Something pretty amazing happened this evening.
I went off at about 7pm to do my 3 or 4 miles. My foot was still aching a bit, and I felt sleepy and utterly unenthusiastic. But inexplicably I ended up running TWELVE miles. It was slow — in fact the 12 miles took me a lot longer to complete than I hope the half marathon will take, but who cares?
The secret ingredient was the decision to run-walk. I started off with the idea of walking 1 minute for every 9 run, but I kept losing track as my watch resets the display every mile. So I changed the plan and walked a minute every mile, and two minutes every three miles. I was amazed at the difference this made. After 5 or 6 miles I still felt fresh and strong, and was still feeling OK after 9 or 10. After this point I did begin to tire, and more important I began to feel twinges in both calves. After my two calf injuries this year I didn’t want to take any chances, so I slowed right down and eventually walked most of the last half mile.
It’s by far the longest run I’ve done since the Reading Half in March, and has given me the confidence to look forward to the GNR on Sunday.
Too knackered to write more.
