Sunday 4th December 2011 - 15.5 Miles

I woke up feeling sore and tired.  You couldn't really say I was limping; more that I was just walking funny.  And making strange noises with every step.  Oooh.... ah... eeeh.... etc.

Running with sore and tired legs is something that I must get accustomed to so that when it happens in the desert I'll be able to simply deal with it as a normal part of life.  So I forced myself back out.  The training plan I'm following said I should be doing 12 miles today.  Obviously it would be sensible to mark out a 12 mile route on a map and then run it.  Not me!  I decided that it would be great to finish my run with a dip in a cool swimming pool and that the gym was "probably" 12 miles away if I ran down the canal to it.

So on that basis I threw my pack on (5.5 Kg today) and headed out on the road.  The first stretch was all down back lanes to Ellesmere.  Lovely conditions but my legs hurt with every stride.  Eventually after about 5 miles things started to ease up a little and I could run more like a person and less like a badly designed robot. 

After six miles I reached Ellesmere, grabbed some food, and hit the canal towpath. I love running alonside the canal.  It's flat but uneven so it works all the stabilising muscles of your body without putting the extra strain on you that hills do.  Of course I can't always do canals because I have to have strength for the hills and dunes of the sahara but I'm going to worry about that in January.  For now, flat canal paths are just the ticket.

The food I'd eaten at 6 miles kicked in and I put in a really steady burn for the next five miles with my fastest mile of the day (9:54) being on mile 11.  Then I got hit by a nasty rain storm.  I was soaked within minutes and became instantly freezing cold.  This slowed my pace a bit through mile 12 until I got used to it and then I was able to go steady again but it was a slightly miserable experience being wet, cold, and running on slippy muddy paths.  In places the path became quite narrow and with my pack still making me a little unstable (and, I expect, not very bouyant) I feared I might sleep with the fishes! 

It was at this point I realised how foolish I'd been not to measure the course.  My 12 mile run became a 15.5 mile run and I resented every step of those extra 3.5 miles.

Of course I had my reward at the end.  A dip in the cool pool and then a long soak in the jacuzzi and ten minutes in the sauna.  The rest of the day was a write off as I was completely exhuasted and flat but all in a good way.  I feel as if I have really worked hard this weekend and that I will get the rewards for this effort in the weeks and months to come. And hopefully, most essentially, in the desert in April.

Peace, out.

JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg

TODAY
Distance 15.57 miles
Time  2:52:45
Kcal  1,804
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna  10 mins

TOTAL
Distance 253.54 miles
Time  44:54:59
Kcal  27,172
Press-ups 380
Swimming 8000 m
Sauna  3:05 mins

FUNDRAISING
The fund is still at £431.53.
If you haven't already donated then take a look at http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet and help the wonderful work of MENCAP.  Thank you so much to everyone who has sponsored already. I respect and love you all!!! 

Remember that you can now donate by sending a text to 70070 saying (without quotes) "MIFF70 £5" but replacing the £5 with any amount you wish to donate.

Feel free to contact me with any fundraising ideas you have.  You can email me at: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Finally for this section, a big thank you to Chris for promoting the blog on his facebook - nice one Bra!

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