18Mar2018 - 12 miles - longest run ever
18th March 2018
In: Running 2018
Today has been the day on the plan that I've been dreading since seeing it. 12 miles at 11mm. And as it got closer I began to see that there would be no-one around to run with me, after Barcelona marathon last week. I've run 11 miles before but no more. And not on my own. I had a terrible night's sleep, not sleeping much after 3am. So when it came to getting up and running, I was really fearful. But it was on my plan. I had to do it. There were a few centimetres of snow on the ground to contend with as well as a wind chill temperature of -6 degrees. Sophie kindly said that she would come and join me for some of the run, and as I was doing an 8 mile loop and then a 4 mile loop, we decided she would join me for the last 4 miles. This was where I would struggle so the thought of having support was a relief.
I set off from Tesco, after buying a packet of raisins for later and tried to do the first mile slowly. Success, 11:52. The second mile was always going to be quicker as it was downhill. Mile 3 was good, but mile 4 a bit quick. I'm not sure why, but I was really struggling to get the right pace. But from mile 5, it improved and I seemed to find a rhythm. I had some raisins at about 5 miles, to ensure blood sugar was up for mile 7, along the racecourse. The path was the worst of the whole run on this part, quite thick snow that wasn't easy to run in. I was pleased to still be able to keep a good pace, finishing in 10:48. I had kept my mind busy with thinking about what to talk to Sophie about when we met at mile 8. I had loads to say - I knew I'd probably not be able or brave enough to bring most of it up but at least it kept me busy for my worst mile. As I got back to the Mercedes garage, I couldn't see Sophie. I waited for a few minutes, but the snow was blowing off the roof of the garage and it was freezing. So I crossed the road to wait in a slightly more sheltered place. I paused my watch and it said I'd been out for an hour and 27 minutes. Sophie was aiming to get there for 85 minutes so should have been there. I stood for a while longer but was getting really cold, so did shuttle runs from the roundabout to the park gate a few times. I didn't have a clue how long I'd been there, as I wasn't showing the time on my watch, but was worried about Sophie now so got my phone out to call her. That was when a barrage of messages came through - Sophie'd had a disastrous first mile and had turned home with soaking wet, freezing feet. I don't know why none of the messages came through before, but I was relieved she was ok. My fingers were completely numb by now so I managed a short message back saying I'd received the messages, and continued. 4 more miles on my own. I was actually surprised at how unaffected I was mentally by this. I had a job to do and wanted to get home and in the warm, so I did it.
The ball of my foot had started to hurt at about 4.5 miles, but it didn't get worse until the last couple of miles. In the last mile I started to get toe pain like I had last year. Like my toes are broken. I'm sure I squealed in pain a couple of times but I was not going to cut the run short, and by continuing to run, I'd get home quicker than if I walked. The last part was meant to be up Bog Lane, but I decided against it because of the uneven ground under the snow. This meant a twiddly bit of running at the end to get the miles up to 12 and a bit. But I did it.
At home, I struggled to take my shoes off, but I had a surprise of a hot bath and a hot chocolate ready when I walked in - and these really helped me defrost. My socks were soaked through but my feet had not been cold, thankfully. I was tired, but more so from the lack of sleep than having run a long way. I certainly didn't feel as exhausted as I had 2 weeks previous when I ran with Alex and Nicky.
I don't know how I managed to run so far on my own. I didn't feel like I wanted or was going to die, or that I wanted to stop and have a nap before the end. This is progress. Not only did I run, but I didn't lose my mind in the process. Maybe I'm actually better at running on my own than with others, after all.
Mile Splits and the Route
I set off from Tesco, after buying a packet of raisins for later and tried to do the first mile slowly. Success, 11:52. The second mile was always going to be quicker as it was downhill. Mile 3 was good, but mile 4 a bit quick. I'm not sure why, but I was really struggling to get the right pace. But from mile 5, it improved and I seemed to find a rhythm. I had some raisins at about 5 miles, to ensure blood sugar was up for mile 7, along the racecourse. The path was the worst of the whole run on this part, quite thick snow that wasn't easy to run in. I was pleased to still be able to keep a good pace, finishing in 10:48. I had kept my mind busy with thinking about what to talk to Sophie about when we met at mile 8. I had loads to say - I knew I'd probably not be able or brave enough to bring most of it up but at least it kept me busy for my worst mile. As I got back to the Mercedes garage, I couldn't see Sophie. I waited for a few minutes, but the snow was blowing off the roof of the garage and it was freezing. So I crossed the road to wait in a slightly more sheltered place. I paused my watch and it said I'd been out for an hour and 27 minutes. Sophie was aiming to get there for 85 minutes so should have been there. I stood for a while longer but was getting really cold, so did shuttle runs from the roundabout to the park gate a few times. I didn't have a clue how long I'd been there, as I wasn't showing the time on my watch, but was worried about Sophie now so got my phone out to call her. That was when a barrage of messages came through - Sophie'd had a disastrous first mile and had turned home with soaking wet, freezing feet. I don't know why none of the messages came through before, but I was relieved she was ok. My fingers were completely numb by now so I managed a short message back saying I'd received the messages, and continued. 4 more miles on my own. I was actually surprised at how unaffected I was mentally by this. I had a job to do and wanted to get home and in the warm, so I did it.
The ball of my foot had started to hurt at about 4.5 miles, but it didn't get worse until the last couple of miles. In the last mile I started to get toe pain like I had last year. Like my toes are broken. I'm sure I squealed in pain a couple of times but I was not going to cut the run short, and by continuing to run, I'd get home quicker than if I walked. The last part was meant to be up Bog Lane, but I decided against it because of the uneven ground under the snow. This meant a twiddly bit of running at the end to get the miles up to 12 and a bit. But I did it.
At home, I struggled to take my shoes off, but I had a surprise of a hot bath and a hot chocolate ready when I walked in - and these really helped me defrost. My socks were soaked through but my feet had not been cold, thankfully. I was tired, but more so from the lack of sleep than having run a long way. I certainly didn't feel as exhausted as I had 2 weeks previous when I ran with Alex and Nicky.
I don't know how I managed to run so far on my own. I didn't feel like I wanted or was going to die, or that I wanted to stop and have a nap before the end. This is progress. Not only did I run, but I didn't lose my mind in the process. Maybe I'm actually better at running on my own than with others, after all.
Mile Splits and the Route