Daily Wrap (23/2/2008)

Well today I take the advice of a dartford harrier runner and just go for it and see how far I go. I didn't sleep that well the night before. It may surprise a few people but I don't think people have been that supportive. Remarks saying "you are crazy for doing this" or "you going to get injured" or "you need to train this way" or "you need to stick to a schedule" or "you're just weird" have started getting to me. You know how it is, you start telling someone that you can't do this then you get a negative mindset and hence a slightly sleepless night. Also if you have read all the posts, things have not gone quite to plan schedule-wise with a few niggles. So yes I know I have to train, yes I have a way to do things and yes I have taken on-board some advice.
The bottom line the person who ultimately known my body best is *me*. I should really ignore the negativity because I started this knowing I can do this. I still *know* I can do this.

Anyways, all I need is some positive support, thank you.

With that in mind, I woke up feeling not that great at 8am. So I just tried to lightly ease myself in the mood with a few stretches. Only had some water and some actimel before deciding to just run.

You should always feel comfortable or as comfortable as possible when you run and after just 7 minutes, I realised this was not the case as I felt pinching in my left shoe, so I stopped and adjusted my shoe and took my time about this (5 minutes) before getting it right.

So I started for real and things didn't look to be going well as my legs felt heavy after just 1 or 2 miles. Maybe the week's activities of getting some base mileage was starting to get to me. I thought if I could just get pass 30 miles for the week (4 miles) then I would ok. I started to feel a bit better when I got to about 30 minutes, so I decided to continue this little venture. Like the other night, I told myself to relax and after 60 minutes, I started to get into a nice rhythm. That was probably the best I felt in the entire run. By this stage, I found myself in Woolwich and now joined what would be part of the route for the London Marathon. I manage to kept on going all the way to Greenwich...

In a way, it reminded me of a 10 mile run I did in 2007 where I felt really sick beforehand but still went ahead and did a PB at that time.

Whilst running, you need to keep oneself amused and mentally stimulated. Now normally I would be running with my ipod shuffle but I didn't have that with me. So just looking at the scenery keeps me sane. One thing I noticed a lot of pubs have closed. A number of them are just boarded up. I saw a couple of billboards for Macmillan Cancer Support and Lily Cole advertising Marks & Sparks. I was amazed to see a Thomson Prometric testing centre in Charlton of all places.

Continuing on, I nearly smacked into some old guy who was not looking where he was going when leaving a newsagents in Greenwich. I skidded badly but fortunately stayed upright. These are the sort of perils you have to deal with running in London! I started to head back for home from Greenwich and kept going. An interesting point was I got to a sign that said "Woolwich Ferry 1 1/4m". So I decided to time myself. I may have picked my legs at this stage as I got to the ferry in exactly 10 minutes (7.5mph or 8min/mile), which is too quick after running 2 hours at that point. Either that or the sign is slightly inaccurate. I was started to dragged my feet a bit and decided to finish up at Abbey Wood station. Towards the end of the run, some guy decided he wanted to run with me. He was asking me how I was keeping on going. I kept repeating myself "Carbs". I don't think I understood. However he did understand when I said I had been running for 2 hours and left me alone. But that little bit of encouragement kept me going... Which could well be very useful at say the 25 mile stage in the main event. I ran for 2:35 (excluding the 7 minute start) which in total is just over 17 miles.

To rest, I needed to get some protein asap and I gobbled down a mars refuel chocolate shake. Absolutely yummy that was! I was a stiff afterwards I couldn't run though walking is not a problem.

If I was fresh I could run it quicker or longer but this is a really good base to work from and am very much back on my schedule.

To top things off, I went clubbing with a family friend that I said I would go for their birthday.

Summary
Exercising: dancing (kinda)
Running: 2:40 (11 miles to Greenwich; 6.2 miles to Abbey Wood)
Food: Paprika chicken and potatoes, green beans and brocolli (lunch), chicken briyani (dinner), turkey/ham subway (late-night)