MY LONDON MARATHON!!

 

 

I DID IT!!!! ON SATURDAY, I WALKED A 26.2 MILE LONDON MARATHON!!! I still can’t believe I have done it. As you will know I have been training for months to do this, and I have re developed my love of walking. I have experienced many ups, and downs along the way. I have injured my knee, and got lost in some really nasty places. I have to be honest no matter how much I wanted to do the marathon, there were many times I felt like quitting , especially after my recent nasty walking experience. Having quit sugar in January 2015, I re discovered my love of walking, and realised how many benefits there were, and how it really helped improve physical, and emotional well being. The two hand in hand I believe are the best things you can do to keep healthy.

So on Friday headed up to London, had a very restless night, and that had to leave the hotel at 6.30am, to be at the start for registration at 7am!!!! The time had come for me to set out on , and tackle a long time dream. To a marathon!!!!

For nearly 30 years I have wanted to do a marathon, and on Saturday I achieved that dream, I completed the London marathon. Not in the way I would have liked (running it), but regardless of whether it is run, walked, or crawled 26.2 miles is a VERY long way, as I discovered! I have never been considered myself to be sporty. In fact I grew up hearing from others that I was cack handed, and rubbish at anything sports related. I was told this by family members, and teachers. When you are told something enough you begin to believe it. I spent all my life believing that being active, and sporty were the same thing. As my marathon experience taught me it doesn’t have to be. I am not sporty (I don’t even swim), I don’t have a competitive edge, and I have had 2 bouts of M.E (chronic fatigue). But one thing my training, and marathon experience has taught me is , that there is a difference between being sporty, and active. I wish I had actually known that years ago. So on Saturday , and a bit before, I actually felt good about myself. I wasn’t that clumsy, cack handed, poorly co ordinated person, I had grown up believing I was. I was walking a marathon with people of all fitness levels, and abilities. I was doing a 26.2 mile walking marathon, and I was walking at a good pace. It was challenging, and gruelling. With this marathon the course isn’t closed off, you are actually walking through areas , many of them touristy, which slows you down. I ended up walking a lot of the marathon with another lady, as we had a similar pace. This did help in many ways. I walked through many touristy areas including Knightsbridge, Southbank, Buckingham Palace, St Pauls, Smithfield Market, Chelsea, Fulham, and along the Thames to name a few. The miles seemed longer than any miles, I have ever walked before, even now I question whether the course was longer than we were told!!! There were times when I wondered WHY I had taken annual leave to do this!! It took FAR longer than I ever imagined, I was one of the last to finish. BUT, I did do, and complete the London marathon. I know some were unable to complete the marathon. I did the marathon with very little sleep the night before, and with my knee injury. It was an incredible experience, and one I will never forget. Would I do another marathon again, absolutely at some point? Am I glad I did it yes…definitely!! I am my own worst critic so for now I am niggled that I didn’t do it faster, but I will eventually feel proud…one day. I hope my story might inspire at least one of you, that anything is possible, and dreams can be achieved. I no longer have to say I would love to do a marathon because on Saturday, I DID THE LONDON MARATHON!!!!

NEVER LET OTHERS BELIEVE YOU CAN’T DO SOMETHING…YOU CAN MAKE YOUR DREAMS A REALITY!!! HAVE FAITH, BE BRAVE, PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE, AND BELIEVE YOU CAN DO IT IT……BECAUSE YOU CAN!!!!

My Marathon Week!

So it’s just a few days to go now, until my first marathon. A friend recently came up with the term nervited, and I think that sums up how I am feeling at the moment. In fact I’m very nervited!! On Saturday I will be walking 26.2 miles around London. I can’t really believe it!! I have wanted to do a marathon since I was 18, but never thought I would do one. I have gone through my life thinking I was rubbish at sports, because people told me I was. Also health issues held me back. A chance comment from work colleague led me to research walking marathons, I signed up on 28th December 2016, and now marathon day is nearly here. My advice to anyone like me who have a dream, NEVER give up! When people tell you are rubbish at something continually, you begin to believe it after a while. I speak from experience. BUT, it is NEVER too late to change that mind set. YOU HAVE THE POWER, AND ABILITY TO DO WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO, NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS..EVER!

I was ill at the weekend, so it’s a couple of weeks since I did my last work. I am still pretty wiped out, so this week, I have been taking care of myself. Not quite the pre marathon week I would have liked. But I am hoping ultimately it will all be okay on the day!!  I haven’t done quite as much training as I would like to have done. The most miles I have walked in total is 19. So I am hoping I won’t notice the extra 7.2 miles I have to walk on top of that!!

So this week I have actually felt like a proper sports person. Well I like to think so anyway. My knee is still bothering me after my accident a few weeks ago, so I have been doing my best to rest it when possible, I have been drinking lots of liquid..water, eating carbs…the non sugar kind, and getting plenty of early nights. I’ve been putting together my marathon kit bag , hopefully I won’t be needing too many plasters! My walking shoes seem to be worn in now, I have my charity t shirt, and a special one to wear over the finish line in memory of my gran. (For those that don’t know my late gran was the inspiration for my sugar free journey. She passed away aged 100 following a stroke, which is why I am walking in aid of the Stroke Association UK).

