Lots of life stuff going on....leaving Leeds, moving house (twice), deadlines (the worst part), practical exams (oh no wait, they were the worst) etc etc...and so the furthest I managed to run in the 5 weeks since the ultra was 8.5 miles...
....oh...
...this was not looking good for the Orpington Marafun!
I entered this only a few weeks ago, whilst in a particularly deep depth of despair about uni work. I wanted something else to think about, so chose this, as I did it last year and really enjoyed it. I decided on entering that I would just go to enjoy it, and use it as a training run, and not go out to do a good time.
Of course, this was all theory, and I forgot it all as I stood at the start line and saw 26.2 miles ahead which needed to be conquered.
This was all very well, if I paid no attention to the fact my recent training had been dreadful, lacking structure and mileage. The last two days before the marathon I successfully ticked all the boxes for what not to do to prepare for a marathon....about 8 hours sleep in the 48 hours before the race, no stretching, eating all the wrong things, lugged my life around in a suitcase from Chorley to Leeds to London the day before (but this is a great whole body workout at any other time!), G&T the night before (but this was technically Andrew's fault, so I can't take responsibility for that) and no proper breakfast (as there were no oats left and the bread was moudly, and I hadn't caught up with what was happening and managed to do anything about it).
Well, I ignored all of that and set off, after a jam pastry and cup of tea I found at the start (I mean, I bought it, not that I just found a random pastry lying around somewhere). The route had changed for one thing and there now was a definite increase in hills. Embrace the hills! I thought, as I enthusiastically set off, destroying my leg muscles withing the first 2 minutes. Smart.
I was going on pretty well for the first 8 miles to be honest. The only problem I encountered was that I'd tied my shoelaces too tight and my right foot went numb. That was a bit disconcerting. Soon after that came the flaw in my plan, that I hadn't run more than that in quite a long time. Things went downhill fairly swiftly, stomach cramps, headache, hadn't brought any food/drink with me and it was HOT! Then, at 22 miles I got a stitch! I stitch! I've never had a stitch before! I thought I was having appendicitis it was so painful. I now have COMPLETE sympathy for anyone who gets these, I had never appreciated how much it hurts before, like a knife! It hurt so much I then felt sick so spent the last few miles trying not the throw up, while trying not to land too heavily on my right leg, as every time I did the Stitch Monster twisted the knife more deeply and aggressively.
I hopped over the finish line in 3:51:39 and I think I came first in the ladies as several people shouted that at me on the way round. So, pleased with all that! Definitely not my peak physical performance though!.
I have now recovered from the experience physically, although mentally it still hurts to think about.
I am much encouraged by the idea that you must make mistakes to become better.....
....so, by making a lot of mistakes...you can learn a lot of things.....and next time, you will know how to do them better :-)
That just goes to show how fit you must be! There aren't many people who could run a marathon on a jam pastry and little training. However probably not a good plan to try again!
ReplyDeleteLyke Wake in 7 weeks. Have just mentioned this to dad. Think he will need a bit of a training plan as well. I will just brush up my navigational skills if I'm to meet him with food and sustenance en-route. I will also apply myself to finding somewhere to stay near the end. Seems like the world and his wife are visiting that bit of the North Yorks Coast that weekend!
Happy training. Mum xx