I have meaning to write this post for a couple of weeks, but for reasons outlined in the previous post I have been unable to. Today, testing negative for Covid (yay!) and just a week after not being able to get out of bed, I realised that are just 4 weeks to go until the Big Day, when somehow I will be traversing 26.2 miles around Rome on my two feet. My longest run up until today has been 15 minutes shy of 3 hours, and 25 km. So today I thought I would see if I could possibly manage 3 hours. Slowly.
Somehow I did keep moving (mostly) for 3 hours without collapsing before I got home, although I did lie down for a bit when I did finally finish. However it was very slow. I managed just 25km – the same as last time just 15 minutes slower! I went between feeling pleased that I had at least managed that much, and panicking that I am now way off schedule and how will I ever manage to get round 42km!
Considerations for a long, slow run in no particular order: fuel, entertainment, possible toilet stops, clothing and footwear.
Fuel: my go to on the run fuel at the moment is soft dates stuffed with a little almond butter – and – moment of inspiration- a tiny bit of dark chocolate! Yummy. Hydration – plain water.
Entertainment: I have the best headphones EVER – wireless bone conduction ones. I’ve had them almost a year. I bought them with some money I was generously given to mark my 60th birthday and semi retirement from work – and they are FANTASTIC! What makes them so great is that I can hear what’s going on around me as they don’t go in my ears, but I can still hear whatever I’m listening to. Today I listened to a BBC Sounds audiobook of Pride and Prejudice. Actually I listened to lots of chapters of it, but still haven’t finished it! I do love Jane Austen, she’s such a great observer of character, and some of it is so funny.
Possible toilet stops: this is quite important! On a really long run it’s good to know there are options. Routes far from civilisation are not the best for this kind of training run. Today I noted a possibility in a garden centre, good to know for another time! And then realised that the old toilet block in Richmond is partly open again! Oh joy!
Clothing: for me long sleeved tops are still my choice on a slow run, even though it was probably warm enough today for a t shirt. In fact I’m still in long leggings too. I found myself jogging along in amongst the runners of the Richmond Half marathon at one point today and nearly all of them were in shorts and t shirts. Soon! It’s definitely getting warmer.
Footwear: at the moment I’m running in fairly new Adidas Solarboost. They’re ok, quite cushioned and some support. I haven’t quite got the hang of tying the laces so they’re not too tight over the top of my foot. In the right shoe I’m using an X line running insole which seems to be helping keep my right foot more stable. Good news for my tibialis posterior tendon! I was sent these to try out ages ago, but only started using them a few weeks ago. I’m quite impressed so far..
I am hoping that this week I can get back on track, or at least a bit closer to the plan. Next weekend should be a 3.5 hour run – that will probably have to happen on Monday rather than Sunday for social reasons. Watch out for the update!
Eat Cake And Run 