Day 113 / 119
2014:
A rest day today - and I need every moment of rest I can get
Both achilles / calfs ached and I wondered if all yesterday's stretching and icing had done any good at all
Maybe it was a little better.....
Then a chance remark at work had a friend rolling up his trouser legs ..... to show me his compression sock
He told of its virtues of not only helping him run despite suffering similar problems to me, but them acting as a positive healing aid
Lunchtime couldn't come quick enough and I was up to the running shop to get my own
While the shop woman wouldn't be drawn enough to actually recommend them (health and safety gone mad) she did say plenty used them and confirmed how useful they can be
Not only did I buy them but I walked out wearing them and whether placebo or not, I genuinely did feel better wearing them
Maybe this run is still doable, just maybe ......
2011:
Today is down as a rest day and tomorrow a 30 minute jog. Unfortunately I'm not free to jog tomorrow as I'm off to Bristol Rovers so went to the gym today instead. In another 'read between the lines' moment I in fact did the most leisurely cycle ever. Legs were hurting more today than yesterday so hence the biking decision. Not a bead of sweat earned, I stretched on a cold mat and that's it. People kept out of my way, didn't invade my personal space and that's exactly how I like it - I wonder if I'll mellow after this run is finished with - naaahh!!
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Day 114 / 119
2014:
Today was a 2 mile jog
Having spent all of an early night resting my legs on ice then stretching, I was as ready as I could have been
I don't think I've EVER nursed myself through such a short run so gingerly
My leg wasn't pain free but was much better than Saturday
At no point though could I avoid the hiding menace of the calf going pop
It was always there, just niggling away
The good news is that I made it round, the bad news is that I have to run a lot faster and a lot, lot further
Who knows, miracles do happen, don't they .....?
2011:
As I mentioned yesterday, today I'm treating as a rest day as I'm off to Bristol Rovers to watch AFCB. My prediction is that we'll lose 1 nil but dominate the game with over 20 shots......
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Day 115 / 119
2014:
Today was meant to be a 4 mile run at marathon pace
Nope, just wasn't going to do it
I know I've banged on about sticking to the plan but reasoned that the author was assuming you hadn't messed your LEG UP WITH JUST 1 WEEK TO GO!!!!!
Calm down...........deep breaths................
Work was good enough to allow me to work from home so I spent the whole day icing my legs and wearing my "special" socks as I tapped away on the laptop
I'm hoping that this has given me the edge - time will tell ..............
2011:
Oooooo my goodness - I have been sooo tired today. Got home from the football at 1:15 and bed at 2:00 so it's been a real trip through treacle day. Got the prediction right - how did I do that, I wonder? Today was a 4 mile run and I had no confidence. This proved entirely accurate. Both legs really hurt and although I made it round there is no way on earth I have another 22 miles left in me. I'm hoping it's because I'm so tired but fear it's just a forerunner (no pun intended) of what is to come. I'll try to get a full night's sleep tonight and I'll see how I go from there
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Day 116 / 119
2014:
Scary day time
I woke up early and decided to do yesterday's 4 mile run
I was thankful that I no longer had to wear my water vest because adding that to the lovely socks, I would have looked completely mental
I started slowly and gradually built up the pace until I was running at better than marathon pace
Both legs felt dodgy from the knees downwards and I still don't know whether long or short strides are the way to go
I must have lost 2 stone in fear-sweat and countless times I thought they were going to break but somehow they made it to the end
Where I'm finding the extra 22 miles to safety I have no idea - my sister suggested looking down the back of the settee - and believe me, I did look
The dream might have taken a hell of a beating but it's still alive....just....
2011:
Right - it's rest all the way to Sunday now. I've taken this completely to heart, booked the afternoon off and slept for nearly 4 hours. Well, I must have needed it, yes? I also went to Boots and got some super strength anti inflammatories. The girl behind the desk said I should only take them for 3 days at most and I should have phrased my reply better than "that's ok I only have 3 days left" judging by the look on her face - oh well.
Sat here now with ice on my knee and just about to have pills number 2 watching the golf - could be a lot worse
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Day 117 / 119
2014:
The nerves have finally kicked in - I only need to think of the run and I have to rush off to trap 4 (the comfy one)
It's rest days all the way and I had a HUGE lie in until 7 am
Work had been brilliant again today and I was working from home
A full day of ice on the legs followed by the wearing of my "special" socks then rolling over my cylindrical pain-giver
Just walking around I can feel the calfs straining and that's just walking from the front room to the kitchen
That's normal though, right?
