Day 251: EIGHTEEN miles - my furthest run yet!

RUN: 18.3 miles

Phew!! If anyone had told me this time last year that I would be able to run 18 miles then I would have thought they were talking to the wrong woman.
This woman likes chocolate cake and sitting still or going for a gentle walk in the countryside. She is not really cut out for anything that requires physical strength, stamina or aptitude.

Well it turns out that all you need is willpower - and if there is one thing this woman does have, it's a very persistent nature.

Here I am this morning eating chocolate cake at Pickles Deli in Baildon (a very lovely cafe, by the way) - not the ideal fuel for running, I know, but I am feeling ravenous all the time at the moment and I was still hungry after lunch with my friend Emma (she encouraged me, I blame her).

 

 

...And here I am this afternoon having another go with energy gel mid-run, and a recovery shake after 18 miles.





I decided to try a circular run this weekend, from Guiseley to Baildon, on to the canal through Apperley Bridge, