56 mile flop
Keep running 'til you're in the sea
On Sunday I should be running 56 miles from London to Brighton. Starting in Blackheath at 6am, finishing (at the latest) at 7pm on Brighton beach, and scaling the North and the South Downs. This was to be my big challenge of 2011.
Unfortunately, despite coaching, a lot of training, and many early mornings, I won’t be running this time around. A weakness for shin splints coupled with a foolish increase in mileage a few weeks ago meant I had to have some time off, and that left me without enough time to get sufficient preparatory miles in my legs.
By now I should have done about three 30-mile training runs but so far I’ve not yet made it past the 20mile mark. I did contemplate giving it a go anyway. I’m fairly sure I’d survive 30 miles but I’m almost certain my legs would fall off before 56, and the cut-offs are fairly tight so you can’t just limp and whimper your way round.
So there’s always next year, and perhaps in the meantime the genteel sounding ‘Thames Trot’ in February – a nice, flat 50 mile race down the Thames from Oxford.
Watch this space. I shall do it one day.
i think you are amazing for even THINKING about doing it!!xx
Ta v much…wanna do the Thames Trot with me then hmm? x