Those that know me will know it doesn't take a lot to
confuse me. So it won’t surprise you to learn that confusion reigned in my tiny
mind when I came home from work one day to two magazines on my doormat. One, apologetic
that I didn't get in to the London Marathon, the other congratulating me that I
had. Upon closer inspection, I soon realised that the congratulatory one was
actually addressed to Karen.
“Didn't I tell you that I had entered when you asked me to
stay up and enter you in the ballot?”
“Pretty sure I’d have remembered THAT conversation love!” (I
probably wouldn't have remembered).
And so it began. Karen’s amazing journey from being a
spectator to a participant.
We researched several training programs and found a suitable
training program, and at the same time Karen decided to join a slimming group.
In the last 5 months I have been in complete awe of my wife.
She has got her head down and done exactly what she has needed to do to get fit
for London. Even in the early days when she got injured about 6 weeks into the
schedule, rested, came back a little too soon, rested some more then got back
on the program, she never once said that she couldn't do it. Once she had recovered
from her injury, she picked up the training schedule a couple of weeks behind
and clawed her way back to being back on track with it again. She never missed
a run after the injury. Not one. She simply woke up with the alarm on a
weekday, got into her running gear and ran, whilst I was still fumbling for the
snooze button on my slippers. As the longer weekend runs came up, she took them
on one at a time and simply did them, ticked them off her schedule and looked
to see what the next one was. On top of this, she also regularly attended the
slimming classes, and made steady, regular progress with her weight as well. Karen has been simply amazing. A true inspiration to me, and
many others that I know.
I was lucky enough to pick up a charity place for London,
and will now have the privilege of running with her in tomorrow’s race. To say
that I will be the proudest runner there tomorrow will be a masterful piece of
understatement. As a friend wrote on her Facebook wall, she won’t need luck
tomorrow. She has done all the hard work. Tomorrow is all about reaping the
rewards of that hard work. It is about everything she has done since
confirmation of her entry landed on our doormat coming together and getting her
to the finish line. She had not run a step for years when she entered, yet
tomorrow she will do something that many people only dream about. She will run
the London Marathon. Instead of being in front of the TV screen watching the
events, she will be part of it. Instead of being a dreamer, she will be a
marathon runner.
Enjoy your day darling. You so deserve it.
Love Stephen.
