Saturday, I got up and had my usual breakfast and got ready to go for my 3.5 hour run/walk. I took 2 gels with me (in case I needed them) but hoped I would get away with only taking one (worst case scenario)! The route I picked was one that is famed for giving me problems with bad weather. I have ran this is torrential sideways rain, snow, sleet and howling wind in the past, but the weather looked beautiful and sunny... was I about to break the bad weather spell?
I decided to wear shorts and a t-shirt and just put up with the early morning coolness (thinking that after a mile this wouldn't be a problem). So, armed with 1.6 litres of water in my Camelbak, sunglasses, tissues and a cap, off I trotted in factor 35 suncream. The first mile was indeed very cool. The wind was quite bad but hadn't been forecasted to be so, so I expected this to drop. I'll be honest and say the first 4 miles were quite lovely despite the head on wind. I felt fresh as a daisy and congratulated myself on getting into the 'no alcohol/no caffeine/no shit food' mind set for the 3 days prior to a long run. It seemed to be working well.
Ahhh... and there it is... the moment one speaks too soon! I ran around a corner into a very strong head wind and slowly climbed the very gradual slope. It's barely uphill, but when you have to run it you really notice it isn't flat. Fortunately my 3:3 strategy meant I wouldn't have to run for long and I took each 3 minute run as it came. The wind just didn't let up and my legs felt very tired. I sort of felt like they had no 'get up and go' in them. Having to stop at traffic lights for nearly a whole minute annoyed the life out of me, but my walk breaks gave me solace as I seem to be improving in speed every week. I caught myself walking at about 12:46mm pace quite a few times which is a huge improvement (although tarmac is easier to walk faster on than trail is!).
The running parts weren't getting any easier, but they weren't getting any harder either so I continued on. It wasn't until I was on the sea front before the wind began to annoy me intensely again. After about 3 miles I was struggling and I considered taking a gel. I put the idea off and decided to wait until I got to the next running part after a walk. Maybe things would improve. Once again, I decided to wait until after the next running part and eventually gave in and had a gel at 10.6 miles. I hoped it would help psychologically but it didn't, so I didn't even consider taking the second gel at any point. I had to wait at least another 2 minutes at a couple of road sections for traffic which put me in a bad mood, and to cut what felt like a very long run short, I dragged myself through the 3.5 hours and denied myself any negative walk breaks despite all of the hills and all of the wind. I got back home and had got to 18.48 miles. I was slightly disappointed it wasn't closer to 19 however couldn't help but feel I'd given it a valiant effort.
I had a bowl of soup as soon as I got through the door and within 15 minutes I was straight back out for my walk, taking only a running hat to avoid the wind in my ears, sunglasses and a windproof jacket over the clothes I'd already ran in. I'd been wearing my trail shoes because both Kent and the Wall have a certain amount of tarmac (apparently the Wall has only 20 miles of trail but it's muddy/hilly/slippy trail which my Bondi B's would be absolutely no good on). I found my feet felt great and I wore absolutley no plasters or gel toecaps for the first time considering such a distance. I would even go as far as to say they are more comfortable than the road shoes.
The good thing about all of this walking is I get to explore all of the trail routes where I live. I found a steep hill which led all the way to a lovely big green where people were picnicking which then led onto the beach and up a steep hill to Crimdon. I discovered how to get all the way along to where I live from there and enjoyed the scenery. At 4 miles my back began to really ache on each side and unfortunately it stayed there for the remaining 8 miles. I got slower and slower and slower until eventually I was doing 16.30mm pace for the last 3 or 4 miles. I was gutted because although everywhere else was tired, I was still able to move well apart from my back. The good thing is though, I know I can sort this out easily. My physio massages my back once a month normally to stop this happening (it seems it's just the way I am and a bit of manipulation keeps the tightness at bay) but I haven't been to see him yet as I've only been back training for 4 weeks. So, while I walked along aching like hell, I promised myself I would book to see him this following week to get it sorted out. And I considered the fact that people think walking is a cop out... anyone who thinks that should go out and try it. It's more difficult than it appears!
The training ended with me having completed 30.48 miles. I have only done more than this distance once (in Bangalore) so I am pleased with how things are going. I'm having an easier week this week (or as William calls it... a consolidation week) and instead of ramping up the mileage next Saturday I am to do the same again as I did yesterday. Today I layed off the deadlifts and had the exciting job of decorating instead. I'm glad to report that although I had a bit of stiffness in my hips and glutes this morning, everything else feels totally fine. My legs don't even feel like I did anything yesterday, which is a huge bonus. :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment