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Published: February 21st 2009
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Don't be Tight!
Now where did I put my ballet shoes? http://www.justgiving.com/3marathonchallenge Hey,
It's been a few weeks since my last blog and i'm sure after the revelations of our Watford half marathon, you are literally on the edge of your seats waiting for another exciting instalment.............are you sitting comfortably? Good, then I'll begin.
Watford physically took quite alot out of both Ben and Myself. As I mentioned in the last blog we were both carrying injuries and whilst truth be told we should have both eased up, that's not in our nature, so obviously we did the next best thing and pushed ourselves harder.
The following morning was 'White Monday', the day where the Southeast of England was brought crashing to its knees by frozen water....not that I'm complaining, the snowmen weren't the only thing frozen stiff, I was having real difficulty getting about on my right foot and starting to fear I had done it some damage. My mind was very quickly distracted from the pain though as I lay on the sofa watching dvd's and eating too much. With the snow on the ground making way for slush it was probably about a week before I returned to any training, which gave my foot
I see you baby....
shakin' that ass, shakin' that ass! ample time to heal. Armed with a new pair of running shoes I took to the streets of Lindfield and Haywards Heath for an easy 5 mile run. I'm pleased to say I came through it unscathed with the foot once again feeling ok. A huge relief. When you get this close and you have sacrificed so much time and effort the thought of giving up sent a cold chill down my spine...that and having to reimburse you lot your donations!
Speaking of sacrifices, that Saturday night when the moon was in the sky and under the watchful eye of the druids we sacrificed a young maiden to a king, in order to appease the gods. Shortly after we revelled in the type of merriment that can only be brought about by this macabre of rituals...well that and alcohol.
In other words, that night we went to the pub to celebrate my friends engagement and 30th birthday party and then on clubbing till 3am. The sacrifice bit comes in on Bens and my part. There are only so many cokes or different varieties of J20 you can drink in one night you know. Not that any of them will help you when the drunkards around you are having fun and laughing away at something you don't understand as a sober person because you're just not on their wavelength!
All night long, people were saying 'well done' and how impressed they were that we stuck to the no drink rule...well that and 'why?' and 'you must be bored/insane!'
Not to worry, I'll make it up to them, and drink at their next 30th birthday party's! (This gives you an idea of how seriously we are both taking this!)
Later that week it I had a couple of days off work and it began to dawn on me that my longest run to date was only 15miles. A good achievement, but with the weeks ticking on, still someway short of where I needed to be. I was finding motivation hard to come by. Not even the feeling one gets from putting on a new pair of (running) shoes could inspire me. I had to be more committed, I had to stand up and be counted show a little more verve, that was it, the alarm bells had rung, it was time to grab the bull by the horns, that was just a soon as I'd hit the snooze button to stop that damn alarm ringing! So a couple of hours later I got out of bed and began planning my run for the next day. A 16.5 miler to take me from Crystal Palace to Westminster and back.
If I have ever sat in the front of your car holding a map, then you will already be aware of my appalling navigational skills. If you've not yet had the pleasure, pray you never have to. And so it was that my 16. mile run became a very difficult 17.7 mile run. Not only did I manage to take a wrong turn somewhere, nut after about 15miles, I was starting to feel pretty bad. I felt like my stomach was empty and eating away at me from the inside out. The last mile became a real mental battle I had run out of fluid and my hands had suddenly turned very cold. I fought back the negative thoughts in my head that were telling me to 'stop running' and 'give up' and managed to hobble in to my flat. My hands were starting to go a bit numb by this point and trying to undo the zip on the back of my shorts took some serious effort. As I guzzled down energy drinks and tried to get warm back indoors, for the first time since I started this challenge I felt a little concerned.....had I bitten off a bit more than I could chew?
Ben too went for a long run that week and fared very similarly, although he ran 18.69 miles, in 2 hours 30minutes, thats 8.01 minute miles or approximately 7.48 mph....not that he's countin'g or anything. Be he also stressed that it had been a real struggle.
Over the next week I tried getting up and running before work at 6.30am, after nearly being tripped by a dog walkers leash and falling asleep up against a lampost, I decided mornings were not for me.
Earlier this week I decided to attempt another big run. This time I was going for 18.5 miles. I did my homework this time though, and fed and watered myself much more appropriately the day before. I had also invested in some tights, ok before you insult me I too was like you. It was Ben's suggestion, as he said they keep you warmer so your body doesn't use up your valuable calorie store keeping you warm. After the way I could barely find my keys last time, I was willing to try anything. Not only that, Batman, Robin Hood, Hulk Hogan and Wayne Sleep. All fine men, all tight wearers.....I rest my case.
So anyhoo, it turns out adding more distance on just increases my chances of getting lost and that's exactly what I did on the 18.5 mile run. This time however I felt mentally good, obviously the mind hadn't bothered communicating that to the legs because they were about as stiff as the honey monster gets over sugar puffs. But this time my lack of navigational skills had carried me to 20.3 miles. More importantly I felt good, with renewed vigour the challenge was back on........next stop the Brighton half marathon....should be a day at the beach!
The donations are going really well guys, a big thanks to everybody that has sponsored us so far..... If you haven't yet, then reach for that wallet or purse now and donate online....
http://www.justgiving.com/3marathonchallenge
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