It’s a wonder I’ve had chance to write today’s post with all the eating I’ve been doing since I got back. This is probably the first run where I’ve not been entirely comfortable. I don’t mean my legs either.
One of the last things I said before bed last night was that I was hungry. Needless to say I woke up and the situation had not improved. It didn’t help that a lack of sleep due to a child enforced pre-6am wake up call meant I was sleepy as well. I’m in no way hanging on what the scales say but a quick check showed I was almost 1kg down on my weight from the last couple of days.
OK, it meant my run was going to be mentally a little tougher but part of me relished the thought that I needed to up my game in the eating department. After close to 3 times my usual breakfast to give me a fighting chance, I headed out.
You may also notice that my promise of slowing it down from today was not exactly forthcoming. It was a little slower towards the end. Really, honestly, tomorrow will be even slower. Just like Christmas though, today is all about eating.
If any of you have ever run hungry you’ll know there’s very little else you can think about other than how hungry you are. All the way through the run, I decided this was great mental training at least for the runs to come this month. Although future runs maybe physically tough, often it’s the same mental struggles that are required to get through, just convincing your legs rather than stomach to make it.
I’m maybe making a big deal of this and you might be thinking I need to grow a pair and get over my food obsession. It was bad though, honestly. I even ran past an empty packet of Walkers and decided I wasn’t past checking to see if there were any crisps left. Maybe this is my realisation that I do have a problem.
Luckily, it was a great day. Breezy but clear with some good colours everywhere. I increased my tally of neighbouring villages too with the luxury of 13km to make up:
I’m well on the way to recovery now. An eggy pasta lunch, grazing all day and a hefty dinner on the way have all helped.
This is a useful warning though and also sounds like exactly the kind of reasoning a food obsessive would comfort himself with. If you go to bed feeling hungry, it definitely means you should eat something else. Another one for my diet book.
On a more positive note, my legs seemed ok today after a good amount of foam rolling since yesterday’s run. 14km and a belly full of food tomorrow.
Thanks for getting this far. Here’s the usual reminder of why I’m doing this:
https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/tomfanthorpe2
longruntom 
This is a sort of insidious challenge, as each day gets longer with no rest. Good luck to you…
I have been running on empty for the 2-mile runs I’ve been doing; but when I got to 5-6 miles (after eating something) last summer, I knew I’d have to come up with a plan for mid-run energy.
Good luck!
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Thanks Matt! Yes it’s the lack of rest that’s going to be the killer rather than the distance itself I think. Recovery is going to be key. As you say, with each day longer than the previous, it becomes less and less forgiving to tired legs!
And, yes, running on empty is tough 😄
We’ll see how long I can hang on!
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I’m rootin’ for you. It’s been fun to do this vicariously through you. I don’t have the conditioning to try something like this — and less interest in doing those long runs. Last summer, I realized that half-marathons were too much for me to enjoy.
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Haha, thanks Matt, I’m not sure I have the conditioning to do it either yet 😄 the long runs are definitely going to need a bit of mental digging deep! We’ll see, thanks for keeping track of my progress!
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