Monday 28 February 2011

Day 4 - 27 miles

I started the day today just outside Machynlleth. The weather was a little drizzly, but fairly warm. My legs felt fine, but my mind was shot.

Mandy my support crew manager needed to go home 4 days early, which meant I now had huge logistical problems. With only 1 support crew member helping out the following day as Wayne my masseur had to go back to work, I had a car but no driver, and no way of getting the support car home.

On just 3.5 hours sleep sorting out how the next few days were going to work and run 27 miles was just too much to cope with. I didn't want Mandy to go home, but she was, so I needed to just get on and sort it out. The first thing I did was run the first 5 miles alternately sobbing and phoning people. To cut a long story short, I phoned the right people, who rallied round fantastically well, and support car, and support crew were sorted for the remainder of Run Wales. Knowing that, meant I could relax and get on with run again with a focussed mind.

The run went very well, it was hilly, but not ridiculously so, although there was a lot of walking up hills, there was also a lot of running well down them. At one point I managed a 10.45min mile, which was an encouraging surprise.

1001 uses for frozen peas!
The last 5 miles were a real struggle though. Once I had come down of the high of the middle miles when everything was falling together nicely, it was a question of dragging my carcass round. In the last 2 miles I really felt like I was going mad. Hannah my sister in law (now promoted to sister status), was fantastic, she joined in my madness and did the ministry of funny walks to keep me amused. I finished the day as I started in tears, but this time they were tears of relief. I laid myself out bare today on the road, but I survived another one.

The evening's massage was excrutiating, and as I had punctuatued the day with tears, I shed a few on the massage couch too.

Hannah and I waved goodbye to Wayne and Mandy, and then retired to Eifion's fantastic house with accompanying log fires. I had a very relaxing evening, fell asleep early and slept well.

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