Out of the Ashes

A good night's sleep and a lovely day at a friend's lunch party in celebration of her daughter's 18th birthday had me feeling much better. Unfortunately, I had now got to the point in the Plan where it says "Peak Week", which was about to coincide with a very busy week of "other stuff". I was quite nervous about how cream crackered I would be by the end of it! I skipped the 20 minutes jog recovery suggested by the Plan in favour of rest on Sunday and Monday, though I did walk to work and back on Monday, just to get the legs moving again. I also walked to work on Tuesday, but got the bus home as then I really had to tie up my trainer laces again and get back on the horse (actually I think it would be more painful to ride a Marathon on a horse than to run one). This meant that it got dark while I was out - but it did also mean I could use the little light on my watch to tell me how long I'd been running! (Little things...) I was supposed to do 40 minutes brisk, so that's what I did, and it felt really great. I felt free and easy, my feet were flying and my breathing was rhythmical and easy, and I was a bit disappointed to find I'd only done 3.45 miles in my 40 minutes. It felt like I was running faster than that.

I had to switch Thursday's session to Wednesday - 60 minutes steady, which again was good, 5.41 miles - then that afternoon and evening I was at Guildford Cathedral for a rehearsal then concert with the combined RGS/GHS schools' and parents' choir, which was brilliant. The rehearsal was a bit of a car crash but the evening was a huge success, both choir masters were thrilled and it's such a lovely experience to be involved in something like that, even if I am a bit of an interloper these days as I have no school children. Thursday I went to the Ideal Home Show with my friend. I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to spend the whole day wandering round Earls Court getting tired but we had a lovely day. I told her all about my disaster at the weekend and she was hugely positive and encouraging, and even came with me to the running shop when we got back to Woking, where I had a sensible chat with the very helpful and knowledgeable staff about hydration and nutrition strategies during long runs, and the different types of products available. I had come to realise that the major cause of all my problems on Saturday was dehydration; I just didn't take in enough fluid to cope with the heat and the gel. Lesson learned. I bought a couple of different types of gel, including the Lucozade one that's available on the day, to see if I like it, and some rehydration powder - I heard the shop assistant say something about intravenous drips and panicked a bit but it turns out she just meant it's the same stuff that they use to rehydrate people intravenously in emergencies, not that I have to hook myself up to a bag to take it or anything. Mind you, having tried it, it tastes so vile I'd probably rather take it intravenously.

Friday was a rest day, and so, in theory, was Saturday, but on Saturday I went to Wembley Stadium with Rock Choir to provide pre-match and half-time entertainment at an Aviva Premiership rugby match between Saracens (nominally the home team) and Harlequins, who train in my gym so I feel a kind of affinity there. (Not that I've been in the gym for a while...) It was a fantastic day, if a bit on the chilly side. We spent a lot of time trying to get lined up and work out logistics for getting 2000 choir members into position to sing - in the end it all went out of the window and we just found the right places to stand and it all went very well. We only did three songs and no-one pays any attention anyway, but to be at Wembley was amazing.

And even more respect to Alan Shearer and Robbie Savage for their Sports Relief feat of sitting in every seat. There are a heck of a lot of seats! I tried half a dozen to demonstrate to a friend what they'd been doing, and that was hard enough work. The match itself was a bit of a disaster unless you're a Sarries fan, so we'll gloss over that bit and move swiftly on to Sunday.

The last biggie...

3 1/2 hours said the Plan. Fortunately it was much cooler this weekend but I was still not going to take any chances with the hydration so I planned to loop round via home twice this time. This does mean I can't be too adventurous with where I go as I have to be close enough to get home in an hour but if it means I don't die so be it. I was really up for this run, determined not to be scared of going out there again, not to be put off by last week's nightmare. I'd learned the lessons and I'd prepared. I had also bought, from the Ideal Home Show, a bum bag with extendable pockets into which I could fit all manner of gels, cereal bars, jelly babies, lip salve... Just like Mary Poppins (or Hermione Grainger)! So off I went. First loop was 6 1/2 miles, second was 7, and the last was a "quick" 4 1/2. I made sure to drink my bottle empty before getting home to refill, I made sure to eat en route (and wash down with water as necessary) and I felt really positive. On the whole the weather was very kind to me, until at about 16 miles it came over very dark, got freezing cold, and hailed on me! Not going to put me off though, not me, not this weekend. I even put in a little extra twizzle close to home to make sure I made it to 18 miles, in less than 3 1/2 hours (3:29:15 to be precise!). I was trialling a run/walk strategy, whereby I stopped running every three miles and put in a little walk of about 2-3 minutes. Overall there was no discernible drop in the time taken, and I did feel so much better than last week (may not have had anything to do with the run/walk strategy mind you). There is a run/walk pace group on the day but I think they may be too slow for me. And I never thought I'd be saying that!

So, that was the last really long run done. Into taper time now - for the last three weeks you ease off a bit so as to allow your body to recover and gain the benefit of the long runs, apparently. You're also allowed to carb load, although this does not (unfortunately) mean "eat as much cake as you possibly can..." You have to be a bit sensible, as too much pasta just makes you fat. Who'd have thought?!