Mad Sunday

Thought I'd tell you about my Sunday this week...it started with the idea of running Swineshead 10, the NHRR Run of the Month for September. Being a good club member, I entered, looking forwards to doing a new race.
Given I am marathon training I had to work out a way of getting my mileage in. My first idea was a long run on Saturday but then Gary had a sore calf and fancied going to the bootcamp class (and we were 2/3 of the way through a bottle of wine on a Friday night) so I decided some sort of add on post Swineshead 10 was the way forwards. Then I realised the race started at 11:30 am so came up with the plan of running 10 miles before the 10 mile race. Almost sounds sensible when you write it downs like that.
I set off at 7am on Sunday morning towards Preston. As usual, I toiled up the hill and ended up walking just past Offleyholes Farm. not long after that, a lady came running past me like a train!
At the top of the hill there is a regular flood which, given the amount of rain we've had recently, was rather deep and I caught the lady up as she was trying to navigate the puddle (we concluded straight through the middle was the best option!). I turned out she was a member of Garden City Runners (I am embarassed to admit I didn't find out her name) and we had a lovely run back into Hitchin. It was only when I got back I realised we had gone pretty quick (just under 10 miles in 1:40), certainly quick than I probably should have done so I had an extra bowl of porridge to make up for it!
So, on to the race. Given my exertions that day, it went pretty well with me managing to keep going and finish in 1:43 (wow!). I devoured a burger and ice cream at the end, mmm.

I wonder if this kind of training is any good for you, I certainly ran the second 10 miles more strongly and faster than I would have done if I had done them without the 2 hour break? Anyway, it made me feel confident again which is a good thing!
The only problem was that this killed me for the rest of the day. When we got home we had to finish some bathroom painting so I couldn't have a shower for a while and by the time I did I was starting to feel rough. I get this sometimes after a hard run or gym session, I think it is a combination of dehydration and an exertion induced headache caused by the increased speed at which the blood is circulating after running. Whatever it is and whatever it is caused by it's not nice, it's the kind of headache where you can't move and ultimately you are sick (sorry Gary, I do appreciate you made me dinner).

Mmmm, maybe I'll be nicer to myself next weekend!