Eddie, Izz {this too} ‘ard?

The last couple of days have been peppered with colleagues' and friends’ delectable musings about my latest challenge. To be honest, I have been slightly taken aback by people’s reactions to HOW insane/ brave I must be – who knew dressing as a LOVEheart was so potentially hazardous?! – I have dressed up as much worse –believe me!

Actually it seems that the “running 10km everyday for a month” is proving the surprisingly controversial bit of my February challenge. Me insane – without a doubt, but brave - umm N.O. - I’m still the exact same, lazy, creaky-kneed, wimpish, unfit soul who loathes running; hence the need for a mammoth challenge just to scare me into training over winter.

However when expert fitness professionals or proficient marathon runners distance themselves from your challenge and simultaneously commend you on your ambition to run 10km everyday for a month – you do start to worry JUST A LITTLE that you have somehow unwittingly left the “get fit and fabulous camp” and arrived at “no man’s land”. Personally speaking, the notion of running 10km everyday is not a patch on completing even ONE Marathon in my book. Plus I see, seemingly sane people with their backpacks running to work every single day – so it can’t be sooooo impossibly hard – can it?!

To be honest I feel EXACTLY the same as when I embarked on my Moonwalk training many moons ago or my first 10km race or latterly, Commando Challenge: BLISSFULLY IGNORANT. Seriously, pre-kicking off the Moonwalk training, I struggled to grasp whether it was even PHYSICALLY possible to walk 10km to and from work every day. Sad to say, I was (and am still) THAT clueless when it comes to new fitness hurdles. When you are not a habitual athlete or have any discernable fitness habits whatsoever, you essentially have no baseline reference for whatever you sign up to fitness wise. Not so long ago I had never run 10km in my life; similarly, I have clearly never run 10km everyday for a month. If I pull this off, I’m 1000000% convinced that I’ll NEVER run 10km everyday for a month EVER again. But at the moment it doesn’t feel like a bad idea as it just doesn’t feel real. When people look aghast at what I’m proposing to do, I can only assume YOU are the heroes!!! since you are clearly all SUPERathletes, intimately aware of the exact hell that lies in store for me.

Right now, I’m still trying to figure out HOW to most effectively train for a challenge like this – since I am TOTALLY clueless – I decided to turn to a fellow champion runner for inspiration. But forget Paula Radcliffe, Usain Bolt, Paul Tergat (marathon world record holder 2:04:55!! peeps) or Rosie Swale Bolt (ran round the world – 20,000 miles!!), there is only one person’s experiences who I truly feel comfortable using as my reference guide.

That of course is fellow (though admittedly FAR, FAR, FAR superior) novice turned proficient runner; Mr Eddie Izzard: Marathon Man.

I bow down before you Eddie.

If Eddie, at aged 47, with flat feet and no history of running can complete 43 marathons (1,110 miles) around the UK in 51 days with only 9 weeks preparation time, it is ONLY logical that in 9 weeks I can train to complete 10km a day for 28 days.

In all honesty, by comparison, I’m taking a REALLY soft option!! So THANK YOU Eddie for helping to restore my blind faith that ANYTHING is possible – even if, like me, you are a COMPLETE novice idiot, oops I meant runner!! xx

I love Eddie's 15 marathon vs 20 marathon remark!