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20 miles!!!!
We did our longest run to date this Saturday – 20 miles!! Two mid week runs of 5 miles (one a hill session) and then a massive 20 miles at the weekend. It was surprising manageable except for the last few miles – I don’t say that lightly – it wasn’t easy – but I had in my mind that we would be crawling the last couple of miles. The wind was unrelenting and in fact the last mile we could barely walk against the wind let alone run. We pretty much ran through every weather condition in the 3hrs 45 minutes – sun, rain, 2 hailstorms and the sea wind most of the way of course.
We changed our fuel stops making sure we took on a gel every 5 miles instead of every 6 or 7 which worked really well. We also broke the run up so that it wasn’t so boring running for miles and miles in one direction.
This is our longest run that we will do before the marathon which is now under 3 weeks away!! GULP. But, after the 20 miler (have I mentioned that we ran 20 miles on Saturday??) we now know that we can do it and we’re probably looking forward to it now for the first time.
Sunday was a different matter….Zoe was walking round like John Wayne and I was hopping along like Jake the Peg! Not a pretty sight. At least we know that we’re not going to be overly mobile after the marathon.
The next 3 weeks are ‘taper’ weeks which means we’ll slowly reduce the miles to give our bodies a rest (only 12 miles next weekend!). We’ve got to eat properly from now and work towards the 13th and resting wherever possible outside the training schedule.
Total miles this week: 30
Lessons learnt: We can do it!! Oh, and I must make sure the hotel we are staying in after the marathon has a lift.
This week was another problematic week – with work commitments taking over and the added hurdle of a cough! This week was full of cancelled runs and very frustrating in all. We did manage to put in a hill session though which was really tough but felt good and made the lungs work extremely hard.
Total miles this week: A lowly 15
Lessons learnt: Don’t try and run with a cough – it’s much better to rest.
A much more pleasing and I would even go so far as to term it a ‘triumphant’ week. An almost full week of training and a whopping great 18 mile run on Sunday.
The mid week runs we completed were a 5 mile and a 9 mile and both felt really good. My knee pain after doing my physio taught stretches started to work and on the 9 mile run I had no knee pain at all (also helped by ibuprofen I’m sure).
The 18 mile run on Sunday was quite daunting and I started to feel a sense of what the nerves are going to feel like on marathon day and as it’s only 5 week away it’s starting to become quite real. We completed the 18 mile run in about 3 hours and 15 minutes. We set off along the seafront and ran from Shoreham to the other side of Brighton Marina and back. SUCH a long way but a great sense of achievement to have completed it. We had a really strong headwind on the way back which eventually became a bit of a storm after we got in. The headwind really sapped every last bit of energy so we felt a bit lifeless when we got back. I then had to go to work for 4 hours! Luckily I don’t have to use my legs!!
Total miles this week: 32
Lessons learnt: Set realistic targets and try not to plan a run along Madeira Drive in Brighton when there is a Vintage bike rally and auction on – bikers strolling along in leather can’t move out of the way very quickly, and waft past you with fish and chip vapours.
This week wasn’t a good week. What with work commitments and a very poorly prepared for long run – this week was a week to forget and move on from!
We managed to do 2 short runs (4 miles each) in the week which went ok but not a 3rd because of time. On the Sunday we decided to get up really early and do our long 12 mile run, as it was Mothers Day, I was going out for breakfast with my mum and Zoe was driving up to Nottingham to see Dawn, leaving at about lunchtime. A 7am run we thought was the answer.
Oh dear!
To cut a very long story short, it was too early and the little breakfast we did have didn’t allow the body to turn it into anything useful and also we didn’t hydrate enough. On top of that I totally got the layers wrong as I thought it would be cold – it was very mild! Two miles in, I stopped to sort out a layer, felt dizzy, sat down and fainted. So we walked back feeling a little silly.
It sounds much more dramatic than it was – it was only a little faint and I was already sitting down but ruined the run and topped off not a too successful week.
One positive thing that happened though was that I went to see a physio about my painful knee (Helen Patten at Wilbury Physios in Hove) and was diagnosed with Runners Knee! – I felt very relieved indeed and actually quite proud that I have a ‘proper runners’ ailment!!
Total miles this week: A very lowly 10
Lessons learnt: A BIG valuable lesson in how not to take your body for granted. Hydrate properly, allow at least 2 hours for your body to turn food into fuel and go outside and test the temperature rather than just looking out the window!!
