Monday 22-July-2013 – I thought it would be best if I started this run a couple of hours later than my normal time due to the heat. After a couple of hours the temperature had not moved much, it was 29C.
I hydrated myself all day and mentally prepared myself that this will be a slow and uncomfortable run. I made sure that I had a litre of squash to leave in the car for when I finished the run. I took a couple of mouthfuls of water before starting the run.
I started off slowly and got in to a nice slow running pace and then ran through Ambion Wood, by the time I got through the woods and out the other side was only 0.5 miles. At this point I felt out of breath, the heat was taking its toll already. I continued with the run down to the canal and tried to keep in all the available shade when possible.
After 2.5 miles I had to break down into a walk for a short time, my breathing was all over the place and I really felt tired. I continued on along the canal and had to fall back down to a short walk after another 0.5 mile. I decided to not do any hills and to carry on up the canal until I got to just over 5 miles and then turn back.
There seemed to be more flies than normal along the canal, I am not sure if this is because I was running 2 hours later than I normally run. I was battling with the flies sticking to me and trying to go into my eyes and mouth, I found it very off putting. For the majority of the remainder of the run I ran 0.5 mile and then walked for a short distance.
I was very glad to get back to the car and finish the run, it had been a very uncomfortable run and I was feeling exhausted and washed-out. I sat on a bench and drank the 1 litre bottle of squash that I made earlier. I spent all evening feeling very washed out, running in the heat had really taken it out of me.
Wednesday 24-July-2013 – The day was a bit cooler at 26C, but it was still fairly hot. I felt okay and did not have any aches or pains, but as soon as I set off I had a pain in the knee, hip and ankle. After around a mile of a gentle pace the aches went, but I thought I would walk up all the hills so as not to strain the weak areas again.
Running along the canal was fine until I tripped up over a tree root, I just took my eye off the path for a little while and tripped, luckily I did not fall down and cause any injuries. I got back into the slow steady pace as quick as possible, I did not feel any injuries or muscle pulls from the trip so I was lucky.
The remainder of the run was fairly uneventful and went by reasonably quickly. During the evening I had a lot of pain on my left hip and knee which made walking around fairly painful.
Thursday 25-July-2013 – Today’s temperature was much the same as the day before. I had recovered quite a bit during the night but still had a few aches in the left knee and hip. When I set off I could immediately feel the hot air on the intake of air, it just dries the mouth out.
After running a mile I felt quite out of breath so I know I would have to try and sort out the breathing quickly to last the run. Running along the canal I managed to overcome the heat and concentrated on the running pace and breathing. I looked at the Garmin (Forerunner 610) I noticed the heart rate was all over the place and reading at times as much as 220bpm, this was a bit annoying as I use the heart rate to help me know how I am doing.
I walked up Market Bosworth hill as not to aggravate the injuries I had and continued on once I was at the top of the hill. I checked the Garmin for the time and noticed that I was a couple of minutes behind which I thought was not too bad as it was hot. I continued along the single track road from Market Bosworth and headed towards the Bosworth Battlefield Centre. There was another hill that I walked up and continued afterwards. I ran over a few fields, past the Bosworth Battlefield Centre and back along the canal.
Once I reached the point where I normally leave the canal I decided to carry on until I reached a viaduct that ran across a road. I joined the road for a short while and then ran across a couple of fields that had cows in. I find the cows always look at you as if you are mad or something like that!
I reached Shenton Railway Station and ran across the railway tracks and up a couple of hills along a track. This takes you back to the Bosworth Battlefield Centre where I followed the track down a hill and back into Ambion wood which led me to the gate that I started from. I had covered 11 miles which I was happy with but I was very tired and glad for the run to be over.
Friday 26-July-2013 – I started off the run with a few aches but these soon went over a mile or so as I settled into a steady running pace and breathing pattern. I kept the breathing generally long and slow which helps to keep the heart rate down as much as possible. The only trouble with the long and slow breathing is the flies along the canal which tend to go in to the mouth and eyes which can be very off putting at times.
Running along the canal I felt really good and finished 4 miles not even out of breath which was quite strange for me. I left the canal and ran most of the way up the hill that leads into Market Bosworth. It did not take long to run through Market Bosworth and along the single track road towards Sutton Cheney, the time just flew by. Most of the single track road is a gradual decline which helped me have a slightly longer stride and keep the breathing long and slow at the same time.
After running across a couple of fields and passing the Bosworth Battlefield Centre I headed through Ambion wood to join the canal again. Once I got to the canal I had covered 8 miles and still felt pretty good at this stage so I decided to carry on up the canal for 2 miles and then turn back. On the run up the canal I managed to keep it together okay, but after reaching the 2 miles mark and heading back down the canal this is when I really started to feel tired.
The last 3 miles along the canal towards Sutton Cheney Wharf was quite tough going, I could not understand how I could feel good right up to 10 miles and then after feel so tired so quickly. The sun was out and I am sure this took its toll on me. I was happy to see the finish point but also glad that I had completed a half a marathon distance, I have only done this once before just over a month ago. I settled down with a 1 litre bottle of squash and sat on a bench for over a half an hour to recover.
The 10 miler, 11 miler and 13 miler without any rest days in between had taken its toll on me, during the evening I could barely walk.
Sunday 28-July-2013 – My legs and hips had been feeling the toll of the amount of mileage I have done during the week, I have just been aching like mad. Yesterday we had a lot of rain which turned our road in to a river for a short time. According to the weather reports we had just over 60mm of rain. The forecast for today was heavy rain again during the afternoon, so I thought if I do a 4 mile run then that may help the recovery process.
I got ready and headed off, looking at the dark clouds coming over it looked very threatening indeed. It was quite windy as well and I thought that I might get caught out halfway around in the rain. My legs and hips were quite painful for the first half a mile and seemed to settle down the further I went. This run seemed to go by very quickly which I was quite pleased about as it started to rain on the last half a mile.
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