Well a week has gone by so I thought I would take some time
to reflect on a personal achievement. Last Friday I completed my longest run to
date being 27kms.
The first question is “WHY”? well my response to that is typically
WHY NOT!? Achievements are there to be outdone, records to be broken and limits
to be pushed!
Previously my PR for a run was the 2 half marathons I had
done being 21kms each. I had coped with both runs pretty well and pulled up
after in decent shape apart from the usual soreness and a bit of tightness. I
swore on both occasions that I would never complete or compete in a full
marathon (42kms). My how things and thought patterns can change!
I have committed myself to completing 2 long distance
challenges next year with the 1st being the True Grit Enduro which
is a 24 hour obstacle course where the goal is to complete as many laps of the
10.3km circuit as possible. I am aiming for between 6-9 laps (so 60-90ishkms!!!)
and the 2nd target being the Yurrebilla Ultra Trail run which is a
56km run takes in a number of national parks and conservation reserves with a
total of 1865 vertical metres!
So yeah I need to start trying to become somewhat of a distance
runner!
Back to last week. I had ZERO preparation for this and only
came up with the idea on the Thursday night! I was just sitting down after
completing some stretches and said to my wife “hunny I think I will run home
from the office tomorrow” and in a normal voice (I don’t think she was actually
paying attention) said “yep no worries”. I packed my running gear and turned in
for the night. I started negotiating with myself as I went to sleep, “its not
about the time/pace, its about KM’s in the legs” or “its ok if I have to walk
for a bit, I haven’t run since the city-bay” etc etc. All of which I knew was
the truth but it was unlikely any of those would sit well with me!
At work the next day I tried to get some carbs in and had my
usual 3L of water, usually this is a process that I do over a full week in the
lead up to an event, so I was already behind the 8-ball. I stretched when I could
and tried to walk around at every opportunity. Being in a sedentary job working
in an office I am, most of the time, careful about what I eat and mindful of
trying to stretch my legs as often as possible.
When I said to AB that I was going to get changed and
grabbed my running gear she said “are you seriously running home”?? Told you
she didn’t hear me the day before. With a curt reply of “yes, I told you that
yesterday” and her response of “yeah but I didn’t think you were serious” I was
ready to go!
I left the office just on 3pm and headed off. The day was
perfect for it. Sun was out and there was little to no wind. The 1st
10kms went through pretty smoothly and I found myself in a really good rhythm.
The only issue was that at about km 8ish my left knee started to get some pain
in it intermittently. Luckily I had packed some ibuprofen and some cash (which I
wouldn’t normally do) so I decided as I approached Glenelg that I would take a
quick rest stop at the service station just opposite the Glenelg Oval. I rushed
in, grabbed a 450ml bottle of full strength coke, paid and started walking at a
quick pace while I downed the 2 tabs and chugged the coke so I didn’t have to
carry it. After 3-4mins of fast paced walking I started in to my manageable pace
again.
As I continued the next 3-4kms my hip flexors and both
groins started causing some real discomfort, especially and rises in the road, stepping
up curbing or starting again stopping at the lights. Each restart got harder
and harder and took longer to subside when I got in to my stride pattern. I was
not looking forward to the accent of Ocean Boulevard....
Ocean Boulevard is approximately 2km long with about a 6-7%
gradient and came at about the 20km mark so I was starting to get to my limit
of where I had been and had never tackled a hill like this while running
before.
The first portion of this climb is the worst as it kicks
quite hard. I started setting road markers to make sure I ran to that, then set
the next point and run to that. Then my phone rang! DAMN! it was the wife,
better answer this. She was just checking to see how I was but it threw me
right out as I lost focus looking to see who it was and then to answer it. I
had stalled and was now walking. After a quick phone call I got back into a
run, ok more of a jog, fine it was a shuffle! I was feeling it at this point. 2hrs
in and I had covered more than I had done before. My lack of training and shit
presentation was coming back to bite me in the ass big time. Funny enough I was
really enjoying it! Something clearly wrong with me.
It was a great sense of exhilaration when I made it to the
top! It was something that 12-18 months ago I would never have considered
doing. It was here that I thought it was over with. The final 6kms downhill to
home. Ohhhhhh how wrong I was. These 6kms hurt! Because most of the 2nd
half of Brighton road and then Ocean Boulevard is uphill I hadn’t really
engaged particularly my quads.
I was now running at a pretty average pace, and by average I
mean crap! Once I hit some marker points that I was familiar with which were on
my usual running loops I could begin to feel a little more comfortable. By this
stage I was feeling pretty dehydrated and my mind started to wander, I was not
focussing on my stride nor form, I just wanted it to be over.
1km from home and I tried to stretch out my strides a little
and increase my pace which funnily enough brought a little more feeling (of the
good variety) to my legs. When I turned the corner and in view of my house I spotted
mum and the kids franticly waving for me. I had done it. 27kms in the bank.
Somehow I managed to stop my strava tracker and walk inside. Mum immediately
poured a cold glass of water for me which I skulled then proceeded to make
another glass up but this time with some powerade. Actually I was feeling much
better that I had anticipated. Then it hit me. “oh shit, the wife is out at a
work dinner tonight”! I had to prepare dinner and manage the 2 kids!
I am really fortunate that they have joined me on this
journey of adventure and have actually developed a level of understanding that
when daddy finishes an event they need to help out. They were the ones actually
looking after me that night, grabbing an ice pack or a drink for me. It is
special being able to share these things with them. It is for them that I do
this for.
That night consisted of rehydrating and trying to get some
food in. One side effect that I hadn’t encountered in any post event before was
a lack of appetite. I struggled to finish my dinner that night which only
consisted of 2 medium home made chicken burger patties and a side salad.
The nights sleep was pretty poor aswell. I found it
difficult to go to sleep as AB wasn’t there (yeah soppy I know) and also
because I was starting to get really achy. My knees were giving me grief which I
expected as it usually happens so just had a couple of anti-inflammatories. Saturday
morning woke up and that is when the pain hit! it is safe to say I was walking
around the next 2 days looking a little suss!
Overall I recovered relatively well.
At the end of it this adventure was a mixed bag. I really
enjoyed the run and am so stoked that I ran 98% of it. I am cursing myself that
I didn’t prepare better for it! This is one of those “ad-hoc” adventures I mentioned
in a previous post! The pain in my lower body was to be expected considering my
running training had decreased in the last 2 or so months.
What I have been focussing on in my training lately has been
“Searching for the hurt”. I want to push myself in every session that I do. Yes
I run the risk of injury, yes I run the risk of burning out but I don’t want to
run the risk of “what if”. what if I pushed that little bit harder, would I have
got a PR, what if I did that one extra set. I don’t want to have those
thoughts.
I found the hurt on this run. Lucky I love the hurt.
Stats from this run
Total kms 27
Ave pace 6:09min per km
Elevation gain 194m
Calories burnt 2,838
Total moving time 2:45
Will I do the same run again? Absolutely! I have set another
marker now so I have something to aim for! There is a personal record there to
be broken! Next time though I will add an additional 3kms on to hit that 30km
mark!
Stay tuned peeps!
T
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