I am just back from a 5 day break in Edinburgh. I managed to keep up my Marcothon commitments thanks to 6 a.m. runs, taking me up to 50 consecutive days of running and up to Marcothon day 20.
On the plus side, I am chuffed to have made it this far and I am sure that I will manage the remaining 11 days that will take me up to 61 days of consecutive running. At this point I have to admit that the runs are definitely getting more difficult. However, I am a man on a mission and, I have to say, it is a good feeling and also a world apart from where I was this time last year when I let anything and everything get in the way of my running.
My early morning runs in Edinburgh saw me take in everything from Calton Hill, to the Scottish Parliament, the Royal Mile, The Castle, Princess Street and assorted surrounding streets. Given that I ran so early, I perhaps didn’t get the best views of the aforementioned attractions.
However, I was back and ready for breakfast before the rest of the family got up and, as such, my running commitments did not impact on the holiday as far as they were concerned (unless, of course, you count my nodding off midway through whatever we were watching on TV).
I can, at this point, safely say that I am training on battered legs – tight, tense and with a few niggles creeping in. As daft as this might sound, I hope that it will help me to better prepare for my planned ultras. With no days off, there is little or no opportunity for recovery and, as such, I am effectively recreating that feeling towards the later stages of an ultra when the legs would do anything not to keep going.
I do plan to take the 1st January off before resuming a slightly more normal training regime. Looking ahead, I don’t want to take too much time off as this impact negatively on next year’s mileage total!
With 7 ultras in total planned for 2012, including the 95 mile West Highland Way Race, I know that I need to get things just right this year!
I am back at work now but only for 3.5 days and I am already planning some longer runs to take advantage of the Christmas break. I think I will have to take a leaf out of RunDeeMC’s book and try an ice-bath or two to try and aid recovery, especially once I start pushing the mileage again.
I have also taken delivery of a Hope Vision 1 head torch, an early Christmas present, and am looking forward to getting out into the forest for a run tonight to test it. With 240 lumens on max power I sincerely hope the improved field of vision will result in a smoother run and greater avoidance of obstacles!
My time in Edinburgh reminded me of my participation in the Edinburgh Marathon and, also, of what can only be classed as a cautionary tale about becoming an ‘accidental tourist’.
I was no stranger to Edinburgh, having frequently spent summers there visiting relatives as a child. I had ‘done’ the Castle, the Gardens, the Royal Mile and so forth on so many occasions previously.
However, given the gloriously sunny weather, I became an ‘accidental tourist’. I was accompanied down to Edinburgh by my girlfriend (now wife) and her brother and together we spent approximately 10 hours wandering around Edinburgh, visiting the various attractions on offer.
At the time, I didn’t think twice about spending so long trudging around Edinburgh in the beating sun. The fact that this was the day before my first marathon did not set off any alarm bells.
It was not until a race post mortem back at work that it dawned on me that this was perhaps far from the best preparation for running my first marathon. However, this was but the first of my pre race faux pas that weekend!
Arthur's Seat, at 823 feet (Thanks Wikipedia!) offers an excellent panoramic view of Edinburgh. Having explored the royal mile and Scottish Parliament, we set off up Arthur's Seat, taking the longest of the various options to reach the peak. With its close proximity to the centre of Edinburgh and popularity with both locals and tourists alike, Arthur's Seat has been 'polished' by the footsteps of all those who have climbed it and, particularly around the peak area, the rocks exhibit an unusual sheen. I correctly anticipated that this would prove slippery underfoot and, mindful of the impending marathon, placed every foot with precision. Having taken in the view, we then set off down the slopes above Dunsapie Loch. At this point, with my guard now down, I slipped on loose gravel and over extended my leg in my efforts to avoid falling completely.
I did not think too much of this at the time and we continued on our travels, walking back in to Edinburgh to spend some time in the gardens.
It was not until the next day once the marathon got moving and I started the motion of running that I realised the damage that I had done. My first marathon and I had only gone and added to the hurdles that I needed to overcome for a successful finish!
The 22C heat would have tested me sufficiently but the addition of a knee injury made for a painful first marathon experience and, by mile 20, I was reduced to a slow run/walk strategy.
I finally crossed the line in a time of 04:49:23.
Looking back, I should have had the sense to rest up rather than walk around the city. Had I not done this then I might also have avoided my unfortunate accident on the way down from Arthur's Seat which, of all things, likely impacted most on my race day performance. However, given the beauty of Edinburgh and the gorgeous sunny weather it seemed like the right thing to do.
Wherever I go, I always like to explore it with a run. However, these days, any running I do is tempered by whatever events lie in store as I don’t want to repeat the mistake of becoming an ‘accidental tourist’ again!
Have a great Christmas everyone. I hope Santa brings you lots of running goodies! :o)