Twilight Race for Life 2012 - Done!

Back at the beginning of August I wrote about the fact that I have signed up to Cancer Research's Twilight Race for Life.  This year was the first year that CRUK has put on the Twilight version of the Race for Life and it was only held in four different towns, Norwich, Southampton, Windsor and Swansea.  Being the closest to me, I had entered the Windsor one.

I had planned on upping my game this year and jogging the 5km course, however, the nearest I got to do any training was downloading the C25K app!!  Time flew away with me and somehow the Race for Life was here before I knew it!

My race number and back sign

Over the last few weeks I have been having problems with my feet, as I suffer from flat feet, meaning that I find it very painful to walk.  This is something that I have suffered with for a number of years, but normally the pain is manageable.  The last few weeks however, I have found that the pain has intensified when I walk. Nevertheless, I wasn't going to let this stop me (although I did think about it a couple of times!) and off I went with my sisters to Windsor Racecourse.

We arrived at about 7pm and after we parked up we made our way to the main area.  On our walk over the bridge we were met with a few of the volunteers giving out free glo-sticks, which I thought was a nice touch. Once we made it into the main area, the first stall we came across was one which you filled out a paper lantern bag with your message and lit a candle for them.  As well as the usual burger and hot drinks stalls, there was also a couple of stalls selling Race for Life and Cancer Research merchandise.  The were both reasonably priced, with a hoodie costing between £25 and £30 and a t-shirt with all of the participants names on only costing £15.

Me and my sister before the Race

I did find that the crowd wasn't as large as previous Race for Life's that I have attended, but I think that made it all the more special.  As well as the volunteers that we had seen on the bridge, there were loads of others going through the crowds handing out the free glo-sticks and bracelets.

At about 7.30pm the compère came on to spur on the crowd and then there was a speech from a CRUK representative about how the money we raise helps in the fight against cancer.  Then, at about 7.50pm a couple of local aerobics instructors came on for the warm up and then, before we knew it, we were lining up to start.

I found the first km the worst as my feet had already started to hurt after the warm up, but I persevered and soon the pain in my calves started to ease.  The course was lined with glo-sticks and it all looked very pretty.    I took it pretty steady and just kept to my own pace.  My sister had power walked off as I told her not to wait for me.  I felt pretty pleased with myself when I saw the 1km marker!  All along the course there were marshalls cheering everyone on.  Just before the 2km mark the route doubled back on itself and I saw the runners and joggers on their way back to the finish line.  It had only been about 20 minutes at that point and hats off to those ladies!

Finished!

By the 3km mark I felt my toes on my right foot going numb.  I still didn't let this stop me and carried on, but by the 4km mark my whole foot felt swollen and numb, so I thought that it was best that I stopped for a few moments.  I circled my ankle and felt the blood rushing back to my foot.  Once it felt more 'normal' I then carried on.  At first it was a little painful, but not too bad.  I carried on and found that actually I was managing to walk at a slightly faster pace for that last km.  In around an hour I completed the 5km walk.  My sister had completed hers in about 45-50 minutes, so I wasn't actually that far behind her.  I was really pleased to get past that finish line though and collect my medal and goodie bag.  I was also pleased to see that I wasn't the last one to finish! lol.

After stopping with my sisters to pose for a finished photo all of a sudden my right foot filled with pain.  I assumed it was cramp at first and hobbled over to the car.  My other sister had very kindly agreed to be our driver of the night as she wasn't taking part with us.  When the pain didn't subside, I did worry a little about whether I have done something to my ankle, but seeing as I hadn't stumbled or fallen, I wasn't too concerned.  Having now slept and rested up my foot, the pain is not quite as bad as it was, but it does still hurt to walk on it.  I think I will just monitor it for a couple of days and see how it goes.

All in all though, despite the pain, I really enjoyed the evening.  I was caught up in the excitement of the evening and the feeling of doing something good for charity.  If I do sign up again next year, then I will definitely sign up for the Twilight one again.

In the meantime though, if anyone would like to sponsor me, there is still time.  You can do so by clicking the button on the right or by texting JCRO58 £2 to 70070.  :-)

Jackie. x