Time of day: 07:50
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 41:57
Weather: Sunny
A beautiful morning!
I struggled a bit on this run. More mentally than physically, in fact physically I felt surprisingly good, but mentally I was overwhelmed at the prospect of running this marathon. The 16 miles I did on Saturday really made me think about what a long way it's going to be.
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
Saturday, 11 April 2009
Week 13 - 11/4/09, Saturday
Time of day: 10:05
Distance: 16 miles! Yes that's right 16 miles!
Time: 2:49:10
Weather: Sunny
I was rather nervous at the thought of this long run. The furthest I have ever run. Luckily, one of Matthew's friends invited him for sleepover on Friday night and my mum took James overnight. This meant that Steve was able to cycle with me, which was a great help. He came equipped with 2 1/2 litres of water, a bottle of gatorade and a packet of fruit pastilles.
After a couple of miles into the run I became aware that my trousers were rubbing the top of my thigh. I was worried, if I was aware of it 2 miles into the run, what would it be like after 12. Steve stopped off at the co-op to get some vaseline. (Of course, why didn't I think of that all long distance runner's need vaseline!)
It took him a while to catch up with me, what with me being such a speedy runner, and we finally met up at about 4 miles. At the next available side lane, I nipped into the bushes for a wee and to apply my newly acquired vaseline, whilst Steve stood in a manly way to guard my dignity. A secluded spot, it certainly wasn't! In the amount of time that we were stood there, me with my trousers round my ankles squatting in the bushes and Steve holding aloft a pot of vaseline, at least 3 cars came past, one of whom gave us an encouraging toot of his horn, no doubt completely misunderstanding the reality of the situation.
Chafing sorted, we continued along the main road to Cheltenham. It was an uneventful few miles and we stopped outside a posh food store in Tivoli at 8 miles, before starting the return journey. At this point I was still feeling pretty good.
At 10 miles I started on the fruit pastilles. We lost a couple during the handover from bike to runner.
At 11 miles I was starting to flag. 11 miles is the longest I have run in this training, so I think it was psychological.
12 miles: I stopped for a drink and some more fruit pastilles
13 miles: "Oh my god, I wouldn't even be half way on the day"
14 miles: "I'm never going to do this". Really I just wanted to cry. The thought of having to run another 12 miles on the day seemed inconceivable. Steve was shouting words of encouragement, telling me how well I was doing. It did remind me of labour, when you can appreciate that someone is trying to be helpful, but at the time you just think "you have no idea of how awful I am feeling".
15 miles: Suddenly I felt a bit better. It was like I kind of transcended the pain and just kept putting one foot in front of the other, repeating to myself, like a mantra: "I can always run a mile. A mile is nothing."
16 miles: Home at last. Stopping was almost worse than running. I didn't really know what to do with myself. I walked up the road a bit and then back and then collapsed on the sofa, then had a shower and that was that. The pain was surprisingly short-lived. I did feel a bit stiff for the rest of the day, but generally better than I thought I would.
Distance: 16 miles! Yes that's right 16 miles!
Time: 2:49:10
Weather: Sunny
I was rather nervous at the thought of this long run. The furthest I have ever run. Luckily, one of Matthew's friends invited him for sleepover on Friday night and my mum took James overnight. This meant that Steve was able to cycle with me, which was a great help. He came equipped with 2 1/2 litres of water, a bottle of gatorade and a packet of fruit pastilles.
After a couple of miles into the run I became aware that my trousers were rubbing the top of my thigh. I was worried, if I was aware of it 2 miles into the run, what would it be like after 12. Steve stopped off at the co-op to get some vaseline. (Of course, why didn't I think of that all long distance runner's need vaseline!)
It took him a while to catch up with me, what with me being such a speedy runner, and we finally met up at about 4 miles. At the next available side lane, I nipped into the bushes for a wee and to apply my newly acquired vaseline, whilst Steve stood in a manly way to guard my dignity. A secluded spot, it certainly wasn't! In the amount of time that we were stood there, me with my trousers round my ankles squatting in the bushes and Steve holding aloft a pot of vaseline, at least 3 cars came past, one of whom gave us an encouraging toot of his horn, no doubt completely misunderstanding the reality of the situation.
Chafing sorted, we continued along the main road to Cheltenham. It was an uneventful few miles and we stopped outside a posh food store in Tivoli at 8 miles, before starting the return journey. At this point I was still feeling pretty good.
At 10 miles I started on the fruit pastilles. We lost a couple during the handover from bike to runner.
At 11 miles I was starting to flag. 11 miles is the longest I have run in this training, so I think it was psychological.
12 miles: I stopped for a drink and some more fruit pastilles
13 miles: "Oh my god, I wouldn't even be half way on the day"
14 miles: "I'm never going to do this". Really I just wanted to cry. The thought of having to run another 12 miles on the day seemed inconceivable. Steve was shouting words of encouragement, telling me how well I was doing. It did remind me of labour, when you can appreciate that someone is trying to be helpful, but at the time you just think "you have no idea of how awful I am feeling".
15 miles: Suddenly I felt a bit better. It was like I kind of transcended the pain and just kept putting one foot in front of the other, repeating to myself, like a mantra: "I can always run a mile. A mile is nothing."
16 miles: Home at last. Stopping was almost worse than running. I didn't really know what to do with myself. I walked up the road a bit and then back and then collapsed on the sofa, then had a shower and that was that. The pain was surprisingly short-lived. I did feel a bit stiff for the rest of the day, but generally better than I thought I would.
