A ton of miles and money
Well what a weekend that was! I tackled my first Gin Pit Double and, thanks to some more outstanding support, my fundraising total reached the magical £3,000 mark!
There was a great turnout of 10in10ers with Jonathan, Richard, David, Graham, George and Malc running on day one. Gary and Paul Dewar joined the fray with us for day two as Richard wisely decided on a leisurely drive back to Bristol rather than cramming in a second marathon.
Despite each marathon being open to single-day runners, plus a half marathon option on Sunday, it was a fairly low-key event. As a result there was a very friendly atmosphere, certainly enhanced by the relaxed efficiency of organisers Malc and Yuk-Lam Collins.
The weather was ideal and the running enjoyable, especially the many miles alongside fellow Brathay athlete Jonathan. We ran together all the way on day one, a fact I was glad about given the slightly nebulous nature of the route in places (thanks pal!) and we shared a sizeable stretch of the canal section on the second day too.
The course was relatively flat with a real mix of paths, trails, towpaths, Tarmac plus the infamous Bog of Doom – a 20-foot long, foot-deep muddy puddle around 23 miles in – not an ideal thing to encounter while wearing well-worn road shoes. Speaking of which, I only realised Monday morning that I'd accidently worn my oldest ready-for-the-bin trainers to run two marathons in, so now they are now disposed of, which saved cleaning them too!
With 50 miles already in the bag from earlier in the week, my legs were starting to feel fatigued by mile 16 on the first day. Of course this could have also been due to the silly pace we set over the first five miles – I'm usually religiously composed with race pacing but for some reason over recent months I've been less disciplined. We didn't slow down too much though it was noticeable and crossed the line in joint sixth place in 3:25:57.
My lower legs were pretty mashed, more than I thought they should be really, with very tight calves and a particularly tender left Achilles. I hadn't been very consistent with my race nutrition, which I'm sure played a part in how I was feeling. Some stretching and plenty of food during the evening helped, but I went to bed feeling a bit achy, not appreciating the clocks going forward and a shorter sleep either.
Thankfully I felt better come the morning, so it was back to Gin Pit Village for day two. We set off in glorious sunshine and I tried to rein in the pace aiming to finish around the same time as the first day. Mile one was fine, miles two to six slightly too quick. That's when Jonathan caught me up and we ran together for a few miles – it was good to have his company but he said he was going to slow down and let me go on. So as we left the canal around mile 18 I was surprised to see him right on my shoulder again!
My road racing muscle fibres must have kicked over the following few urban miles. I felt surprisingly good and managed to catch two other marathoners around 22 miles. I maintained a decent pace and became focussed on trying to better my first day's time. As I approached the home stretch the sight of another slowing runner spurred me on and I just passed him to finish in 3:22:23 – very happy with that! I was also pleased at how I felt afterwards, a little fatigued but no real aches and pains compared to the day before – maybe there's hope for the 10in10 yet!
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has followed me and donated in any way up till now – you are all stars!
Stats for the Week: 103 miles run; £374 raised; 1 pie scoffed
There was a great turnout of 10in10ers with Jonathan, Richard, David, Graham, George and Malc running on day one. Gary and Paul Dewar joined the fray with us for day two as Richard wisely decided on a leisurely drive back to Bristol rather than cramming in a second marathon.
Despite each marathon being open to single-day runners, plus a half marathon option on Sunday, it was a fairly low-key event. As a result there was a very friendly atmosphere, certainly enhanced by the relaxed efficiency of organisers Malc and Yuk-Lam Collins.
The weather was ideal and the running enjoyable, especially the many miles alongside fellow Brathay athlete Jonathan. We ran together all the way on day one, a fact I was glad about given the slightly nebulous nature of the route in places (thanks pal!) and we shared a sizeable stretch of the canal section on the second day too.
The course was relatively flat with a real mix of paths, trails, towpaths, Tarmac plus the infamous Bog of Doom – a 20-foot long, foot-deep muddy puddle around 23 miles in – not an ideal thing to encounter while wearing well-worn road shoes. Speaking of which, I only realised Monday morning that I'd accidently worn my oldest ready-for-the-bin trainers to run two marathons in, so now they are now disposed of, which saved cleaning them too!
With 50 miles already in the bag from earlier in the week, my legs were starting to feel fatigued by mile 16 on the first day. Of course this could have also been due to the silly pace we set over the first five miles – I'm usually religiously composed with race pacing but for some reason over recent months I've been less disciplined. We didn't slow down too much though it was noticeable and crossed the line in joint sixth place in 3:25:57.Thankfully I felt better come the morning, so it was back to Gin Pit Village for day two. We set off in glorious sunshine and I tried to rein in the pace aiming to finish around the same time as the first day. Mile one was fine, miles two to six slightly too quick. That's when Jonathan caught me up and we ran together for a few miles – it was good to have his company but he said he was going to slow down and let me go on. So as we left the canal around mile 18 I was surprised to see him right on my shoulder again!
My road racing muscle fibres must have kicked over the following few urban miles. I felt surprisingly good and managed to catch two other marathoners around 22 miles. I maintained a decent pace and became focussed on trying to better my first day's time. As I approached the home stretch the sight of another slowing runner spurred me on and I just passed him to finish in 3:22:23 – very happy with that! I was also pleased at how I felt afterwards, a little fatigued but no real aches and pains compared to the day before – maybe there's hope for the 10in10 yet!
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has followed me and donated in any way up till now – you are all stars!
Stats for the Week: 103 miles run; £374 raised; 1 pie scoffed
Comments
Post a Comment