Liverpool Big Fun Run and a mad weekend of moving house....

A massive thank you to everyone who donated to my fundraising page and also to everyone who shared it and those who shared my previous blog post. I really appreciate each and every one and was overwhelmed by all the people who went out their way to press share on it. Not only was it so great to see so many people spreading the word about a fantastic charity but it was also really great to see so many people helping me to educate and spread awareness :) Thank you from the bottom of my heart. The boost in donations in the hours leading up to and after the run was awesome - they spurred us on and made our exhaustion feel so worth it!

The run itself went fantastic. Sam and I drove to Ormskirk to meet Hannah and Becca and then we got the train to St Michael's station together and then walked from there to Sefton park, so we'd already had a warm up and done a bit of exercise!

As we were walking up to the park the heavens opened and we got soaked. I was walking in shorts and t-shirt - highly unlike me, I know - as was Sam. As it got nearer to the start time though it brightened up and was lovely and warm and sunny for the actual run.

Before the run, Sam and I spoke to Brodie, the lovely DJ who gave PORT charity a good plug and let us explain why we were running and what it was all about which was another good opportunity for us. He spoke to lots of different people who were all running for great charities such as MNDA (Motor Neurone Disease Assosiation), SANDS, Macmillan, NSPCC and loads more. He also spoke to lots of people who were just running it for fun and hoping to get round the course with a good personal time so there was a great atmosphere before the race.

Sam and I got fairly close to the front at the start line so it didn't take us too long to get going. Sam hasn't done any jogging before but absolutely flew round without hardly breaking a sweat. I on the other hand had done quite a bit of training and was absolutely pooped at the end. I haven't managed to do any jogging since I came out of hospital but I did manage to do quite a bit of exercise when I was in Scotland so I wasn't too unfit. I've been jogging on and off for about 2 years, with the 'off' periods being when I've been too ill and also I didn't do very much last summer when I was working. I've always done 'interval' jogging - a regime of running and walking - with the longest I've jogged without walking being 8 minutes once. My 5K personal best was 36 minutes. However, it's amazing what a good charity on your back does for your will power! Sam and I completed the race in 31 minutes AND... we jogged the whole time! So, I've gone from jogging 8 minutes (which I probably haven't managed in well over a year) to 31 minutes solid. I was bouncing off the ceiling with happiness when we crossed the finish line, not least because I was knackered and just wanted to stop running, but I couldn't believe how quickly we had run it in!

Before we started the race

Posers!

Talking to Brodie, the commentator/DJ

Crossing the finish line and feeling ecstatic!

With our amazing fan girls, catching our breath after the race.

We got some medals and a little goody bag each, caught our breath on the grass for 10-15 minutes and then we headed back to the train station so that we could get back to the house. We had to move all our stuff out of our old, smelly, wet, rancid house on Saturday and hand the keys back (so much good riddance!) and into a much fresher new house. Once we got off the train we headed straight to the former 'Blue Juice and Java', now 'Cobble' - our favourite place in Ormskirk, for a bit of a refuel and then we went back to the house.

I left Sam to put some drawers together (I had nowhere near enough storage space with only one small wardrobe and nothing else so had to get a couple of cheap sets from B&M!) whilst Hannah and I began shifting our stuff. We didn't finish moving everything across until 9.30 in the evening and then we were left with bedrooms and hallways full of boxes and bin bags and the task of unpacking began. By this point, as you can imagine I was absolutely exhausted beyond belief. I unpacked as much as I could, had a shower, made my bed and then got in it and went flat out. I was so ready for it!

I don't know how any of us were still standing at the end of the day.

I'm absolutely shattered now, I just wanted to sleep at work all day and so I'm going to sign off and go to bed as soon as I'm finished with this. All my muscles are also understandably stiff and sore after my run and I've been hobbling about like a crippled penguin all day. It was all so so worth it but I just need to play some catch up now. I'm going to try and get as much rest as possible as I'm off to V-Fest with the girls this weekend. I'm so excited to see George Ezra that I might just wet myself (NB: figure of speech.)