r1Pped.com

I'm a strong believer in 'mind over matter', probably the reason I'm very rarely ill. Sod's law that this weekend was one of those rare occasions. For the first time since I've moved over here, I went down with a virus on Friday night that left me bed-ridden for the whole of the next day. Not sure what it was, but my glands swelled up to the point where I thought they would burst which caused bad ear-ache, head ache and a very sore throat. But somehow, mind won over the illness and by the end of Sunday I was at least able to go for a quiet stroll along the front. My glands were gradually reducing back to a more bearable size and I felt confident I could at least get a good way round the 9 mile walk lined up for me in the Belfast Marathon the next day.

Maybe not quite on the scale of London, but the determination and enthusiasm was the same...

I did the walk with Karen, a colleague who started at MTB at the same time as me and who also lives in Larne. We set off through the starting archway at around 9.15am.

I took this next picture as we went past St. George's Market to give some idea of the extent of the people taking part...

And of course there are those who really get into the spirit of the day..


We were blessed with the weather as the sun stayed firmly behind a low bank of cloud and mist for the entire walk, keeping the temperature at a cool and bearable level. This probably helped us get round in the respectable time of just over 2 hours.

This was a welcome sight - turning into the last few yards...

Susan Brennan, from the office was there to welcome us at the finish, which was a lovely gesture on her part. Great to see a familiar face at the end and have someone to take our picture for us... thanks Sue.


As you can see from the last photos, the sun did come out and I was able to spend the rest of the afternoon lying out in the sun in the back garden - perfect end to the weekend.
Before I head off, I must say a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Sandra and Alison and my cuz Phil. Hope you all had a great time on your special day.

Kxx