Training Run

Hi again and thanks for visiting my blog.

On Sunday as part of my training for the Yorkshire marathon, I decided that I wanted to do a lao of the Preston Guild Wheel which is a total of 21 miles. This run was to be done with a few other members of Red Rose.

I woke up on Sunday knowing that this was going to be a rough run and I only had around 5 hours sleep the previous night as I was at a wedding reception the previous night. Mentally before even starting the run. I was tired but I wanted to try and knew this time I would get some encouragement off my fellow Red Rosers who were also running with me.

As I got out of the the door, I was contemplating whether to run or to walk to the meeting point but felt it would be better to walk as I would be running 21 miles so my legs needed a rest to start with.

As I set off with Ben, Kelly, John and Baz, I felt confident that would do it because I had the support of the others. If I had done it on my own I may not have been able to do it all with the way I was feeling at the time.  On this run I was even feeling tired on the first mile but it showed me how strong I was to continue so now I see that as an advantage and a positive.

For the first few miles, I was very slow and I got worries that I would hold everyone back but everyone waited for me at certain points just to make sure the group was still together and we didn’t leave anyone behind.

The route is beautiful and takes you all over Preston. First through Avenham Park, then towards the dock, across a bridge, into Penwortham, across to Lea and Broughton and back down towards Walton Le Dale and into Avenham Park.

After around mile 6, I felt like Pi picked up the pace a little as I got into my rhythm and whilst running for me rhythm is very important. In a strange way even though I was tired at the start now I felt more relaxed but I was still looking forward to a much needed break.

At around mile 10 we stopped for our break which lasted ofr about 20 mins for a J20, water and a Twix. It felt good to sit down and I didn’t want to get back up again. the thought of doing another 10-11 miles seemed too much.

As we set out again, I began to think that sitting down for that amount of time was a big mistake as my legs were tense now and I felt like I would struggle again but I shouldn’t have worried.

As we got to mile 15, I was now counting down the miles until the end as I was getting tired now. I was feeling more mentally tired then physically tired but sometimes the battle to carry on in your head can be quite tough.

As we got towards mile 17 there is a park and I remember asking Ben if he wanted to go in but he didn’t. I’ve still got a fun and childish side in me.

As we got towards the end, adrenaline was kicking in and rather then slowing down, I was getting faster. It’s crazy how that happen especially on the last mile when you think the opposite should be happening. As we got over the last bridge I saw a fellow Red Roser (Mel) who gave some support. Her support at the end was a big help and it came at the perfect time. As we finished, I felt relieved and I just wanted an ice lolly from the local cafe but had Slush instead.

A great end to a great run!

Sorry for the lack of photos. I forgot the Iphone on this run!

Thanks for reading and feel free to leave any feedback and comments.

Faisal

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