Magic Mile done! But my long run broke me

The weather this weekend was gorgeous - very cold & wintery but with bright blue skies and sunshine.  We made the most of it and on Saturday went for a walk around some local woods for a couple of hours, and I made sure I climbed a tree :) 

As we'd been out in the day, I ended up doing Saturday's run late...which meant in the dark. That didn't matter too much though, it was better that it was quiet, as this run was all about the MagicMile - running the fastest mile I could manage, as part of the LardyBoy 2012 challenge. 

So, my Magic Mile run comprised a warm up jog for a mile, a mile sprint, and then a slow run back home, which gave me a total of 4 miles.

I was amazed with my time: 7 mins 2 seconds! I did go flat out and was barely able to breathe by the end, but still very pleased ;) I've not done a sprint mile before, so I was very interested to experience what it was like - and it was awesome.  I just wish I could run that fast without feeling I was going to die by the end of it!  What's going to be even more interesting is seeing how (if!) I improve on that time over the next few months.

As I hadn't managed to run in daylight on Saturday, I set my alarm for 8am on Sunday morning, determined to get up, out and really enjoy the crisp winter sunshine for my long 15 mile run.  Unfortunately, I completely overslept and didn't drag myself out of bed until 11am! By that time the day's plans were screwed and after lounging around on the sofa for far too long, eating too much and watching mind-numbing TV, I eventually got out on the road at just gone 3pm.  By this time, the blue skies were clouding over, the temperatures were dropping, and all plans of having a lovely countryside run were gone - but nevertheless I had to get my 15 miles in, and I did, finishing in about 2.5 hours, and again, finishing in the dark.  It wasn't fun, it wasn't pretty, running slow meant I was cold, and by the end of it, I felt broken...and this morning, I still don't feel great.

My knees are killing me at the moment. I don't know what exactly is causing it but my knee caps are very painful, and although it's bearable and then seems to ease when I run, after I get home they start seizing up, and stairs are becoming a real problem.  Then on top of that, for some reason (maybe the cold wind as suggested by one of my twtter friends) last night when I got back from my run, one side of my face felt very bruised and sensitive to touch...and no, I hadn't run into anything!  This morning my face is feeling better than it did, although still aching, but my knees are still painful, very stiff, and I'm feeling utterly drained in general - it was a real effort to get to the office today!  

It's starting to dawn on me that my diet (which has been dire since Christmas) probably isn't helping my energy levels or recovery rate, so I think I need to address that kinda urgently if I'm going to maintain this marathon/ultra training without destroying myself, and if my knees don't start improving with a bit of RICE, I need to head off to see the physio!