The last long run before my next ultra marathon

I got out a bit later than I had wanted this morning to go for my long run. But that’s ok. I had the rest of the day to get it done. My plan was to do a nice, easy road run, mostly flat, around Wellington.

It's a bit windy!

I thought I had a 21km circuit that I’d run before. So I figured two times around this would be a good long run. I just checked and the 21km circuit is actually somewhere else. Doh!

This circuit turned out to be 18kms. But not to worry. The plan was still to go around twice, and then maybe add a bit more on at the end.

I thought ahead a bit and got my thermos 1/3 loaded with water and put it n the freezer last night. This morning I filled it with water and left t out by my front door, giving me ice cold water when I hit the ‘aid station’ to refill. That worked really well and the water was nice and cold when I stopped by for a refill.

Since this was going to e a long, long run I decided not to push the p[ace, just run at a gentle clip knowing that I had a long way to go.

But I wasn’t feeling the love today. I just couldn’t get into the groove, even though I was running relaxed, and at a good pace for me. I felt tired and everything started hurting way sooner than it should. By the 9km mark, the point where I can either turn for home or carry on, I was contemplating binning the run and heading home.

I elected to carry on hoping that things would sort themselves out. They kind-of did for a bit. But my ankles were hurting a lot, my right quad was suddenly tight (again) and I was just struggling to keep running.

By the time I reach my house I knew that the chances of me completing another circuit were pretty low. 18kms in and it had taken me 2 hours. Not a fast time, but not too slow either. Given how I was feeling I was happy with my time, and after filling up my water, I headed back out into the wind.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that. It’s really windy today. But still quite hot. I certainly felt the difference when the cloud cover got blown away. I struggled on, trying not to do the ’little old man shuffle’. I wanted to be running as much as possible to get my body used to running instead of shuffling.

I had already decided before I got to the place where I could carry on or head for home, what I would be doing. My body just hurt, a lot. Way more than it should be at this stage. My lungs seem to be doing fine (for a change) but my legs had had enough. My calves were cramping and I had pain in my hips that I had never had before.

So time to call it a day and head for home.

I think my body is just tired and in need of some rest. I’ve gone out hard each weekend since my last 60km ultra marathon. Running on technical trails with a bunch of elevation gain.

40kms the weekend after
36kms the week after that
Then 23kms
And today 28kms
Add to that the 10km circuits I’ve also been doing during the week, and I think I’ve just burned my legs out a bit.

So I have three weeks to let them rest and recover before the next big challenge. Hopefully they will be fine and I’ll be able to hit the race refreshed and eager to conquer some hills. Otherwise it is going to be a long hard day. (or perhaps a short hard day if I miss the first cutoff!)

Missing the first cutoff is my biggest concern for the next race. I have about 3 hours to do 18kms. Looking at today’s run, that’s doable. But this will be on trails and about 15kms of it will be uphill. So it is going to be tight. The time to the next cutoff is more generous, so if I can make the first one, I think I’ll be fine for the second one. But going out hard for the first 18kms is what I’ll have to do. No point saving myself for the later stages of a race I might not get to run.

For all of my previous races I’ve had a good last long run before them, and then imploded during the race. So maybe this is a good thing. Maybe this time things will be different and I’ll make it to the finish without being last, or second to last. Maybe I’ll make it before all the beer is drunk and everyone has gone home.

I can only hope.

Check out the run at: https://www.strava.com/activities/1411029083

Check out the challenge posted by #jumowa here

Check out my stories here on Steemit

Also don't forget to check out my Dad's blog

Who else can tell you stories about impersonating an officer, stealing a military aircraft to go on a booze run, or steal military aircraft and go on an unsanctioned bombing run - and that's all before he turned 18!

Check out @len.george and find out what other madness he got up to!

Are you new to Steemit and trying to figure out what it's all about?

Head over to: https://www.steemithelp.net/. It's the best place to get a handle on what the platform is all about.

The last long run before my next ultra marathon – The Triple Peaks Challenge (and also #runforsteem)

Check out my stories here on Steemit

Running Deer

Charlie Rabbit

Little Peppers Adventures

Dark Angel Regiment of the Space Marines - Mission Files

Other stories

Also don't forget to check out my Dad's blog