I've even turned down a chinky take-away for a pasta salad - this had better all be worth it.........
2011:
Yes still a rest day but more importantly we're in the middle of of carbo loading. So, as I had the day off it's been a mixture of cake, bagels, power bars / drinks, painkillers and chips - I feel like a real athlete!! I bet Kelly Holmes never ate a diet quite like this - if she had who knows, she might have won 3 gold medals. Off to put some ice on my knee - been a lovely day though, hasn't it?
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Day 118 / 119
2014:
Well, it's one day to go
I know I've done all this before but I am SO nervous - I've been all over the place today
Mere mention of the run has brought me out in a cold sweat followed by an achilles testing dash to the loo
More legs' icing today and plenty of rest - I've even been cooking to take my mind off the inevitable
I am aso very grateful for twitter Mark "reminding" me that it all kicks off at 10:00 and not 9:00 like I had in my mind
Bad enough with the nerves without standing on the start line for an extra hour
Well that's it for today - an early alcohol free night to try to squeeze some hours of sleep in although between you and me - it seems a very unlikely request to make of my shaky body at this stage
2011:
Ok, time to officially changing my status to "soiling myself". Today is Eloise's birthday so the morning was all about that followed by a trip to Dean Court to see Bournemouth on the same pitch as Tranmere - that's the best I can say for them. Home at 5:45 and Joss had lovingly prepared a big pasta meal - I love this carbo-loading and might continue it after the run :-) Then it was in the car and a short 2 and a quarter hours later we were checking into our room in Brighton, over a pub. Joss had a couple of glasses of wine and I stuck to orange juice and lemonade. What a good boy I am. Now, when we've stayed here before we have tended to gone to bed a little "tired and emotional" but with this being a sober experience we were able to fully enjoy the thumping music downstairs, followed by the arguments that come with a splendid night of drinking - brilliant!!!
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Day 119 / 119
2014:
So here we are – run day
I was going to say race day but somehow that description doesn’t really suit with how today went
I was up at 5:30 – not on purpose, just too many nerves going through me to stay asleep
I had my energy bar and banana and started on the painkillers I hoped would help with my legs after this most trying of weeks
We set off a few minutes late and I compounded this by only realising I wasn’t wearing my GPS watch half way to Bournemouth
Blast
Back we went but still made it to the Fitness First gym for a last minute use of the “facilities” at around 8:45
Joss then gave me a lift to as close to the start line as she could and drove off to get her vantage point
I met up with twitter Mark for the last half hour of waiting in pretty cold conditions and we both stood their shivering from the cold or possibly just nerves
The starting horn was sounded at exactly 10 and we were off
I glanced down at my watch after just 100m or so and the readings were all over the place so I had to restart it as I was running – not the best of starts
The crowds were out and Mark quickly ran away from me, despite me running ever so slightly quicker than I’d intended – still, it would be a good
buffer for later on, I thought
My “special” socks were doing me proud however and when I first saw Joss, Tracey and the kids at about 5 or so miles I was feeling pretty good
The course doubles back at that point so I saw them again at 8.5 miles and my time was looking great
Note to the organisers – there were MANY times the course doubles back on itself and when you see people flying in the other direction without there being any sight of the turn – that’s like a slap in the face
I’d like to say that I gained some benefit from when I ran the other way – but there weren’t that many runners behind me ……
A mile later Louise was at the side of the road waving a banner for me but unfortunately for her she didn’t recognise me until I could practically shake her hand so had to sprint ahead of me to get a photo
It made me laugh though and I appreciated her doing that because I’ve a feeling the official photographs won’t be quite so flattering
At 10 miles I had the first feelings that things weren’t entirely right
Nothing too bad, but my back started to have a little whinge
At 12 miles it was getting a little more aggressive but I played it down as I caught Mark up because his right knee had all but gone
12 miles on one leg takes some doing
At 14 miles, the run effectively ended for me
It felt like I’d been knifed in the small of my back and pains shot up to my shoulders bringing me to a complete standstill
After a few moments bent over to stretch I started off again but now the pains were going into my hips and down my legs making
every step so painful
Apparently Joss saw me another 3-4 times but I didn’t see her – I just had my head down trying to continue – I still had my time to aim for and all that charity money riding on me
Of course I couldn’t run the rest of the way without stopping so I could see my average time getting higher and higher but as I reached 18 miles I was still on track for a 4 hour marathon
At 18 miles, you have to run up a hill past the BIC which was so steep that my back / hips wouldn.t allow me to lift my legs high enough to run so I had to walk, thus ending the 4 hour dream
The last 8 miles was purgatory and without injury you get through this with mental toughness – with injury I felt like it would never end
The crowds did their best though and I firmly believe that without their cheering and motivation I may not have made it
The last .2 miles of the 26.2 the course funnels into the finish and the crowds are almost on top of you creating a crescendo of noise
It encouraged me to even put on a bit of a “sprint” to the end to finish in a little bit of glory
So what’s next – do I have another go to try to beat that blinking 4 hours (final time was 4:19:31) or do I give my aging body the rest it deserves
It’s all too early and too raw at the moment – I guess I’ll just have to see once everything heals up
2011:
After a full 4 hours sleep, the alarm went off at 05:45 and I fully realised, this was it – no turning back now. After letting this sink in (while on the loo, obviously), it was down to stretching and banana eating, along with a cocktail of painkillers designed to get me through the run. Then I coated myself with enough anti-chaffing gloop to swim the channel, stretched ‘til I could stretch no more then off we went, leaving at 7:15. It was a foolish 2 mile walk to Preston Park by which time (8ish) I thought it best to queue for the loos. At the time I didn’t actually need to go but by the time the mile long queue was complete, there was only 30 minutes to go!!
