May Distance run: 406km
Distance remaining: 90km
There are many reasons why the fact that it is currently May is making this challenge easier. Even if I get up at 5am, it’s already light. On these early runs, it’s never cold so shorts and T-shirt are the order of the day. If any runs need to be done later in the day, it’s light until 21:30 and still warm so there are so many options for a pleasant run.
If it were February, however, this, day 28, would have been the last day. I wouldn’t want it to be easy though now would I?! I won’t answer that. No, if I’d done it February (29 days this year obviously) I would always have been left wondering if I could have done a full 31 day month. Well lucky for me I will be able to see if I can do it.
Enough what if-ing, how did it go today after I went far too quick on yesterday’s second run of the day. Well, not as painfully as I thought to be honest. If my legs had eyes, they would have started the day with a typically teenage eye roll as I forced them into action yet again. They’d have then sullenly been dragged along for 2 or 3km.
Today, however, they began to play ball quite early on, after just 3 or 4km. It has amazed me day after day how my legs have come round to running again after just a small resistance early on. Perhaps they have more faith in me than I do! It was another beautiful start to the day:
I was more than happy until about 10km. It wasn’t my legs that disappointed me at this point, it was the fact that clouds materialized out of nowhere and within 5 minutes, it was grey, chilly and cloudy. This emphasised to me how much my good moods are weather based as it became more of a slog at this point.
Weirdly, by about 20km, the clouds vanished as quickly as they had arrived and things picked up again. One noticeable difference today though was that my legs felt much more tired at 20km than they have done recently.
It wasn’t a painful tired, just fatigue. I’m OK with this (at the moment!) since I’ve a few mental games to try and work around it – this is much more like the fatigue you’d get at the end of an ultra race rather than any complications as such. Hopefully, if this is all I have to deal with, I’ll be able to convince the legs to muscle through.
However well the legs play ball, there are just 3 day left now and only 90km. I keep trying to tell myself I’ve done more than that in a single 100km race before. When I tell myself that, I’m remarkably unconvincing knowing that I’ve not already run 406km in the month preceding any 100km races.
The big three start tomorrow early with a 5:30am 29km. Almost the final straight now. What is particularly exciting and will definitely help spur me on is the fact I’ve now beaten my fundraising target. I can’t thank those who have contributed enough, as well as all the positive messages I’ve received since starting this. They really do keep my ploughing on when the legs start feeling like lead.
Thanks again for checking in, let’s smash this final weekend. Here’s a reminder of why I’m doing this:
https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/tomfanthorpe2
longruntom 