Digging deep

In last weeks blog I left you wondering how my 2 hour run on the Monday would go following my quad thrashing of a weekend.  I smashed it with a fast, for me, 5:09 kmpm pace and felt great - how did that happen?  I think it come down to two things; a well designed training plan and plenty of rest and food in between.  I see athlete’s over train all the time and then wonder how they can’t reach their targets.  Rest is just another discipline involved in training and one I make sure I get plenty of.
This week once again was building my training round my work and I was in London on Thur/Fri with two long days and some client socialising!  Thursday was a much later night than intended which meant getting up at 6.30 for a run along the Thames was an effort.  My legs felt heavy but I slogged it out. Another long day and another delayed flight home so not ideal preparation for my 4hr run on Saturday.
Fortunately I had company.  Beth met us already having run an hour which she needed to do to fit in with her plans.  Stuart is tapering for his ultra next week end so he was joining us for an hour and would then head back with Beth.  Gavin joined us having run 5km to get to us and to my delight stayed the full distance with me.  It’s funny how your perspective of distance and time change as your training builds ups.  A month ago 4 hours would have seemed like a very long run, and it is.  But because I’m steadily building up the distance I don’t seem to mind so much.  While it’s physical it’s more mental.  And in a months time I’ll be thinking 4 hours is nothing because for 53 miles I’ll probably be running for 12 hours!
3 hours into the run my Garmin ran out of juice and Gavin very kindly stayed with me although the distance was a big jump up for him.  This allowed me to get accurate stats on my run because my Strava feed would only show 3 hours and as my pals (annoyingly) say “if it’s not on Strava it didn’t happen”.  So than’s Gav for digging deeper that you thought you’d have to.
When we were chatting we got onto the subject of what do you think about when running?  Your mind can wander and you can think through problems or whatever but the best bit is when you are on “auto pilot” and thinking about absolutely nothing.  It’s sheer bliss when you are in this “state”.  But there is also the time when you are running with someone and neither is speaking.  It’s usually when you are digging into your reserves, thinking of the pain and trying to deflect it either by looking at the scenery or thinking about what you are going to eat when you finish.  We went through that period of silence and I think it’s out of respect you don’t start talking negatively because that will impact on your running partner as well as yourself.  It’s a real privilege to run with people who’s company you enjoy knowing that they are working hard to reach their own goals.
Part of the run was in Chatelherault and we bumped into Scott Cunningham who was walking with his guide dog.  I can’t begin to imagine what goes on in his mind while he takes on the challenge of the uneven ground of Chatelherault.  Unfortunately his guide runner is in hospital and he’s looking for some runners to train with as he prepares to the Great North Run - he finished the Manchester marathon in 4 hrs 10 mins so he doesn’t hang around.  I hope to be able to accompany him on some runs in the coming months - he’s such an inspiration!
This morning was a short run - only 2hrs and 8 mins (see what I mean about changing perspective!) but on tired heavy legs.  I was on my own so I went out with some music to distract my mind but it’s not the same as having company.  It was a tough shift made tougher with the knowledge I was following it with a gym session.  The leg burn in the gym was tough but I know I need to improve my core and leg strength for all of my races.
Just to finish off the tired legs training, tomorrow I am heading off very early with Michael to head up and run down a nearby mountain to continue with the quad shredding as part of my essential preparation for the Fling on 27th April. The journey continues and I’m loving it.