Steve Cram then did the most boring motivational speech, mostly containing pure gold like “keep going as far as you can” and “it’s a hot day so take plenty of fluids” – he’s an Olympian, you know. So the run started at 09:00 and my ipod kicked off with “Don’t stop me now” – very apt.
At 3 miles, the crowd was cheering, the adrenalin pumping and my left knee went. It was a sudden, searing pain that went round the bottom of my knee and down my shin. It then went away as quickly as it arrived and came and alternated like this for the next ½ mile or so, until I established a gait that would reduce it happening. Ok, I really might not make this, what am I going to do. I appreciate that most would go the conservative route, but today of all days, that wasn’t for me. Chances are I wasn’t going to be able to run the whole distance so that was the last goal I had, gone, after I had already said goodbye to the 4 hour dream. Time for a new dream – if I was going to walk at some point, I was going to put in a bloody good half marathon time – so off I went.
The course blurb said that the first 11 miles were mostly uphill – and they weren’t kidding. Some of the inclines were steeper than the road past Upton house whereas other were shallower but seemed to go on forever. As the temperatures rose (hottest day of the year) I took to grabbing 2 waters at a time, one to pour over my head and one to drink.
At 9 miles my right thigh went but that just maintained at ache level so not too bad. By 12 I was unable to eat any of my carbo-gels as dehydration was making me feel too sick to keep them down and no-one came along to clap and see me bring up my breakfast.
Half way was reached in 1:55 dead and I was so pleased – even though I knew that in the heat I was pretty much spent, especially as I couldn’t take the gels. Joss was there to cheer me on but I was head down, so didn’t see her.
At 16.5 miles I stopped running for the first time for 2 minutes. This gave me time to drink a whole bottle of water, eat a gel and drink most of another bottle, before running to 18 miles. By this time, the roads were littered with runners lying down suffering from injuries and heat exhaustion. They looked terrible and were a grim reminder to take care of myself.
So, from 18 miles, I walked ¼ mile then run ¾ mile all the way to 25 miles. At that point I thought, “there’s no way I’m not running in from here”. So off I went. I knew that Joss would be somewhere near the end with Gary and Sarah so bu$$er the knee – I was going to stride out and look as good as possible.
At 25.5 miles I heard the unmistakeable call of “GULLIS” – no, it wasn’t Joss being a bit cool towards me but Joss realising that almost every male was called Dave and so wanted to make sure she was heard. There they were, all 3 waving and cheering, to which I replied with a bulldog stance and a “GRRRRRRR” which sent them, and the rest of the crowd around them into hysterics.
Less than a mile to go and I could see the finish line and I thought about what I had done and had happened today. Not just the bad stuff like bad knees and dehydration but the good stuff too. People who are running for the same charity patting you on the back and running with you, the crowd shouting “Keep going Dave” (my name was on my shirt – they weren’t psychic) and waters being shared amongst the runners when they could see others needed it more.
It was all this, plus the thoughts of all the hours of training in sub-zero temperatures, the weights and cycling sessions and with Joss being at my side all the time that made the last 100 yards the most emotional sporting time that I have ever had.
Emotional? Bl$$dy yes – an experience to be repeated – you have got to be kidding!!! Finishing time 4:19:37 – with the heat and injuries I couldn’t be happier and putting in a sub 2 hour half marathon topped it off nicely.
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