I ran 20 miles yesterday.  Who cares?  

Well unless you're me, my wife or maybe my parents there's nothing that says you have to.

When you're running long distances, especially if you run without music as I prefer to, you get to ask yourself inane questions like this and time to work out an answer.  I had to ask myself this question yesterday because there was a severe danger that my 20 mile run was going to be about a tenth of that size.  After last week's efforts in the cold and rain at Reading I'd only run once, on Tuesday, and my legs had felt empty.  Two weeks before, when I last attempted 20, I'd literally run myself off of my feet and felt not well at all.  So adding this to the fact that Saturday morning was wet, grey, cold, windy and generally pretty shitty and my spirits as I set out were not high.  I suppose getting out of the door at all was a good sign, but by the time I'd finished the first mile I was already telling myself that I didn't have to carry on any further.  In fact maybe I couldn't.  It was just too cold, running 20 miles is just too far for me.  I should probably just forget this whole marathon malarky, get over myself and go and sit in the warm.  Who would care right if I didn't do it anyway?

As I say, you get to ask yourself some inane questions when you're out running.  You also have to answer them.  Not only that you have to answer them at times when you feel low, when it's painful and when the easy answer would be a whole lot.....easier.  You can also get quite emotional, so forgive me if I come across as all a bit high maintenance here, but here was my answer..

I do care.  Caring is, I worked out, about 99% of what's good in the world.  If you care about the job you do every day, you will do it well and you will likely prosper.  If you care about your fellow man (or woman), you will help them when you can and they, if they care, will do the same for you.  If you care about your environment, you'll keep it tidy and clean, and others will follow your lead.  If you care about your health then you'll treat yourself well, set a good example for your children and they will follow.  If you care you'll have the right attitude to your life and it will be a more pleasant existence.

Pretty over the top for someone who is just out for a run right.  And all of those things above are in a different league to the subject at hand.  Well maybe, but when you're in an adverse situation you have to find out what kind of a person you are. I found out that I wanted to care whether I made it round yesterday.  Not only have I put in a huge effort to this point but many people have supported me.  The response to my sponsorship pleas (at the time of writing the total is around £850), the generosity shown by a friend whose business put up the prize without a second thought, the advice and encouragement I've received from fellow runners, the interest in what I'm doing from everyone who I talk to about it.  All of this has been amazing and shown that people really do care.  

And so I ran.  

I ran 20 miles yesterday and ticked off one of my major goals in my preparation for Brighton in three weeks time.  More than that though, I ran 20 miles yesterday and I was pretty fucking pleased with myself afterwards.


By the way, if you have to ask what the other 1% is that's good in the world the you've obviously never seen the video to Spinning Around by Kylie Minogue.  Have a good week wherever you are.  I'll be in taper, reducing my training volume and a whole lot less emotional by the next blog I'm sure (and you hope).

I didn't manage a post to my blog last week.  I did run, another 20 miler in fact, but I just didn't have the wherewithal to think of anything positive afterwards.  

When I set out it was all so different.  Full of confidence from my positive experience in the Spitfire 20 at Dunsfold the previous week and merrily penning blogs in my head about how far I'd come since this time last year as I trotted up Portsdown Hill 3 miles in.  For the first 12 or 13 miles things seemed OK and I ran at a pace consistent with the week before.  By 15 miles I'd started to realise things were a whole lot harder than before, even though my route was flatter.  By mile 16 I was slowing and by miles 19 and 20 I was nigh on crawling.  When I eventually made it through the front door my legs felt like they were on fire and I did not feel good at all.  The obligatory ice bath passed in a haze and it was a good hour and a large helping of beans on toast before I felt even near to human again.  

At best lesson learned, at worst confidence shot.

Having taken stock, and some advice, I realised that I was probably pushing myself too hard with two 20 mile runs in 6 days with too little fuel in the tank.

This weekend saw a welcome step down in distance as I took part in the Reading Half Marathon.  The idea, after last week ,was to take it easy for the first 8 or 9 miles, get my confidence back and then push on if I felt OK.  I also tempted fate and had a little breakfast before the race.  For some time now I've been very conscious of a delicate stomach when I run and have avoided all food before a run.  It was this lack of fuel it seems that was a major fact in my bonk last week.

Conditions where horrible, though the crowds still came out in droves, and I bowled along with the general flow of the 18,000 runners.  After 3 miles I realised I was going way too fast for my plan and slowed myself down, but my pace kept on creeping up.  Looking back at my mile splits ( I won't bore you with the numbers) this carried on for the whole of the first 10 miles as I slowed only to speed back up again.  By this point I realised my plan was shot so I just went with it and ran the race.  I was obviously over whatever troubled me last week and felt good the whole way.  A couple of quicker miles at the end as the road rose back up towards Madejski Stadium and I ended up only 30 seconds outside my Half Marathon PB.  If I'd run with a plan to beat it I could have smashed it.  

Confidence back and feeling good again.

Next week sees me back on the big miles as I attempt my last 20+ miler before my tapering starts and I wind down towards the big day (only 4 weeks away now!!).  Let's hope I feel as good as I did this week and let's hope the peanut butter on toast does it's magic again.  If not, let's hope the council haven't shut all of those public toilets in Southsea that  they're threatening to yet!

I'm mighty glad that one is in the bag.  After the scare of my back injury last week, and the rest days it forced on me I was somewhat worried about my first road race of the season and my first ever twenty miler.

My trepidation was heightened as I drove the lanes on the way to the venue and every road name ended in the word "Hill".  I'd included Portsdown Hill in my training plenty of times early on but have been enjoying the pan-flat routes around Pompey for the last few weeks, so I'd no idea how my legs would cope with the inclines.  

The Spitfire 20 starts and finishes at Dunsfold Aerodrome, site of the Top Gear test track, and the first couple of miles of each lap were on the track itself.  Clarkson wouldn't have been too pleased to see his track taken over by Lycra clad weirdos preferring power provided by energy gels rather than turbo boosters.  Not a chain smoking petrol head in sight.

Once we left the circuit the course headed out into the countryside and "those hills".  Each time I tackle a longer distance it's total guesswork as to the right pace to choose so I tried to sit around the 8:40 per mile on the first circuit and decided to see what happened after that.  To my (pleasant) surprise I found the hills more manageable than most and was often able to glide past others as they began to toil when things steepened.  Certainly a confidence booster as was my ability to maintain the pace I set out on.  The first 10 mile lap took me roughly 1:28 and the second was very slightly faster for an official total time of 2:54:43.

Of course this is very pleasing (I have a celebratory Doombar in hand as I type!) but there were enough signs that tell me the 26.2 will be a whole new ball game.  It's hard to explain, but everything got a bit "fuzzy" during the last mile or so and I had pins and needles in my right hand most of the way back in the car.  I can take some confidence from this but running this far is definitely pushing the edges of the limits my body can take.

Anyway, massage tomorrow and back on the treadmill Tuesday or Wednesday ahead of another (solo) 20 miles next week.  No rest for the gel head.