Friday, 10 April 2009
Week 13 - 10/4/09, Friday
Time of day: 18:37
Distance: 4.16 miles
Time: 41:41
Weather: Cool, cloudy
I was a bit unsure whether to run this evening as I am planning a long run tomorrow morning. I did really enjoy this run though, I felt very comfortable and ran at a reasonable pace. I was going to do 5 miles, but decided to walk the last mile. I thought I would rather stop whilst I was still feeling comfortable rather than risk pushing myself hard and then feeling worn out tomorrow.
I am planning to do about 16 - 18 miles tomorrow. Steve is going to be my training partner, on his bike. I'm quite nervous, I've never run this far before!
Distance: 4.16 miles
Time: 41:41
Weather: Cool, cloudy
I was a bit unsure whether to run this evening as I am planning a long run tomorrow morning. I did really enjoy this run though, I felt very comfortable and ran at a reasonable pace. I was going to do 5 miles, but decided to walk the last mile. I thought I would rather stop whilst I was still feeling comfortable rather than risk pushing myself hard and then feeling worn out tomorrow.
I am planning to do about 16 - 18 miles tomorrow. Steve is going to be my training partner, on his bike. I'm quite nervous, I've never run this far before!
Week 13 - 8/4/09, Wednesday
Time of day: 10:49
Distance: 3.6 miles
Time: 43:31
Weather: Sunny
This was an interval session on Woollacombe sands.
1 minute run, 1 minute walk
2:2
3:3
4:4
5:5
4:4
3:3
2:2
1:1
This was really hard, I'm not sure why. The sand was very solid, but it was very windy. I think I find this kind of session very hard to do on my own. I find it very hard to push myself out of my comfort zone if I'm not running with other people. I suppose everyone is like that to some degree.
Distance: 3.6 miles
Time: 43:31
Weather: Sunny
This was an interval session on Woollacombe sands.
1 minute run, 1 minute walk
2:2
3:3
4:4
5:5
4:4
3:3
2:2
1:1
This was really hard, I'm not sure why. The sand was very solid, but it was very windy. I think I find this kind of session very hard to do on my own. I find it very hard to push myself out of my comfort zone if I'm not running with other people. I suppose everyone is like that to some degree.
Week 13 - 7/4/09, Tuesday
Time of day: 08:37
Distance: 5.88 miles
Time: 59:41
Weather: Fine
This was a completely unknown route from our holiday park in Devon, out and back along the Tarka cycle path. I did feel a little nervous as the path was very isolated, I only saw 3 people during my whole run.
The route was a gradual downhill path which felt fine for the first 3 miles, but not so good when I turned around to do the 2nd half of the run. However, my recent hilly runs had stood me in good stead and I found it relatively comfortable.
Distance: 5.88 miles
Time: 59:41
Weather: Fine
This was a completely unknown route from our holiday park in Devon, out and back along the Tarka cycle path. I did feel a little nervous as the path was very isolated, I only saw 3 people during my whole run.
The route was a gradual downhill path which felt fine for the first 3 miles, but not so good when I turned around to do the 2nd half of the run. However, my recent hilly runs had stood me in good stead and I found it relatively comfortable.
Week 12 - 5/4/09 - Sunday
Time of day: 08:36
Distance: 11:47 miles
Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Weather: Fine
I ran with the running club. A couple of us started off half an hour before the rest of the group to get an extra couple of miles in. These were nice flat miles along the cycle path, then we met up with the rest of the group and started the long climb up Selsey Hill. It was really hard work, and despite my resolution to run all the way, I did have to stop and walk on more than one occasion. Once at the top of the hill, we followed the Cotswold Way path to Coaley Peak, an undulating path through the woods.
I was pleased that I felt a lot more comfortable than I had done on my last long run, and am starting to believe that I am going to run this marathon!
Distance: 11:47 miles
Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Weather: Fine
I ran with the running club. A couple of us started off half an hour before the rest of the group to get an extra couple of miles in. These were nice flat miles along the cycle path, then we met up with the rest of the group and started the long climb up Selsey Hill. It was really hard work, and despite my resolution to run all the way, I did have to stop and walk on more than one occasion. Once at the top of the hill, we followed the Cotswold Way path to Coaley Peak, an undulating path through the woods.
I was pleased that I felt a lot more comfortable than I had done on my last long run, and am starting to believe that I am going to run this marathon!
Friday, 3 April 2009
Week 12 - 3/4/09 - Friday
Time of day: 18:02
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 30:27
I didn't think I was going to get a run in today. Finished work late. Family life a bit chaotic on my return. However, I did manage to 3 miles in while Steve went through the drive through at Burger king with the boys. I got Steve to drop me off on the side of the road and I ran up the hill and met them in the car park. There were a couple of steep hilly bits and I walked for a very short period. I kept up a reasonable pace. Glad I ran, a beautiful evening.
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 30:27
I didn't think I was going to get a run in today. Finished work late. Family life a bit chaotic on my return. However, I did manage to 3 miles in while Steve went through the drive through at Burger king with the boys. I got Steve to drop me off on the side of the road and I ran up the hill and met them in the car park. There were a couple of steep hilly bits and I walked for a very short period. I kept up a reasonable pace. Glad I ran, a beautiful evening.
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