365 - Day 67, 68, 69, 70, 71,72 and 73

I could start anyone of these blog posts with the phrase "The relentless miles were definitely beginning to take their toll.". This one is no exception. I started day 67 as late as possible. It was a treadmill session that took 03:16:21 to complete. 

Day 68's plan was to run an indirect route to Pegswood in time to meet Donna at 5pm (and get a lift home). This meant that I'd need to get away from work at 2pm. Unfortunately, I didn't start running until just after 3pm. I was in two minds in terms of my running plan. I ended up running to Pegswood via Morpeth without any deviation to elongate the route. This meant that I was bang on time to meet Donna but it was only just over 8 miles. 

I got a lift back home and finished off the 4.5 miles around Bedlington. An overall running time of 03:26:37 wasn't too bad. Splitting the run was a good "Plan B" and you can see the straight line on the map below where my watch was paused. I'll definitely try the longer route to Pegswood in the coming weeks. It was all path and had some nice climbs.

Day 69 was a run to the match (again!). There have been a lot of midweek games during this campaign. Once again, I set off a little later than planned. This meant that there was little room for slowness if I was to get to the match on time.

I knew that I'd be setting off in warmer weather but it would be a lot cooler during the later miles. As a result, I was probably too warm to start off with.

At mile 7, I noticed the memorial (as mentioned in the previous blog post) needed a little attention. The Newcastle scarf had folded over in the wind and I took time to straighten it out. On closer inspection, I discovered that it was dedicated to Lee Wilson (1988-2023).

I had very little left in the tank after 11 miles but managed to coast through to the finish line in 03:28:00. The finish line is, of course, our usual match day parking spot. After a quick change of clothes, I walked an additional 1.5 miles to the match.

Day 70 was yet another 8pm start meaning I didn't finish until way after 11pm. It took 03:24:30 to complete on the treadmill which is around the ballpark time recently. I had hoped that I'd turned a corner a few weeks ago. However, it seems the couple of sub 3 hour times I was running were a false dawn!

Day 71 started over 3 hours later than planned. That's the problem when you're in the zone at work, it's never easy to down tools and get running. So instead of running in daylight, I ran in the dark from work back to home.

I ran past a spooky looking church at mile 6.66 (no really!). I strangely started running a bit quicker after that! 

The rain got heavier in the later miles. I was more concerned about the laptop in my backpack than anything else. 

I hit complete darkness at mile 12. The torch on my iPhone lit the way. There was a dangerous section without any path but I quickly navigated that.

With half a mile to go, disaster struck! I stepped on what looked like the concrete path. It was in fact a mud patch. I've done this a few times this year but have always managed to correct myself. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case on this occasion. Before I knew it, I slid and fell. My initial concern was the pain in my once broken ankle. I got myself back on my feet and limped away.

The pain in my ankle soon subsided thankfully. I did feel like I'd grazed my knee though. I wasn't bothered about that given I'd gotten away with any ankle damage. I made it to the finish line near Bebside in 03:26:34. It was another slow one but very consistent compared to recent times.

Earlier on in the run I was ironically thinking about the last time I fell over (probably 2009 running with Carlton). I wondered what the chances were of that ever happening again was. Well, if I lose concentration again like I did on mile 13, the chances are high. Lesson learned.

Days 72 and 73 were late starts once again. Both were done on the treadmill in 03:24:11 and 03:29:55 respectively. I had intended to do day 73's half marathon outdoors but a combination of knocked confidence (in cold slippy conditions) and that late start, put paid to it. 

I've got a bit of work to do on Sunday morning but, rest assured, I'll be running in daylight tomorrow! Next week's miles will be a bit tricky. I'll be watching Newcastle play in Barcelona. I've booked some favourably timed flights thankfully. There's just the small matter of fitting in a half marathon before the match on Wednesday. 

Thank you to everyone who has made a donation so far to St. Benedict's Hospice. There hasn't been a week during this campaign where money hasn't come in to the hospice. If you'd like to sponsor me then please visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun365.