Well today I went out and managed to do a run. A long run. 20 miles. Twenty whole miles all for the aid of a bit of training to make sure I am ready for the Snowdon Marathon which is less than 3 weeks away. I thought the run was going smoothly apart from my leg and then my right quad the run was a good steady pace. Slower than my usual marathon pace and just could have been a knock on effect from the 7 mile Fartleck session I did the day before but for what ever reason it was working.
As I was running along at a snail pace, I was consuming the right amount of water and taking on the carbs at the right moments. Then at around mile 16 I could see the wall. Rather than hitting it I began to climb it and with doing so panic struck. I found myself consuming more water almost to the point of finishing my water bottle and with 3 miles away from home I needed to keep some in reserve.
I was really feeling it, I kept checking my Garmin to see if the LCD screen flashed to that all important target of 20 miles but each time I looked the only numbers that changed were those of ‘Total Time’ and the pace that was for everything slowing. Then just at the legs began to fill with lead and the water was almost drained my body thought it would be a great idea if the pace was upped. So from 9.30 miles I swallowed my pride and decided to ‘Man Up’ and some how settled on the rather quicker pace of 8.10. This was a crazy idea and only pushed the thought of being at home putting the kettle on and relaxing further into my mind. I was no longer concentrating on the goal of running and enjoying the run and if I had any common sense I would have stopped and started to walk back to my house rather than turning off to extend the run to make sure I achieved the goldern twenty by the end of the run.
I did it, and I felt it and now after Langdale and the long run have some serious doubts on weather I should be phoning Snowdon to ask them to withdraw my race number. The hills are very hilly and yesterdays run was an extremely flat route. I’m hoping the legs filling with sand was a result of the activities I carried out the day before and not because of the mileage I was undertaking on the run or the lack of energy supplements I was throwing down my neck.
Some more hill sprints and another couple of long runs this week to see how I feel and then maybe I will have to make the decision of pulling out and missing out on that bit of slate.
Oh well…
Running Behind the Scenes of Moaning 