Crumbs – with only 8 Sundays to go until THE BIG DAY, I cannot help but feel a little nervous! Can we do it? Will my dodgy back cope? Will my weak ankle hold out? Will I cry? Will anyone still be there at the finish line to give us a clap at the end, or will everyone have gone home by then? Will it be dark by the time we stagger in? Will the takeaway be open?! Yes – this last question is possibly the most important, and will be my motivator in the final miles I’m sure!
So week 9 eh? It started well enough with a nice rest day after our brilliant 16 miler on Sunday, although I ended up doing some gardening after work which actually made me ache more than the run did!
Tuesday was my usual Running Group sesh, followed by a 2 mile solo run which felt predictably slow and yet turned out to be pretty fast for me! I was grinning all the way home and reveling in the fact that actually I don’t really feel any aches and pains from Sunday at all! Weird…
Wednesday was a post work meeting night, so I had to miss this session (only two sessions shirked in 9 weeks – still in credit on the miles too!) but I made up for it by doing a much faster run than usual on the Thursday. The speed was because of my running companions (hubby and another Simon with long legs!) both “beasting” me round in speeds which occasionally dipped under 10 minute mile pace! I managed 6 miles, but I had to beg them to slow down a bit for the last 3! It was a beautiful run around Carisbrooke and Froglands, with more than a fair share of hills, and I really enjoyed it. I was also very pleased that I could manage not only the distance but the speed after Sunday’s epic run!
Friday was only meant to be “20 minutes of easy running” according to my plan, but it ended up being 5 miles of steady, gentle running (but with some fab hills!) in great company, followed by a rest day (and my only lie-in of the week!) on Saturday.
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At mile 6 though one of our group of friends – who was tackling her first half incidentally – started to pull away from us with a very impressive and steady pace. We continued at the original pace for a while but I felt like a puppy keen to chase a stick, and so I decided to try and catch my friend and stay with her as long as possible. I managed to overtake quite a few runners in my quest to reach her (what a great feeling that was!) and was running under 10 minute miles for a while (this is fast for me!) and when I caught her up in Nettlestone we continued at around a 10 minute mile pace for the remaining few miles.
There is a magic moment that Scott Jurek – the US ultrarunner – talks about in his book “Eat and Run”. It is known as “satori” and is a Japanese expression meaning comprehension, awakening or understanding, and is often experienced by ultrarunners at some point during a race. It is usually a result of extreme effort, heartfelt joy, exhaustion or physical achievement, and is a moment of total clarity and peace in a run during which everything feels amazing, effortless and utterly “right” – when you feel in control and totally at one with the world. I was lucky enough to have a very brief moment of “satori” as I started up Pondwell Hill for the first time (after the amazing marshaling support of my fiend Clayre-Bear) on Sunday…. but sadly it was VERY brief and at the top the tiredness and pain started to creep in! The last few miles (especially the second go at Pondwell Hill) were hard work, and I felt my posture suffering as a result, but we kept each other going and managed an exhilarating 9 minute mile pace for the last 500 yards or so.
For my friend Eileen it was an amazing first ever half, and has given her the knowledge that she can do these races. For me it was my second fastest half ever, and came just a week after my longest ever run – so was a real confidence boost. I was whacked out for the rest of the day though, and it was a real lesson on how speed (ie: greater effort) can wear you out far more than distance alone can.
Next week we will be taking on our first ever 18 miles of continuous running….