I can still run a marathon

 I've been slowly trying to come back from the ankle injury I picked up at the 10in10, but got totally impatient, and decided I was losing sight of myself as a marathon runner as the furthest I've run in months is 12 miles. So, this weekend, I decided I was going to have a go at a marathon - not at a race, but just go out for the afternoon and see how I got on. I also bought myself a new UltrAspire Revolution vest as a birthday present to myself and needed an opportunity to properly try it out!

 So, I ran up to Stock, a local village about 4 miles away, and then, using a mixture of following the sign posts and the route description I printed off from the Challenge Running website, I followed the St Peter's Way path for my run.

It was beautiful today, but because of the time of year, it was incredibly different to last time I ran this route when I did the St Peter's Way ultra in February - rather than running over empty ploughed fields I was running through fields of corn, and the obvious pathways had become overgrown by grasses which in some places were thigh high and I had to fight my way through!

There's a path through there!

Thigh high!

I was pretty pleased with how I wsa getting on, although when I suddenly realised I must have dropped my route description, was a bit worried! I ended up getting lost quite a few times, but I had a map of the route too, and using that and my mobile GPS to confirm where I actually way, I managed to find my way back to the right path.

I stopped at the half-way point & had some lunch!

I'd been having gels as I was going, but stopped at 14 miles and had a bit of lunch, before heading back, hoping that the return journey would involve fewer "getting lost" detours! 

It turned out the return journey was harder than expected, as although my legs and body felt alright, I just got really tired and found myself walking quite a lot. It was pretty warm out there, and I found myself drinking quite a bit too - I ran out of water so ended up refilling from an outside tap. My ankle started to play up a bit too, from about 20 miles, and it's pretty sore now I'm home so I've been icing, but fingers crossed it'll be ok.

I loved being out there though, despite it being hard work. Just to know that I was actually still able to run that sort of distance was a boost even though I was terribly slow and had to walk so much.  I'm really tired now too - much more than normal, but I suppose it's inevitable that it's going to take me a while to get back to proper marathon fitness. I think this is a pretty good start though.

 
Here are a few other photos from my day out :)

 

See where my socks were.....

Birthday run!

Today's my 31st birthday and I've taken the day off work. The weather's awesome at the moment, so I got up early and headed out for a run before it got too hot, which was a good job as I forgot to take a drink with me!

How I ever preferred road running to trails is totally beyond me...this was the best training run I've had in a long time - it was brilliant through the woods. A few times I turned off the main path and to discover new routes and found myself having to jump over fallen trees and make my way across muddy sections which were streams before the weather dried everything up!

I only did about 12 miles as I don't want to push my ankle too much, but I absolutely loved it :D

Why it's worth getting up early

I am incredibly bad at getting up in the morning. It's probably because I tend to go to bed so late, so I'm always so tired, but it's also because I love the warmth and cosiness of my duvet!! However, last night was pretty hot, and this morning I found myself awake before the alarm, with the covers kicked off.....

So, what to do?! I decided to get up and go for a run. Most unlike me.

It was a really lovely morning, and although it was pleasantly warm, I didn't need to take a drink with me. I headed up to our local woods, and although there were a few dogwalkers it was pretty deserted. Although I didn't run for long (only clocked up 4 miles) I thoroughly enjoyed it, and found myself wondering why I tend to go out at 10pm when it's dark and I can only run on the pavement when actually I could run through the trees every morning in the sunshine! I should be making the most of summer mornings while they last.

Lots of blackberries soon!

I stopped to take a few pictures while I was out though, and realised one of the bad things about daylight running - there were so many mostiquitoes - I got eaten alive!

A great way to start the day though and must make the effort to do it more often.

The terrible & wonderful reasons why Matthew Inman (and I) run long distances

I came across a new Oatmeal cartoon on Facebook, by Matthew Inman, about why he runs ultras.

This is exactly why I run too so I loved reading it and thought I'd share. Click through below to view the cartoon - it's well worth it :)

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  The terrible and wonderful reasons why I run long distances.

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LUTA Sportswear

A few weeks ago now, I was asked if I’d like to be involved in an awesome organisation called LUTA Sportswear …they’re a company that donates half of their profits to a sister charity called Fight for Peace that “runs sports and education projects for young people in communities affected by crime and violence”.

To be honest, I’d never heard of them before, but after my experience with Brathay, I really have realised just how important this type of charity support can be, and jumped at the chance to be involved, to try out their kit, and to help get the word out…..but because I’ve been a bit in the doldrums as I comeback from injury, it didn’t really feel like the right time. But now I’m starting to get back to normal, I wanted to let you know about them.

This is “The Story” from their website:

In 2000 a small boxing club in Rio de Janeiro named Luta Pela Paz (Fight for Peace) opened its doors in the favela community of Complexo del Marè. It became an immediate outlet for the young people in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas; a place for them to turn their backs on drugs, guns and victimisation. A place set up to develop champions in and out of the ring. LUTA Sportswear was created to support these champions.

Half of LUTA’s profits go to Fight for Peace, a non-profit organisation that uses boxing and martial arts, combined with personal development and education to help realise the potential of young people affected by crime and violence.

Our aim is to bring you quality, high-end, socially responsible sportswear. To do that we have consulted with professional athletes and teamed up with industry-leading sports apparel designers and top performance fabric technicians in order to offer the best products for your regime.

LUTA Sportswear is part of the commitment you have made to yourself. You want to get fighting fit and in doing so, change your life. But – and this is why we are different - you are also changing someone else’s as half our profits go to Fight for Peace. 

From its humble roots in the favela, Fight for Peace is a now a global non-profit organisation supporting thousands of young people in communities affected by crime and violence all over the world. Today, Fight for Peace offer their Global Alumni programme that supports local groups (such as non-governmental organisations, schools, youth groups, sports clubs, youth-offender institutions) to implement Fight for Peace's five pillar methodology (boxing & martial arts combined with education, employability, youth leadership and social support services) to better serve the young people in their community.

The Fight for Peace academy in London

Fight for Peace works directly with over 2,500 young people per year at its academies in Rio and London and via its Global Alumni programme has supported 27 different organisations in 20 countries. Over the next three years Fight for Peace will train and support 120 organisations across the world helping a total of 70,000 young people.

So – LUTA has sent me a fab bag, information about both them and Fight for Peace, and a technical base layer top to try out. To be honest, because this is a brand I hadn’t heard of and who seem to have been primarily focused on combat sports rather than running, I wasn’t sure what the top was going to be like, but I was actually really impressed when I took it out for a run. 

It wicks well but still felt soft and comfortable (including the totally flat seams) it has no labels in stupid places to rub, the shape was good, and the logo on the front stretches really well without distortion (and if you’re a girl you’ll understand what I mean about that….).  So, the kit is great, and although the range isn’t that extensive, it’s well worth checking out (here on their website). It’s a brand that I’ll certainly be proud to wear, especially in the knowledge that half of the profits from everything I buy will go to help these disadvantaged young people!