After months of training, starting off with a simple 5k walk around the Suffolk countryside, and finishing with two 13-mile stomps back-to-back, it was finally time to tackle the big one - the MoonWalk!
I headed down to London bright and early Saturday morning to have a relaxing afternoon with my sister. Kicking things off with a hearty bowl of porridge and stretching our legs with a mid-day wander around North London. We tucked into cream cheese and smoked salmon bagels from a local food market, and treated ourselves to some homemade flapjacks and vanilla fudge for during our epic challenge later that night.
The race prep was still ongoing when we got home, whipping up a protein packed chilli with sweet potato wedges to keep us fully fuelled throughout our event. And, we even got time to watch The Voice before we headed on over to Hyde Park!
Bum bags at the ready, we hopped on a tube and followed the crowds of pink feather boas and decorated bras towards the huge fuchsia tent in Central London. We made our way to the media tent and slipped into our fetching walking gear, before settling down for a few hours in the rock and roll diner. We munched on corndogs, mocktails, and mini pecan pies while we geared up for the long night ahead.
It wasn't long before midnight rocked around and we were lined up at the starting line. As the clock counted down it was time to put all that hard work into practise.
Five miles in and we were making good time, with 15-minute miles under our belts. But, with a lot of stop-starting across the main roads, it wasn't long until the niggling pains started setting in. So, to keep our spirits up, Laura and I came up with various games to keep us amused and distracted from any discomfort. By mile 13 we were losing momentum - it was cold and we were tired. But, one toilet stop, two painkillers and a few snacks later, we were back on track stomping across the Embankment.
However, I wasn't prepared for what mile 18 had in store! It was now 6am and I'd become slightly delirious - replying only "yes" to anything Laura was asking me. We'd waited to put our playlist on for when we really needed it, and Laura decided that now was that time! A couple of bites of a banana, a sip of water and the amazing one hit wonder by Charles and Eddie blasting into our ears, and we were singing into our water bottles and picking up the pace.
Our feet were really starting to hurt by the time we'd reached the 20-mile marker, but Laura was outstanding at keeping the mood light and the conversation flowing. I felt pretty good up until mile 25 - and with just one and a bit left to go, I'd finally started to flag. I was almost ready to rest my tired limbs, but Laura encouraged me to go just a stretch further to cross that finish line.
Over the hill I could see the pink balloons calling, willing me on to the end. Holding each others hands, team Treacy shuffled the last half a mile to be met by crowds of cheers. After eight hours of continuous walking, we'd finally made it to the end and received our MoonWalk medals! It wasn't long before I collapsed to the ground, pulled off my trainers and curled up in a ball, not wanting to be moved for the rest of the day!
But, it was on to Essex to celebrate our Aunt's 70th birthday and a day of socialising with the family. And, by the end of the evening, and having not slept for over 24 hours I'd gone a little mad - a twitchy leg and strange whimpers aside, I couldn't wait to roll into bed and rest my exhausted body!
It was an amazing challenge, one that I doubted I could complete, but we learnt just how much time we waste sleeping! We managed to raise a lot of money for Breast Cancer Care and discovered what we were capable of when we put our minds to the test!
