Race day performance depends on two things:

• Not getting injured – unfortunately, my ankle got buggered playing netball. It was actually football, but I refuse to blame her.
• A good night’s sleep – I only managed 4 hours

Actually, the vital factor is the training that you must do beforehand. 12 hours sleep does not substitute hard miles run. I felt like I hadn’t done enough, but my version of preparation would be five dry runs of the actual route a year before the race.

So I set off to the o2 Arena for the start of the race with Johnnie (my running partner). I had a weak ankle and the feeling of workday tiredness. It was a gloriously sunny day. Perfect for a picnic but not ideal for a run. The race was well organised. It was a relief to find that there was somewhere to put my stuff and that I wouldn’t have to carry around my wallet, oyster, keys and phone. It also started on time.

I did a steady 9.5 minute per mile pace for the first few miles. My ankle hurt a bit but Johnnie and I soon hit a rhythm. It was hot and stopping for water was tricky. You had to virtually stop and wait to grab a cup off the table because the stewards were so busy. At the halfway stage, we were looking good and on track for a 2 hour (plus a bit) finish.

There were some killer hills at the 7/8 mile stage. Fortunately, training on "death hill" in Greenwich Park meant that we coped well. We soon hit the familiar training spot of Blackheath and Greenwich park. Alas, Johnnie got tired and graciously told me to go on ahead. Then I developed a horrible pain in my right knee. For the last three miles I pathetically hobbled towards the finish line. My theory that the pain would go away after 20 seconds was completely wrong.

I waddled over the finish line at 2 hours and 13 minutes. I finished 5,627th out of 9,065. The pain was worthwhile and I hope it has done a lot of good for Steven. Now, I’m determined to go back and beat the two hour mark.

I’m now on a post-run recovery regime of beer, pain killers, glucosamine, ice packs and rest.

Tomorrow, I run a half marathon and I’m running it to raise money for Steven. I can’t do his story full justice here without writing for 24 hours and missing the race. So please go to his website here.

In short, Steven is a Rwandan pastor who is helping out the victims of the genocide and AIDs. He has adopted 20 orphans and has created employment for 250 widows through his tailoring project. He does need your help and money. Email me on admin(at)jameshuang.co.ukif you wish to donate.

I’m also running to achieve one of those “life goal” things that my life coach keeps going on about. Raising money for Steven is part of my drive for efficiency through multi-tasking. The first 9 miles should be fine. The remaining four miles is unknown territory. I would have trained more, but that was curtailed after a netball/rounders injury at the work’s sports day. I’m walking around the house with an improvised ice-pack strapped to my ankle made from ice cubes and a towel.

The most worrying part is that my running shoes have 12 miles life left in them before their warranty expires. After which Nike is not responsible for loss of limbs.

I ate in London’s Chinatown twice in two days, having resisted for over a year. The food was quite average, but chicken’s feet does taste the same wherever you go. So I was still happy.

I’ve had two weekends without needing to study. It’s been great to spend the time reading, playing computer games and cooking proper meals. I spend time in some very esteemed company – five junior doctors shooting zombies at the arcade. This is why no-one makes shows about auditors.

I’m already looking towards the next milestone. I’m relearning the website building skills that I never actually had. Once again, I feel like I have to squeeze every productive second out of the day.

 
I’ve displayed a photo of the Sequoia tree at the Natural History Museum because it is 1500+ yeas old. Our lives are horribly slight in comparison. All that we aim for will not last and probably won’t deserve a place in the Natural History Museum.

However, please forget the trees because each day is important. With every second that passes we loose the chance to practice our audit skills by counting the tree rings.