Three Best Runs

It's now one week until the marathon.  The purpose of this final phase of training is to keep the body ticking over, not put too many demands on it and stock up on rest and carbohydrates.  Given the ongoing problems I have with muscles seizing up after running, I’ve changed my approach: I’m swimming.  It’s not ideal but I think it’s the best way to balance getting some exercise without stressing my body too much.  I’ll decide at the end of the week whether I’ll attempt the marathon.

In the meantime, I’m supposed to reflect on my three best runs:

1. Without doubt my best run was the Watford Half Marathon.  It was my first attempt at a long distance in a formal event and I was really pleased with my time.  My final preparations were perfect and I joined the start pen only a minute before the race started, which meant I was perfectly warmed up.  I started at a good, slow, pace and kept my nerves in check – I resisted the urge to keep up with people sprinting past me.  The strategy paid off later when I ran past so many people in the final miles.  This is the strategy I need to repeat when I run a marathon.

2.  Bushy Park, 27^th February.  I pushed steadily throughout the run and kept up the pace all the way to end, taking three minutes off my time on this 8 mile route.  Afterwards the rush from the endorphins was just brilliant!  More importantly, it was a wonderfully cold, frosty morning.  It has been a real pleasure being at Bushy Park at dawn on such mornings.  It’s so quiet at that time, not only in terms of few people around but the air is still and peaceful, the day full of promise.  I’ve watched the sun rising, casting its golden rays across the park in its wintry slumber.  I’ve seen the deer’s breath hang in the air and the bunnies hopping into the bracken.  It’s truly magical and these are wonderful memories to cherish.

3.  Two runs contend for the final place on this list: 11 miles in the snow at Richmond Park and 18 miles in Brighton.  Both runs were tough.  Both required a steely determination in order to cover the miles I’d set out to run.  Both were essential to my physical and mental training – “character building”.  Both resulted in a great sense of achievement when I reached the end of the run.  However, I think Brighton pips Richmond: Brighton was my longest training run and I stuck with it all the way to the marathon’s finish point.  I have been there before and I very much hope to make it there again on Sunday.