This weekend we were away but despite a very early morning on Saturday and trekking halfway across the UK I still managed to complete my first half marathon. I was staying in the town I grew up in so it made it interesting having not seen the place in about 3 years. There were some sad things to see but overall a very positive experience.
Up till now I have been trying to run without the gels (just jelly babies and energy drink) to train my body to survive on very little but for the half (and with it being far more hilly than the Notts countryside) I took the plunge and took out an energy gel. It made a world of difference and having heard the horror stories I was a little worried (I even carried some loo roll with me) but this was the first gel I tried and it seemed to suit me fine. I now can see why they are so important and you get a boost from them that you just do not get from energy drinks. I also found my hydration levels were a lot easier to manage. I generally opt for only drinking when thirsty (as you should do) but found myself having remind myself to drink as I was not feeling thirsty at all!
For the first 10 miles I was looking at running in just over 2 Hours but come mile 10 I was reminded of how high up Epsom Downs was as I climbed Downs Road (a bloody steep hill) when I got to the top I started to recover well and of all the places on my run I could of tripped, I tripped at the viewpoint which was rammed full of people...... Basically what happened was someone disposed of what I think was a metal loop of some description and both my feet landed in it and as I took my next step.... yup as you can imagine I went flying in my now foul mood a few people asked if I was OK and I very unconvincingly leapt up saying I was fine whilst hobbling quite severely.... I had landed on my knee!
2 mins later and my pace had dropped by about 2 minutes and I could quite literally feel my knee pulsating. Needless to say I had a very slow final 3 miles and managed to finished in a respectable 2 hours 8 minutes (even if it was about 6 minutes slower than I was on target for). As soon as I stopped and got back to the hotel and the adrenalin wore off I actually couldn't move properly for about 10 minutes (cue husband to help me stretch out the aches and pains) and it became apparent that the bruised ankles from the force of getting my legs tangled were going to be the big problem.....
And indeed they were, I was due a run today and the front of my ankle was still sore and bruised not fully able to extend my foot, with it being in front of my foot (which is problematic going up and down hills/slopes). WIn or lose I'll be out tomorrow for a 5 miler and get the ankles moving, depending how it feels (I think the extra day rest will of helped) I'll do 6 on Thursday and another 5 on Friday. Sunday will be the long run again which is scheduled for a 14 miler but may go for the 15, that way I can get in 2 20milers before the marathon which could be hugely beneficial.
2 and a half more weeks until the Grantham Half Marathon and I'm still aiming for the sub 2 hours but anything under 2 hours 5mins, I will be happy!
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