So that’s it. Halfway. 131 miles and 8,500 ft of climb covered over the last five days. All I need to do is do it all again!
The last two days have been a challenge – in particular because of the weather. On Day 4 (Monday) we woke to heavy rain and low grey clouds, and nothing changed all day! Wrapped up in waterproofs and extra layers we might have been – but even the best gear wasn’t going to keep out “proper Lake District weather”! They were conditions that I’ve certainly never run in for any length of time before.
The run itself wasn’t too bad. It was just a case of head down and tick the miles off one by one. I wasn’t keeping an eye on my Garmin and just ran how I felt. I even made a much better attempt at the 16-20 mile section, pushed on by one of the other 10in10ers who was gaining on me. In the end my time was the slowest of the week so far, but I wasn’t too despondent. Job done and home safe and sound without much more than the usual aches and pains.
The toughest part of the day came in the evening when the fatigue kicked in and I found I had no appetite, despite knowing that I needed to eat well if I had any chance of getting round the next day. It was very much a case of force feeding then an early night, especially as I’ve been struggling to sleep.
Day 5 is traditionally Ladies Day at the Brathay 10in10 and so I set off through the light drizzle (a dream after yesterday’s torrents) with my bright pink nails. Today was a good day. I felt physically good and mentally strong, particularly as I hit the second part of the course. Not pausing for too long at the drinks stations I was keen to push on and really put in a strong performance. I did start to stiffen up a little in the last three miles, but all in all it was a great run (without my ipod which was waterlogged from the day before), my second fastest to date and my fifth 3rd place and sub-4 hour marathon.
Final word goes to some of my 10in10 teammates who had a more difficult Day 5. In particular, Malc and Kev who had to pull out of the event during the course of the day. They are great runners and have plenty of 1oin10 experience which reflects what this group of runners is putting themselves through to raise much needed funds for Brathay Trust.
Time for supper and an early night – because tomorrow I have a marathon to run!
Well done you. I’m personally in awe of what you are trying to achieve with 10 in 10 but to keep up with the blogging too rather than flopping into bed with exhaustion! I didn’t expect to see much here to be honest. I only popped in to see how you were doing and to leave a donation. At least its not work! Best of luck with the rest of it and for improved weather conditions.