Last week I think the combination of taking Monday off as a rest day and my other recovery techniques worked rather well. On Monday I didn’t fell creaky and painful like I sometimes do the day after a long run and when training the day after, I didn’t feel like I was still recovering from Sunday. So I’ve decided that Monday is my new rest day. On Tuesday I felt more comfortable today than last week. I felt good all the way round. Afterwards, I didn’t feel totally exhausted like previous times.

Unfortunately, by Wednesday, the weather seemed to be getting a bit chilly again after the “mildness” of last week. Thursday was more like Tuesday in that I just seemed to run the four miles easy and two miles at moderate pace without much fuss. what made it memorable was the beautiful sunrise which rose as I ran around the headland.

Sunday

This week has just flown by. So when it came to this week’s long run, a mammoth eighteen-miler, I didn’t feel totally psyched up for it. In fact, I was even dreading it a little bit. Last weeks’ sixteen-mile run hurt, so adding another two miles onto that wasn’t going to make it any more comfortable.

To make the distance a little more manageable, I split it into two laps, each a nine-mile circuit of the South and North Bays. Basically it covered all the areas where I usually run, but with a few extensions to place I’ve run to in the past.

I decided to try and minimise the pain of this endurance run by taking my first energy gel before I had even set off, unlike my usual system of using them after the first six miles. Then I took one every three miles after that. Just a few hundred yards into my first mile, my leg muscles felt solid, like bricks. There was no elasticity or flexibility in them at all. It was obvious that my warm-up exercises had been somewhat lacklustre today. I had to find a wall and perform a few quick leg stretches in order to get my legs going. I was a little surprised as this was the first time I’ve ever had to do stretches after starting running. Once I set off again, they didn’t feel as stiff, but they ached really badly as they warmed up which was really painful.

By the time I had reached the Spa, they had stopped aching so badly, but the rocky start had shaken my confidence somewhat. I took my second energy gel whilst passing the Ocean Room and made my way to the most southerly point of my route. My muscles weren’t aching any more but they still felt as if they were not performing at their best, which filled me with apprehension about what the next fifteen miles would have in store.

Throughout this run I had a sense of stop-start regarding my energy levels. Each energy gel would come “on stream” about half an hour after I had eaten it, so there was a small lag between the effects of the last one wearing off and the next one kicking in. No matter how many gels I ate though, there was no distracting me from the fact that my feet and legs were all feeling tired and achy even in the early stages of the run. This made it much more uncomfortable than usual and I even contemplated walking at some points.

After I had rounded the headland in the middle of the first lap, about six miles in, the tide in the North Bay had gone so far out that I was able to get onto the beach from the most southerly steps (opposite the Albert Drive Cafe) – I don’t often get the chance to get onto the beach this far south because the tide doesn’t usually go out this far when I’m running. I was then able to run the entire length of the North Bay beach all the way up to the most northerly steps outside the Sea Life Centre.

I had managed to establish a rhythm which carried me through most of the nine miles of the first lap. After switching empty bottles for full ones at my home, I started the second lap. Naturally, it felt harder because I had already completed the first lap, but the energy gels meant I kept on having spurts of energy, which kept things interesting.

Coming back from the most southerly point of my route, I took an early detour into the beach, as the softer snad is more forgiving on my feet. It was the first time I had run outside the southern end of the Spa, which still has that feel of faded, dilapidated glory. Whilst I was running towards the lifeboat station and the end of the beach, I noticed how alone I was in the vast expanse of empty beach. Earlier on it had been quite busy, but now this section of the beach was much quieter. The headland was, as usual at this time of day, very busy with plenty of people around the South Bay end.

Coming around the headland for the second and last time and I was really beginning to feel the exhaustion creep up on me. I ran down onto the beach again, this time having to dodge the tide which was coming in quite fast. By this point I had equalled last weeks distance of sixteen miles, but the thought of doing another two miles was almost too much. I deliberately psyched myself up because I knew if I stopped now, I wouldn’t be able to get going again.

To my surprise, even though my legs were fatigued and I was generally quite exhuasted, I didn’t feel like my legs were going to explode like last week. It was more a case of just trying to run through the tiredness and try not to stop. When I finished, I could only half-believe that I had just completed the longest training run I’ve ever done. These long runs are also beginning to remind me of now much effort is required just to keep moving whilst running a marathon and how just much of a massive commitment it is.

The first two thirds of run were hard going. Problems with my running shoes forced me to stop once and I paused again to take off my running coat because I was getting too hot as I approached the headland. Once I’d reached the Spa, I had to take another break. On the final stretch, running around the South Bay and the headland, I really seemed to hit my stride and found a good rhythm which carried me around the headland and towards the finish.