Hmm… not such a good start to the week for either of us. Deb has really tight calves, and has been recommended a complete break for a few days following a sports massage, and I have felt very “lack-lustre” since Sunday’s efforts. Monday was a much needed rest day for us both anyway, but on Tuesday I planned to do my usual Running Group 2 miler followed by a solo run of 2 miles at speed as usual. The first part went fine, but later (after just a minute of running on my own) I felt awful… no energy, heavy legs, light-headedness, and I simply had to stop. I can’t remember having to totally give up on a run before, but this time I did.
The unusually hot and sunny weather may have something to do with it. During a busy day at work Simon and I often do not take on the right quantity of fluids, and this summer has been VERY busy most days! It is all good training though, and I tell myself that if I can run 16+ miles in this heat, I will find 20 on a cool day much easier!
Wednesday was another belter. I had originally hoped to do intervals or hill training, but the excessive heat made me rethink, and a few friends and I decided to do a gentle but steady run on a hilly route in Newport instead – including that most satisfying of diversions around Carisbrooke Castle’s moat! I was all set to repeat a 5 mile run on Thursday with my running Club – the IOW Road Runners – but an upset stomach (which has plagued me on and off since Tuesday) stopped me from even venturing out.
Long live Fridays! I have a group of friends who I have run with on Fridays since last year, and they always guarantee me a lovely, happy and relaxed run. This week we planned an “away day” to Ryde and Quarr Abbey, and although it was once again a belting hot day, we managed 5 steady miles with smiles, laughs and lots of camaraderie (plus a final 0.3 of a mile to see the piggies!).
Saturday was the only lie-in of the week, and we had a gentle start for what turned into a very busy day at work. No running, but unfortunately not much in the way of hydration or pre-long-run preparation either 🙁 I knew as soon as I got out of bed on Sunday that the 18 miler was NOT going to go well for me… I’d had ankle pain all week plus my dicky tummy, I was feeling tired, my throat felt sore (as if I had a cold brewing) and I don’t think a drop of unadulterated water had passed my lips at all yesterday. Hardly conducive to a happy run! I was going to get round whatever it took though, and the route (Ryde to East Cowes and back again via Quarr Abbey) was all arranged. No backing out now even if I wanted to, which weirdly I didn’t!
Deb and I, plus marathon buddies Sarah and Tracy (AKA Poley!) were to meet in a Ryde car-park at 10am, and as we arrived I was overwhelmed by how many other runners from my running group (the Love Running Tuesday Nighters) had turned out to join us for part or all the distance.
Immediately my mood lifted, and I was actually quite perky as we started our epic journey. The route to Fishbourne is very pretty and quiet, and at Wootton – 3 miles in – we parted with Bel, Debbie and Coral (the latter of whom had run to Ryde from Newport and was then running BACK to Newport too!). The slog up through Wootton, and then the Brocks Copse road into Whippingham, is never easy, and my ankle started to hurt again at this point, but we all kept each other going, and regrouped regularly. I tried to focus on each step rather than the whole distance ahead, and mentally broke the run down into segments that I could “cross off” in my head as we completed them.
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I was relieved to discover that far from holding the others up, Sarah, Deb and Poley were feeling pretty much the same as me at this point, but it was still disappointing after feeling so good and strong on the 16 miler 2 weeks ago. We suspect that our faster than usual half marathons last week had a lot to do with it, but we decided not to be negative about it. The 13-14 minute mile pace might be a lot slower than we’ve been used to, but if it was the only way to keep us all moving it was the right thing to do.
I really struggled coming up out of town – my energy levels were low, my legs were heavy, my ankle hurt, I couldn’t stomach food and it seemed a looooooooong way to Ryde. I don’t mind admitting there was quite a lot of walking on the uphills at that point! We plodded on though, and things definitely picked up when Deb and Sarah started singing! The mood changed and we were all smiling and singing as we tackled Brocks Copse road again, and then relished the downhill to Wootton Bridge, and suddenly there were only 3.5 miles left! It was here we parted with lovely Laurie – who had completed an amazing 14 miles in total, and isn’t even training for anything!
Jo’s tip: Charge your GPS watch fully overnight or the morning of a big run as some watches can only last for 4-5 hours in GPS mode. I have a Garmin 10 and it only just made it on Sunday, and two of my friends with the same watch also had battery-low warnings outside of Ryde. I know that my current watch will not last the whole of the marathon and so will have to find a model that will – as I will want this event recorded more than any other race I’ve ever done!!! The Garmin Forerunner 25 has around an 8-9 hour battery life, and this could well be worth looking into.
The final few miles were made up of moments of happy, relieved “nearly there” running when it would mysteriously feel better, interspersed with “help, there’s nothing left in my legs” plodding, and the last ¾ of a mile was particularly hard as we had to run through the crowds, tourists and traffic fumes on Ryde sea-front (I hadn’t considered the scooter rally when I organised the run!). It was only Sarah’s singing (I will forever be grateful for “And I will run 500 miles, and I will run 500 more”!) and Deb’s grit and determination that kept me moving on those last miles, and when Deb’s watch finally announced 18 miles (her distance was about 0.3 behind mine) it was such a relief! We walked (in my case staggered) back to the car, and the realisation of what we’d done (together with friends Sue, Rob and Kelly – who had run the whole way but in much better form!) was immense, as you’ll see from our smiles!
It was the worse training run I have done so far due to the way I felt from the start and the issues along the way, but the fact is we still did it! I believe that there is no such thing as a bad mile in running, and if you are out running you are still benefiting from the limb, heart and lung strengthening of the activity – however slow it is or how much you struggle to complete the distance. I had all this PLUS the company of some really wonderful friends, and the knowledge that I was now someone who could run 18 miles…. and if I could do it feeling like that, just imagine what I could do on a good day!!!