Week 6, half way there in my 12 week lead-in to the marathon. This is how it went…
Monday, possibly my favourite day as it as rest day! Tuesday saw 3.97 miles on the running track doing 800 metre time trials. Nearly 4 miles of running around circles as fast I can, not everyone’s idea of fun, and really, not mine. But it is useful as a benchmark for improvement. I run 800m in 3min 21sec. Will I improve next time I do it? Will have to wait and see. But I’ve asked Lord Coe not to expect me at the GB Training Camp for the Olympics. Wednesday was supposed to 10k, but turned into 40 winks, and Thursday was a very cruel circuit training session. I say cruel because unlike normal circuit training this circuit is on a steep hill. And the distance between the stations isn’t much fun. Essentially it went like this
- Run up and down a steep hill three times
- Run back up it and do star jumps / tuck jumps at the top
- Sprint along the top of the hill 3 times
- Squat thrust
- Run down and up the other side of the hill another 3 times
- Run back to the start
- Wall squats
- Repeat until you fall over.
Friday night consisted of carb loading for Saturday’s long run. Unfortunately the carb of choice was Carlsberg (probably the best carb in the world?).
And then Saturday. The longest run of my 34 years on this earth so far. (Did I say 34, I meant 29.) I was aiming for 19 miles, but I guess I took a wrong road cos I ran 23. Well, I say ran…
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The first 16 miles were great, and I mean really good. I’ve never read ‘The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner’, but I imagine the author will describe some point when you body just works, subconsciously one leg follows the other, the heart pumps, the lung expand and the diesel engine takes over, leaving your mind to wander as you look at the daffodils, think about anything and nothing and generally appreciate being alive and in possession of a fully functioning body. I’m not sure if the author mentions the bit at 16.5 miles where you get cramp in your calves and stop dead in your tracks. Turns out beer and toast aren’t really effective fuelling techniques after all. Still, I made it home and it was only really the last 3 or 4 miles that were bad (walk a bit, run a mile, walk a bit, run a mile..).
But I got thinking. This weekend last year I ran the Adidas Silverstone Half Marathon. I loved it. But at 9 miles I hurt my knee and hobbled home in 2 hours 1 minute. I told myself that 13.1 miles is definitely the maximum I can run, my knee couldn’t take any more than that. And I was happy with that. Most people couldn’t run 2 miles, let alone 13. And here I am, exactly one year later, knocking out 20+ miles and only slowing down because I didn’t fuel correctly. I know that few energy gels and an electrolyte drink and I’m sorted for the marathon. I also thought about the long term aim of all this, the Wall Run. 35 miles on day 1, 34 on day 2. Sounds a lot, but I’ve mentally broken it down to 10 3.5 jogs a day. That sounds far more achievable. If a little delusional.
On Sunday I ran a little 4.7 miler, just to check my legs still worked. And they did, hurrah. I do seem to be developing a bit of Plantar Fasciitis in my left foot, so I’ll have to take a bit care with that.
Week 6 mileage: 36.07
Total mileage: 80.87
Why on earth am I doing all this?
Good question. I am running for 2 charities: The Nystagmus Network, and the Chromosome 18 Registry and Research Society (Europe), or C18RRSE (snappy title, huh!). Both of these charities support my son, James. James has a chromosomal abnormality on the 18th Chromosome called a Distal Deletion (called 18q-). This is where part of the chromosome is missing, leaving James with all sorts of issues (deafness, speech, learning development, kidneys, and on and on and on…). One of the biggest issues resulting from 18q- for James is Nystagmus. Nystagmus affects 1 in 1000 people and causes James eyes to wobble constantly, affecting his functional vision. If you visit the site I have set up for James, www.just-james.org, you can read all about James and how the conditions affect him and other children like him.
These charities are small, and need our support as they don’t have the big PR budgets of other charities. Just because they are small doesn’t mean they are any less important, families lives have literally been transformed by the help and support provided by them. They need money, and if we all donate a little to them, they can grow and help so many more people. And in return, I’ll do daft things like run the breadth of the country raising awareness and regretting last night’s beer.
Dig deep and sponsor me. Please.
