OMG!!! We did it!!! We got round, 5k, in 42 mins!!! :happy036:
Oh ladies ( & Jot of course
)
If you haven't ever done a Race for Life before...DO IT! What a lovely, emotional, fun experience it is!
We woke up feeling a little nervous at what we'd got ourselves in to :fear: After breakfast Gwyn went off to Church and so began "the pre-race preparations"!!!
No...not stretches or warm ups or route planning but...
Showers...us fairies need to look and smell good
Make up...ditto
Hair...including copious applications of glitter hair spray
Hair...removal of :ashamed0005:
Frantic search for knickers that won't disappear up ones bum the moment any movement is made :sign0007:
Emptying of all wardrobes of any clothing loosely resembling running joggers...closely followed by several exclamations of "Does my bum look big in this?" :massmoon:
Sticking on of heel plasters :character00264:
Deciding to wear two bras each to minimise wobble :banana dancer:
Careful application of wings, tiara, garland, race number, back poster and photos :crazy:
So then we were off! The park was absolutely packed but it was well organised for parking and we soon met up with the rest of the girls from our little team. There was a huge screen which was used for the warm up...which Vicki and I missed cos we were queuing for the
Then before we knew it we were being asked to start lining up. I was so nervous but it was lovely to have Vicki there as she was just SO excited. We gradually moved forward until suddenly we reached the start line and the space opened up and we could run. Well we didn't run far...wouldn't you think they might have flattened out the hills a bit?
So we adopted a very cunning plan of walking UP the hills and then running DOWN them again which was actually quite successful! It was a really spectacular sight to see this huge sea of pink snaking its way around one of the most beautiful parks I know. There were all sorts of costumes, women running with dogs and buggies, all shapes and sizes and abilities. And all the way round were people cheering us all on! Gwyn popped up several times along the course with water for us bless him, and I saw my great auntie and some cousins too. And it was great to see
JimofTroy there too! (Hello Sarah!!!) She'd RUN the
10k race earlier and completed it in around
1hr 15mins which is just FAB!!!
Well done JoT!!! So anyway Vicki and I carried on with the walk up/run down plan and finished the race in just under 3/4hr
When we crossed the finish line :faint2: we were given a medal, goody bag and bottle of water, and Gwyn, Andrew & Matt were there to meet us :grouphugg:
I have to say it was the most amazing afternoon, and I will definitely be doing it again. A wonderful experience for everyone, and a great way to raise money for a very deserving cause.
I dearly wish I could have dashed straight off to tell Dad all about it...he'd have loved it! Hopefully the money we all raised today will stop other Dads going through the pain that mine did. I want to say a BIG :thankyou: to everyone who sponsored me, and for all your words of encouragement!!! :sign0168:
Put your names down to do it girls...you won't regret it xxx
I suppose I'd better confess that we celebrated tonight with a curry, a bottle of wine and a tub of ice cream...and flipping gorgeous it was too!!! :8855:
Here's a few photos of Vicki and I, and also our little team xx