365 - Day 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145 and 146

On day 137 of 365 half marathons I felt battered, bruised and sore. The constant miles without any rest days continued to take their toll. I seem to write this type of thing in every post. It's all self inflicted so there'll be no complaints from me.

Back to day 137 and the route took me from Bedlington to St. James Park for the last home match of the season. "Is a field full of black and white cows a good omen?" I wondered as I ran past them at the 7 mile point.

It was a really slow first half to day 137 and I knew I'd require a quicker second half to get to the match in good time. Once I reached the north end of Wideopen, I picked the pace up. My pacing is more to do with the need to be able to do all of this day after day. I've got a lot more to give but being sensible has served me well so far. That said, I feel like I'm bordering on injury. Let's hope I can keep this going for many days to come.

I bumped into an old work mate at the 10 mile point. He was waiting for a bus to the match. I declined his offer of joining him and was soon on my way again. The finish line at mile 13.1 was the entrance to Exhibition Park. I stopped my watch but continued running to St. James Park to ensure I wasn't late. My definition of late is other people's on time. Needless to say that I was in my seat a good 20 minutes prior to kick off. A final time of 03:18:32 was achieved.   

Days 138 and 139 were done on the treadmill. I split day 138 into 2 separate runs due to work and other stuff going on. Final times of 03:22:11 and 03:10:15 were pretty decent given the previous week's exploits.

Day 140 felt like I was very close to snapping point. Muscles and tendons felt very sore and tight. It was a run home from work. I wrote the following on the Run Geordie Run Facebook page - "...battling a lot of tightness in my legs. Feels very similar to John O’Groats to Land last End and early weeks in Australia. Still moving forward though. Special thanks to Graeme who drove past and offered a lift. Tempted but no thanks.". See below for his later reply.

To prevent what felt like an inevitable snap, strain, ping or tear my plan was to briskly walk for the first 2 miles. That took me to the south end of Wideopen. I started to pick the pace up ever so slightly until I left the town at the north end. Once I got over the Seaton Burn roundabout, I strode out a bit more. That 3 mile section to Stannington always brings out the best in me. It's a nice tarmac surface and there's not too much traffic on one of the widest roads I've ever seen.

I reached the railway crossing at Stannington and, as per usual waited for a train to pass. While doing so, I got talking to a local couple. It's not like me to miss an opportunity so I left them with details of what I was doing and the usual "next time you're online search for Run Geordie Run".

I struggled to get going again over the last 2 miles but I was quite pleased with a time of 03:26:02. I was even more pleased with the fact that I'd escaped injury.

Days 141 and 142 saw me back on the treadmill with times of 03:08:40 and 03:07:55. I think they were the most consistent back to back indoor runs so far this year.

Day 143 was a strange one. I used the first mile to run with Órlaith at the beach. I got a life home and then set off westwards. I didn't have much of a plan and knew that I didn't fancy running to Morpeth again. I decided to explore the roads around Stannington. They were really quiet and I was able to get some quick miles done.

At mile 8, I wondered how I would get back to Stannington Station Road as I was certain that the A1 lay ahead. At mile 9, as luck would have it, there was a route across the A1. It was pretty busy so I had to wait for a safe gap in the traffic. Thankfully, there was a short path down the central reservation and subsequently down the southbound side of the A1.

I was very pleased with a final time of 03:07:05. Especially so, given how comfortable I felt in the very warm conditions.

Day 144 of 365 was done in glorious sunshine in London. The day had started early with a drive to Doncaster to catch a train to Kings Cross. As soon as I left the station, I was on my way to Fulham to watch the final match of the season.

It was a very slow start battling crowds of tourists and road crossings. 

I managed some decent running on the south bank of the Thames after mile 7. However, I faded badly at mile 11 and the final miles seemed to take forever. The final half a mile was done up and down the concourse in Fulham's ground! The recent good times came to an end and I just managed to creep under four hours with a time of 03:59:48.

 

It ended up being a 38,000 step day followed by a train journey back to Donacaster then a drive home. It was a long old day after a 0515 alarm. After a really tough week of running (they’re all tough) I’m looking forward to some distraction free days (other than work). i.e. no more football for a few months.

Days 145 and 146 saw a return to form with times of 02:59:28 and 03:08:33 on the treadmill.