I have no idea how Saturday will go, I am more worried about getting lost at the moment!! When I signed up I always said, I wanted to finish it, and I didn’t want to come last. So here’s hoping!!! I will update you all after marathon day.

As I said my gran is my inspiration for my sugar free journey, and this marathon. So I thought I would add a picture of my gran, and myself . This is us celebrating her 100th birthday just a few months before she passed away. My gran loved to walk, and ate healthily apart from the odd doughnut, choc ice, and bag of crisps! Sounds like a good recipe for getting to 100 to me!

 

Plant a seed, and who knows where life will lead.

I am so sorry it has taken me so long to write a blog, life has been incredibly busy with marathon training, celebrating my birthday,  relatives staying from Australia, not to mention life!! Life is still pretty busy, my marathon is in less than a week!!

I’ve recently been reflecting back on how my life has changed in the 18 months since I quit sugar. It is amazing how changing just one thing in your life can lead to many different changes. For me it has led to a change of career, blogging, sugar free workshops, and walking marathons. My life is certainly very different to how it was. It can be incredibly hard taking that first step whether it be quitting something, or trying something new. But once you take that step, it can lead to many wonderful things. I am delighted to say that my PRACTICALLY A SUGAR FREE ME FACEBOOK page as just reached over 400 likes. Also I recently contacted my local stroke group to let them know about my marathon, and I am really excited to say that they have invited me to give them a talk about my marathon experiences. I am really touched to have been invited to talk, and I really believe this is one of those opportunities that would never have occurred if I hadn’t quit sugar.

As to my marathon, in the last few weeks I have been pushed to the limit. I have found myself in challenging situations, whilst on some walks. It has been at times scary, and very tough. A couple of weeks ago, I found myself lost out on country lanes, due to poor directions, and road signs. It was getting dark, it was very wet, and my phone battery was about to die, and I had no idea where I was. I really thought I was there for the night, it was a very scary and traumatic experience. I was close to quitting the experience, especially after my accident where I injured my knee, and knocked myself out. I have been pushed to the limit, in the past when pushed to the limit I used to resort to sugar, but I don’t any more.

When you quit sugar you have to let go of the crutch you once relied on , you have to dig deep to push yourself forward even when you feel you have nothing left to give. Quitting sugar isn’t always for the faint hearted. BUT if you can hang in there, and keep pushing yourself forward, you can create incredible changes in your life. The changes are far reaching , and don’t just stop at your physical, and emotional well being. A year ago today aged 37 , I moved to South Wales to start a full time Youth and Community Studies degree. I always say it was my mid 30’s crisis. Back then I was over weight, and a sugar addict. Doing a degree had been a life long dream, back then one of the other dreams I had was run a marathon. Next week I get to realise that dream, maybe not a running marathon , but a walking marathon. Regardless of how it’s done 26.2 miles, is still 26.2 miles, and I am proud that I have put myself out there.

I am raising money for the Stroke Association , and my walk is run by Discover Adventure. If you feel you would like to sponsor me , here is the link to my just giving page. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tracy-smithers1.

I am one of those people that really believe anything is possible, so to finish this post, I want to say, you are creator of your destiny. What is that one dream you have? And how can you make it happen. Below I am including a then , and now pic. The first picture is of me on my graduation day (10/9/2010), the second is me on my birthday a couple of weeks ago (8/9/2017). I PROMISE YOU, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE….MIRACLES DO HAPPEN!!!

Starting with a blank page…..

Good morning everyone, I hope this finds you well. Life has been is a bit busy at the moment, with marathon training, my birthday is on Friday so celebrating early, and I have some relatives coming to stay from Australia. I will update my blog shortly. In the mean time I thought I would re blog this post from earlier this year. For many here in the UK, it’s back to school time for many. So I thought this post was appropriate. How would you like your new page , or chapter to start???!!! Have a lovely day everyone. If you haven’t already found it , why not check out my PRACTICALLY A SUGAR FREE ME FACEBOOK PAGE?

Practically A Sugar Free Me

If I am honest in the past when I have thought about trying something new, especially an eating regime, I have worried about failing. And failing has meant not achieving the ideal weight on the scales, or fitting into those size skinny jeans, or continually looking, and feeling FAT!!! I had gotten into the cycle of placing a high expectation on myself, and was worried about getting it right/doing it right. Not only that , but when I saw some of the suggested diets they didn’t sit right with me. I remember when I was first looking at going sugar free, I didn’t understand some of the ideas. Others were far too extreme for me, and I knew it would be too tough. There were things I enjoyed, and couldn’t give them up. That’s when I had the idea why not do it MY WAY, come up with my own…

View original post 361 more words