes behind hubby. However, I am not disappointed at all. I knew the chances of running the entire course were slim due to my injuries. But it wasn't a horrendous time! Only 28 minutes over what I wanted to achieve! And in reality if I hadn't walked or stopped I could of easily achieved this. And despite the pain, I completed the course and most importantly raised money for hope4china.

We raised to date £1,400 pounds. With the tax gift aid this will bring our fundraising total to over £1,600. That makes it all worthwhile knowing what a good cause and how much benefit our fundraising will bring. So thank you everyone. If you are interested here are my running times! So you can see how much I slowed down!

5 km 0:29:52
10 km 1:00:51
15 km 1:32:31
20 km 2:04:59
half 2:12:54
25 km 2:43:13
30 km 3:22:41
35 km 4:06:43
40 km 4:44:21
finish 4:58:53

My position overall was 25,288 and for my age my position was 716! That makes it sound quite good!!!

Isabella had a lovely time! My in laws and Terrys little 1/2 brothers came and stayed overnight. So she had her first sleep over and she was so excited. She totally adores the boys and calls them her big brothers in Cantonese. This was something she just came out and said so must of learnt this in China. One of many Cantonese words she has spoken without us teaching her.

They looked after her on the day, and took her to China town and for Dim Sum. They couldnt believe how much she eats! Especially her favourite prawn dumpling and egg tarts!