We did it!

After months of training, fundraising, tweeting, blogging and more training, Team Bangs on the Run finally pounded the streets of Paris on Sunday. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my certificate to prove it. 

My time: 2 hours 3 minutes 21 seconds

I was totally stunned when I found out my official time. As I said before, I was aiming to get round a) in one piece and b) in 2 hours 30 mins or less, so it's safe to say I am chuffed with my time and the fact that I ran the whole way round. Before Sunday, I'd never run that far without stopping for a drink/stretch/walk/pee/cry, and I am immensely proud of my body for being able to carry me that far without needing to do any of that. A testament to training, rest days, eating and drinking properly beforehand. 

The race was amazing. But that wasn't the case the whole way through. Here are the highs and lows (I'll update with pictures as soon as I can):

Highs:

• Bumping into Alicia, one of my best friends from secondary school as I entered the Parc Floral. We hadn't seen each other in years and there she was! 
• The beautiful (if chilly) weather.
• The amazing crowds (especially the adorable kids)
• Spotting Alicia's boyfriend Bruce at about 8km and running with him until...
• ...THE FIREMEN. FRENCH FIREMEN. FYI, this is where the hot firemen cliché comes from.
• The entertainment around the course - brass bands, rock bands, bongo players, ABBA tribute bands, drunks...
• Being cheered on by Jon and Michael (our amazing Team Bangs cheerleaders) at 16km - that really kept me going.
• Realising I was going to run the whole freaking way!
• The atmosphere of the final 500m.
• Crossing the finish line, bursting into tears and being reunited with some of the Team Bangs girls.

Lows:

• Not having time to go to the toilet before the race (6 portaloos? Seriously?!).
• The bottleneck for the first few kilometres.
• Trying not to break my neck running past the rehydration stations - orange peel and bottle tops everywhere.
• The cobbles.
• The hill at 9km.
• The even bigger hill at 17km - that one kept on climbing to the 18km mark. Not cool, Paris.
• Sticky tarmac - a result of hundreds of litres of Powerade being chucked away. 
• Getting my miles and kilometres muddled up (for some reason I thought I was running 20.1km, not 21km) and having to dig deep to get that final kilometre out of my legs.
• Not running with any of the Team Bangs girls.

Now, I'm going to try not to get too emotional (I can't promise anything, I still get a bit teary when I think about the race), but I want to say a huge THANK YOU to some amazing people:

All of you fantastic people who sponsored Team Bangs on the Run: We ran for you, for the money you'd so kindly donated to Refuge. Thanks to you, we've raised over £6,000, which will help women and children escaping domestic violence in so many ways. 

Muireann (Bangs and a Bun): Our fearless leader, hero and inspiration. It's because of you that any of this happened. Thank you for your support, encouragement and kick-ass attitude, and congratulations on knocking 25 minutes off your previous half marathon PB!

Team Bangs on the Run: What an incredible group of women. Without you, I wouldn't have made it through my training and to Paris. Love you!

Gemma (Jungle GG): I only signed up because I thought you were joking, but thank you so much for making me do it.

Nike and Shock Absorber: Thank you for the awesome t-shirts, printing costs and amazing sports bra - my tatas are forever grateful!

Check out Bangs' Team Bangs in Paris video to meet some of the team and see how we got on. Also, there's still time to donate on our JustGiving page for Refuge, so if the urge to donate takes you, don't fight it. 

PS: Sorry this post is late, I'm still having laptop woe.