8 weeks to go, 45 miles and more interaction than I’d like with traffic
I decided to start running again on Friday and give my foot a few days rest before trying some heavier mileage across the weekend. I had planned to do 60 miles this week according to the Comrades schedule but didn’t want to rush back and not finish the miles near the end of the week. I did 5 miles on the treadmill at a pretty reasonable pace and didn’t feel any pain or notice my foot hurting throughout.
Yesterday I ran 20 miles out in the streets in abhorrent weather. If it rains properly I quite enjoy forcing my way through it and knowing once you’re soaked you’re not going to get any wetter. This was nothing like that and although it remained overcast throughout, the rain was intermittent and just fine enough to get on my nerves.
The first 2 laps of 7.5 miles went quite well and even though the pace was nothing special, I felt relatively comfortable. My final 5.4 mile loop was ridiculously hard and it felt like somebody had pulled a power cord out of my back!
I also found out when you’re dying to this extent and there is traffic around, the drivers and passengers will feel the need to interact with you for better or worse. Long time readers of this blog will remember my fondness for using “lesprit de l'escalier” or “comment of the staircase” when people antagonise me when running. This is essentially the witty retort you think of coming down the stairs on the way home from the dinner party. Some lumbersexual boy-racer bastard in a VW Golf decided to slow down and laugh looking directly at me from his drivers side window as I was “crawling” along at a very slow pace towards the top of Churwell hill. After he eventually drove off I thought if it wasn’t a Saturday he would probably be on his way to collect his girlfriend from the school gates at the top of the road!
Once I had reached the top of the hill and was running on flat ground again, my pace improved slightly but I still was running using horrible technique and moving my arms across my front unnecessarily. Somebody coming in the opposite direction to me pulled up and asked if I was OK , if I had pulled anything and if I wanted a lift? I insisted it was just my legs cramping up and that I only lived round the corner but was very grateful for the offer.
These 2 interactions about 4 minutes apart were pivotal in me completing that lap and although I have ran that 5.4 mile loop hundreds of times, this was one of the toughest. I found the distraction of them both helped me not think about the lead in my legs and instead focus on not throwing my keys at the Golf driver as well as it being nice that the other driver thought I needed assistance.
I finished my shortened week with a 20 mile run at the gym. This was a doddle compared to yesterday and even though my legs chafed a bit near the end, I never doubted I’d finish from about mile 3 judging on the pace and elevation I was running at.
It is good to be back up to a respectable weekly mileage and I managed to maintain my enthusiasm for getting up to 45 miles for the 3 days by remembering the story about Michael Jordan returning to the NBA after his initial retirement to go play baseball and wearing the number 45 in his first game back. There are lots of different reasons bandied about for why he chose that number but it definitely had some significance for him as he went on to win another 3 titles with the Chicago Bulls.
Granted me missing running for nearly a fortnight is nowhere near the same level of absence but the motivation worked nevertheless.
Hopefully next week will be a bit more of a progression as the race draws nearer.