11 miles down - HOW many to go??

The miles are clocking up but the more I do the greater respect I have for folk who have completed a marathon. There's nothing like personal experience ... and I've only ever run a maximum of 13.1miles.  And that was 6 years ago. The full distance LOOMS - but everyone says "Do the training and the occasion will propel you along".  I have to believe them as they've got the proverbial T-shirt, but it takes a lot of faith in their experience to ignore the current tired body after a mere 11 miles.

At the moment I'm considering the Pros and Cons of Marathon training

On the side of the Angels is - FOOD. Raspberry crumble is in the oven and the Curry (with naan) last night was great. Cakes with coffee at work are no longer verbotten, although I still feel guilty if I indulge twice in one day. The scales don't budge - yay!

Another Plus is (amazingly) lack of creaks and joint aches, not something I was expecting. Maybe the more you use a joint - up to a point - the easier it feels and the aches of old(er) age are just the consequences of  under-use ... another instance of Use It Or Lose It.

Against this has to be put the Expense

• of money - running kit, orthotics, sports massage, special gels/drinks, travel to/from intermediate events and The Day itself
• of time - I'm lucky in that I have scheduled Wednesday as Long Run Day so it doesn't matter that most of the day is spent getting ready for, running and recovering from said Run. I'm learning not to plan anything special for after as all I might need to do is curl up and sleep.
• of attention - my life seems to revolve around Apr 22 and Wednesdays and all plans are made with reference to these immovable obstacles.  And I'm not sure I like this obsession in me and the lack of flexibility created.

The reason for all this training and fundraising - moving Baby Basics to new premises - is coming along well, albeit slowly. Please donate here if you haven't already :)
We moved into The Stable (a warehouse in Stacey Bushes) on Nov 23 and now have new racking for boxes, clothes racks, tables, chairs, ironing boards and irons set up and ready to use. A kitchen area is planned with washing machine and tumble drier, together with kettle and microwave for snacks.
However the heating cannot be turned on as the gas was disconnected years ago and so we are having to jump through various hoops (created by Southern Gas Networks, property agents, landlords etc) to get the pipes laid, meter installed and gas heater linked to meter. Not a cheap operation. We've been so thankful that it's been a mild winter so far and we've been able to process 34 deliveries and/or donations since the move.