I felt the need for a challenge, and unable to participate in the first ever Brighton Marathon due to work requirements, started looking for events in the Autumn and was told about the Windsor half marathon, I signed up and then came the difficult decision of who to raise sponsorship for.... it was due to our close links with the British National Carnation Society that gave me the inspiration to raise money for Alzheimer’s. 

4th July 2010 Training has officially started, It was a year ago that I first started running, I started running because I wanted to gain my figure back after having two children and also because I have never been that fit, smoking in my teens also played a bad part on my health so a year on and I am now training for my first ever half marathon!!!  I ran 4 miles today, looking at the training schedule for the next few months is a little daunting....

12th July 2010, 1 week on, managed to run 15 miles in total last week so am impressed how the miles have mounted up, though must confess am feeling pretty exhausted, what with the new training regime and the family/work commitments, I can certainly say I am sleeping well despite the heat!

19th July 2010, start of my 3rd week and friends from my wednesday night running group are actively encouraging me, so much so that I achieved my furthest run ever!! Did a whopping 8.64 miles today with a good time of 1hr and 28mins, but boy! do my legs ache now.....

26th July 2010, Allwoods have been invited to put on a display at the Sandringham Flower Show so i'm off to the show, however I have made sure to pack my running gear as this will be an excellent opportunity to run in a different area and see different views, I'm finding the training difficult now that my work commitments are interferring with the training schedule but am determined to do what I can.

27th Aug 2010 well it has been some time since I last wrote, however to bring you up to speed.... we did Sandringham Flower Show and won Gold, also met HRH Prince Charles even managed to run around some of the Sandringham estate.  We then went up to Ayr Flower Show, yet another Gold medal won and a trophy for our display, and managed to do quite a bit of running and admired the scottish scenery!!  Now work is getting busier and the training continues though it is becomming harder as I am needing longer to run to enable me to do the distance, yesterday saw me achieve my first ever 11 miles and I did it in just 1hr and 49mins which I feel really proud about, the running was hard yet I motivated myself with the knowledge that just 6 weeks ago I couldn't even run 4 miles and now I am doing 11, and now with less than a month to go the race is looming......

19th September 2010 well it is less than a week to go now and the pressure is on, I have pushed some of my friends to the limits in helping me train, and appreciate all their hardwork, sweat and nagging to keep me going I am sure it will pay off on the day, and I am now in debt to them when it is their turn to train!!  I now have a relaxing week ahead where I keep running but on a more gentle pace so I don't injure or wear myself out.  This week my race number arrived in the post which suddenly made it all so real.  I would like to say a HUGE thank you to those of you who have already sponsored me, I really do appreciate it so very much and for all the words of encouragement - they help immensly.

26 Sept 2010 - I DID IT !!!!!  Can't believe it, the weather wasn't great, although relatively dry, very overcast and cold with a strong wind.  The run itself went remarkably well and all the hill training came in very useful on this course!  David and the boys came to show their support, and their shouts of encouragement at the 5 mile marker was much needed, I began to struggle from the 9th mile, the sudden hill I had to run up about did me in, but I managed to keep going and push my way on and seeing my boys scream and shout at the finish line was fantastic!! The official time was 2 hours exactly!! - to think 12 weeks ago I couldn't run more than 4 miles, just goes to show when you put your mind to it you can achieve anything!!  Now I'm going to put my aching legs up and have a few days rest, thanks again for all the support and encouragment you have sent me it helped me know end when I was running round, and all the money raised is a surprise, what's more it is still coming in so will update this when I have the final count.

Thanks for taking the time to read my JustGiving page, I am hoping to keep it regularly updated as my training progresses, might make interesting reading looking back once it is over.

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