#9 Hanner Marathon Caerdydd

So October 2013 came by very quickly and so did my 9th and 10th half marathons! Number 9 was in the beautiful city of Cardiff where I could go and visit my wonderful sister, Becky, for the weekend too :) had a great weekend seeing her brand new office and going to a gig!

It was great weather on the day and the sunglasses had to make an appearance! An estimated 15,000 runners were on the start line and showed how much the Cardiff half marathon has grown recently. The course had changed from 2011 when I first ran it and took out the dual carriageway section, an excellent decision! I wanted to push the pace and see what I could do, even though training hadn't been great with a busy work month and exams!

The first 9 miles I felt great and was on for around 1:25 but then my legs basically said no! The bay is possibly one of the most picturesque parts of a half marathon I've done (this is my 20th in total in 4 and a half years!) and was feeling really good at this point. Still pleased with my time of 1:27:08 though as the injury comeback is still continuing! 

Well done to everyone who ran the Cardiff with me too :) especially Anna for running a 3 min PB of 1:33, a cracking performance and Tash for completing her first half marathon!

Run to the Beat take 2 - the comeback

So 14 months after completing my 7th half marathon of my challenge I have finally been able to do my 8th! In that time I have broken my foot and damaged the ligaments, had two operations and been training back up since April.

Yesterday I ran Run to the Beat half marathon in 1 hour 26 minutes which I am extremely happy with as I wasn't sure how my foot would hold up in a race, even though training has been going well! So pleased to be back and with 4 half marathons to go over the next 3 months, I'll be able to finish my challenge :)

I have already raised £2,110.55 for Cancer Research and thank you so much to everyone who has sponsored me so far. If you haven't and can possibly spare a few bob for a great cause then that would be fantastic as that's what this is all for!

Thanks very much and I'll let you all know how my next races go in Cardiff and Leicester at the beginning of October!

Cheers from a very happy James!

The final five

After the challenge being put on hold last year with a broken foot, I am now back running fully and have entered the final 5 half marathons in September through to December. It was gutting to put it on hold having raised a fantastic £2,000 from all my amazing friends and family and I want to push home for these final races to raise as much as possible for Cancer Research that helps so many people.

I will be running Run to the Beat in September (the one I did being pushed around in a wheelchair last year!), Cardiff and Leicester in October, Bath hilly half in November and the Santa run in December. It's going to be a hectic few months completing the races and I hope I can raise a lot money in the process.

Follow me on Twitter to see my progress at the races! https://twitter.com/JamesGardner22

Looking forward to more regular posts on here now :)

James

Back running and planning to complete my challenge :)

So for the last month or so I have been back running! Very exciting given I had 8-9 months without going for a run which was very frustrating. Every week that passes and with every run or gym session my foot feels stronger and stronger!

Therefore, I feel it's time to crack on and finish my challenge! I have signed up for Run to the Beat half marathon in September, the one I completed being pushed round in a wheelchair, which will be my first one back. A fitting comeback I feel!

I may have to change some of the races however. The August 'Cross the bay' half marathon I don't think will be a good idea to do as my first one back and Bristol is only a week after Run to the Beat so may give that one a miss. Thinking of swapping in Leicester and Cardiff in October, both of which I have done before and are fantastic races!

The training starts now :) and as I haven't posted this yet, here is a little x-ray of my foot with the bit of screw that has been left in! Won't affect me though so bring on the rest of my challenge!

Yours, the bionic man

The beginning of the road to recovery begins ...

I can finally start to build the strength up in my foot properly as the screws are out and everything is healed :) well, won't know for certain for another few months how the injury has healed but should be fine! Physio starts this week and doing exercises every day to get back to fitness.

Stitches came out last Monday and the scabs are healing up fast. Scars are there and still aches quite a bit when walking on it but it's getting better by the day! Swimming and cycling in the gym to come within the next week or so and hopefully running in 6 weeks!

Just over 6 months later from breaking my foot and I can get back to normal :)

The screws are out :)

So it has been a while since my last post due to the annoying injury but on Friday, pretty much 6 months since they went in, I have had my screws removed from my foot! Well, one had broken so half was left in a bone but that shouldn't affect me! 2 weeks of rest and then the stitches can come out and I can start building my foot back up again :)

Doctor says it should be about 6-8 weeks and I can start running again, in the mean time, the swimming pool and gym shall be in full use (after sitting with it propped up for 2 weeks after the op!) with cycling etc. as these will involve less pressure on my foot. Fitness will improve and then I can ease back into running!

Had an email form Just Giving yesterday to say my page runs out in 2 days! That is now extended until the end of 2013 so hopefully I can fit in my remaining 4 half marathons that I have left before then, will just play it  by ear. I literally can't wait to get back, so frustrated with my lack of sport in the past 6 months, not looking forward to what my fitness will be like!

Anyway, the road to recovery is on its way, although it starts by spending a lot of time sitting with my foot propped up above my waist which, when trying to study at my table, is quite uncomfortable!

Yours, Cripple x

Run to the Beat ... pushed in a wheelchair!

I may have a broken foot but I can still do a half marathon!

Yesterday I did Run to the Beat half marathon, the October race I was planning on running before I broke my foot but did it by being pushed in a wheelchair! It was a fantastic race and we got so much support and cheers from runners and people watching throughout the course. Everyone loved the idea and spurred us on!

Thanks so much to my 9 pushers: Tom, Emily, Max, Matt, Michael, Rob, Graeme, Alex and Christian; you were all fantastic to push me round in that chair for the 13 miles, I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did! Can't thank you all enough for giving up your time to do it. It was something a bit different and hopefully it can help raise awareness.

Check out the video Max took on his GoPro camera on the way round, it's brilliant!

https://vimeo.com/52343407

I have also raised over £2,000 now which is far more than I can ever have hoped for! Thanks so much to everyone who has donated. You can still donate to Cancer Research UK via my just giving page on the top of the page. I hope you can give what you can to this great cause and that events like this can help raise awareness.

Will probably be a while until I carry on with the challenge, will keep my blog updated with my recovery progress!

Thanks guys :) x