As I mentioned in my last post, today was ‘long run day’ (see video below). From now on, I need to push harder in getting those miles banked and fitness levels elevated. In the past, I’ve not tolerated change well and I’ve been scared of previous injuries flaring up again. However, if I’m going to make progress at this vital stage, then a bit of grit and determination is needed.
I happily ate through half a ton of my home baked lasagne last night – no complaints from anyone else either – and although I didn’t sleep particularly well, I knew what needed to be done today. Porridge for breakfast, bottles of water & a couple of Carb gels ready and I was raring to go.
At this point, I should remark on my extraodinary lack of mathematical skills. Seriously, I can’t add for toffee! When I see numbers I invariably read them back to front or in the wrong order and no, ashamed as I am to say it, I’m not at all confident with my times tables either. I don’t really know why they’re such a problem for me but they always have been.
So, when it comes to noting my running stats .. well, I have numerous coping mechanisms. Scribbling down times, distances and burned calories is done methodically after each run. I use a great website Dailymile.com to record all the individual, and to me, seemingly unconnected data. Never, ever ask me to memorise a number!!
Today’s run was great. The first 10k was at a good speed but as I went into the second 10k, I knew I needed to reduce my pace a tad. That was fine and on a long run the aim is miles i
n the bank at a realistic speed not burning out too quickly. I seem to have developed a tightness at the back of my left knee .. not too sure whether it’s Mr.Hammy playing up or whether it’s the old referred pain from previous injury. Coupled with some tension in my neck and shoulders, it made running harder than I’d hoped. Undettered, I kept going distracting myself by listening to fab podcasts from Martin Yelling & Tom Williams on MarathonTalk (you can look them up on iTunes, they’re Free!)
So why did I mention my inability to do sums? Well, firstly, I was running on the treadmill and it resets itself after 99.99minutes .. not too disastrous as Andrew scribbled down the stats before it went back to zero. No, the shame of it was that it wasn’t until the end that I realised I had made a mistake. I honestly thought I’d run a half marathon and at the 13 mile mark finished my run with a cool down, stretching etc. Andrew checked my stats and having redone the Maths on the mileage taken before and after the treadmill reset, he pointed out I was 0.5 of a mile short of the half marathon … no-one likes a smart arse, particularly one with an iPhone! Had I realised I had only an extra half a mile to go, I would have and could have kept going.
So my half marathon this morning was only 12.5miles 
Next week, I’ll nail it .. and more! 
