MIND GAMES...
Apr0620075:52 p.m.
Well I have been stressed all week thinking that I was a week behind everybody else with regard to my last long run.
Anyway I went out this morning with the intention of running 20 miles.
The weather was great and I felt really good. Had some gels with me and a bottle of water.
All good. Started my run with a little lap of West Kirby marina. Absolutely lovely.
There is no way of avoiding the very steep hills when out running on the Wirral so it's inevitable that you will come up against at least one but if running very far ,will run up lots.
Anyway as I said it was all good until I got to about 14 miles and my legs went! If this is what the wall feels like it happened far too early for my liking!!
I walked for a bit and took another gel and some water. Then struggled on for another mile or so.
I had to walk again and started to feel the cold so started running again and then felt a pull in my calf. Was worried that I might make it worse by running for a further 4 miles so phoned the good lady wife to come and pick me up.
Worked out that I had run somewhere between 16 and 17.
Felt really down that I hadn't made the 20 miles and my last long run was not that much further than I have previously run.
Just got to hope that my mind doesn't start playing games with me on the big day.
Feel like I should give the 20 miler another go on monday but I know I should be tapering now.
If anybody has any thoughts on this...
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Comments (4)
Dungey 'Robert You have to do what you are comfortable with. What's your target for London? If its a get yourself round, then I wouldnt push for a 20 miler. I did London a few years back and the furthest I had run was 15 miles. It wasnt fast and yes I had to do some walking, but I planned it out. Did 6 miles then walked a bit, another 6 miles, walked a bit - until finish. The atmosphere is fantastic and just that alone is worth a few miles. If you are looking to run all the way then it sounds like you need to get through that 20 mile mental barrier. Careful though that you dont push too hard, your body will need rest after 20 miles to make sure you are up for 26 at the end of April Good luck' added 6th Apr 2007
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Aimee_Whitfield 'Don't feel too down on yourself, 17 miles is still a good distance to have ran for your longest run so keep that in mind. I personally wouldn't try to do 20 miles, especially on Monday because you wont have fully recovered from today's run, and any later than that will be leaving it too close to the big day. You should concentrate on resting, 20 miles wont do your calf any good! Just put your feet up over the weekend and if you are still concerned about your fitness levels (although there is no need to be!) then maybe do a bit of cross training or swimming to take the pressure off your calf. My advice is give yourself a pat on the back for doing 17 miles (even though it was painful, you still did it which shows determination!) relax over the weekend and do a few shorter runs/tapering next week if your calf feels fine and if not just a bit of light walking/cross training/swimming. Good luck and keep your chin up!' added 6th Apr 2007
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fatrev 'As Aimeesays thats still a great run just rest up the calf now as its more important to get to the start line and as Martin says its depends what your aim is' added 6th Apr 2007
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Sarah_DC 'I'd be nervous doing a 20 so soon after a 17miler, you need to give those legs some time to rest. If you felt that you could have gone on if you had been without injury then mentally you're ahead. I've just been reading your post re: charity nights, it is hard to get donations from big clubs as they get so many requests however, we eventually got our local club to get a shirt signed which i supplied and i got the money back for the shirt out of the auction. It was only cardiff city but they have a massive local following and i knew it would be desirable to the local kids. Also there are some great agencies that give good deals for charity nights on a sale or return basis and you don't pay for the stuff until after your event, the one which i have found to be the better is www.superstars.co.uk but there is also www.sportsicons.co.uk and www.spiritofsport.co.uk, when organising charity nights remember its better to have 100 people who will spend money than 400 who are just there for the ride. Good luck with the running, whatever you decide to do.' added 6th Apr 2007
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