After a pretty fast 5k last Friday, I headed out on the Sunday only to find I could barely muster enough strength to get under 10m/m. My legs felt so fatigued and I concluded that perhaps racing myself after a 12 miler the day before had not been my best idea...
I had another rest day on Monday in the hope this would help and headed out on a slow 5k on Tuesday. It felt painfully slow and although everything from the waist up was fine my legs felt so weighted and I was grimacing at the thought that Thursday was coming round quicker than I would have liked.
Thursday night came around and after a long day at work I was not keen to be heading out in the dark and cold knowing I was aiming to complete my longest ever run. If I do something, I like to do the best I possibly can or not at all. Perhaps I'm afraid of failure? I knew if I started, I had to finish. So I devised a plan!
15 miles...argh! That one figure is scary, seems impossible and is ridiculous to think I could run that far. I decided to break it up into parts. My run involved an 'out and back' method so my run was split into 4, 3, 4 and 4 mile sections. For example my first section was from home to the Crematorium, exactly 4 miles. I would then reward myself with something then my next section would be the 4 miles home, another reward. You see where I'm going? So splitting it up meant each section felt like an achievement and was a step closer to finishing.
Fueling my run was something I had not yet touched on- up to 10 miles and I'm quite happy to run on just water but I wanted to make sure that come marathon day, I had a tried and tested plan to keep my energy and sugars up to stop fatigue and keep me going.
I've previously tried numerous amounts of gels and Dextrose tablets but they never seemed to sit well so my theory was to use something that combined the instant energy with a fibre base so it was more slow releasing but kinder on the stomach. Dates were my choice and at end of each section I would have 2 dates as my treat.
I headed out incredibly apprehensive, keeping my pace as slow as could knowing I needed to keep my legs feeling as fresh as possible for as long as I could. My pace varied from 9.50- 10 mins/mile for the first few as I got into my rhythm. Thankfully as I ended my first chunk I managed to zone out from the run and as I got to 5 miles on my way back home I did a mini fist pump as I knew I was a third of the way there.
As I hit 8 miles I started to speed up and hit progressive miles of 9:30, 9:26, 9:25, 9:14! I still felt really good and started on my final 4 mile leg home.
I was just finishing my 14th mile and my mental motivation hit a complete brick wall and every part of me was saying STOP! I gritted my teeth and ploughed on through- so close yet so far!
Rounding the corner to come home my watch buzzed 15 miles!! I stopped my Garmin and carried on limp-running until I came to a natural stop.
At this point I would like to apologise to anyone that was in the vicinity and happened to see me limping along the road with a deranged expression on my face...as I came up to the house I decided to keep walking as my legs were already seizing up. It was then that my eyes started stinging and watering- I figure this was down to the cold air and maybe I don't blink as much when I run. So there I am stumbling around in the dark, barely able to walk or see and end up in the neighbours hedge. I decided to call it a night and head inside where I would be less of a danger to myself.
I am so proud of myself for completing my run and feel like a marathon is within my reach. There is still a long way to go but with just over 10 weeks to go, I think I might just do this!
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