Pacemaker not holding me back to run New York Marathon 2012

Less than a year after having a pacemaker fitted I am fulfilling my dream of running the 2012 New York Marathon.

But first I will take place in the 2012 Adidas Auckland Marathon as  a heart racer. Having experienced first hand the vital work that the organisation does I am

using the opportunity to raise money for the heart foundation – a cause, quite literally, close to my heart.

Through focus and determination, and with the help of the New Zealand Heart Foundation, I am back out pounding the pavements in training.

I have inspired 20 other people to join my Fitness Fix team for this years Auckland 1/2 marathon event as walkers and runners. And the great news for me is that I can get back out doing what I love… keeping fit and healthy and inspiring others to do the same.

So for those interested I am going to update my weekly blog with my training, the high & lows of the week and anything else that has inspired me as a result of my goal…. enjoy the snippets that I share with you each week most importantly use this as inspiration to get out there and achieve your own fitness success.

Today was the end of week five of training and this prompted me to get writing!

What has really helped so far is the time that I spent planning for my 20 week training programme before I got started. This means that each weekend I can look at my upcoming schedule for the next week and make sure that these sessions are my focus. This  allows me to schedule my work commitments in around training and if I have a heavy training week then I know to go a little easier on my self in other areas of my life.

Secondly I visited a sports nutritionist to get my energy intake right.  I have a great meal plan to get the most out of my training & my recovery And I am also taking Usana essentials to give me an added boost and I take CoQuinine to support healthy cardiovascular function.

Thirdly I made an appointment with my local physio to have a biomechanic assessment and I will go back at regular intervals to have a check up and hopefully catch anything before it becomes a problem. This was a timely reminder that I need to be vigilant with my ITB band.

So far the Sunday runs have been the highlight. I have 2 training buddies, Carl my husband, and a long time school friend Lee who is also training for a marathon too. The key to these runs is that we mix it up each week and run somewhere new. And of course there is the social element to it by chatting along the way. We have already done some fantastic Sunday runs and done a fair amount of talking!

Each time I head out the door I have to pinch myself that I am off to New York & I picture what it will be like to run down the streets of New York with supporters cheering you on at every step of the way! What more incentive do you need.

Have a happy and healthy week and I look forward to updating you at the end of week 6.

Help us win the race against heart disease by donating to our fundraising page

http://www.heartracer.org.nz/FitnessFix/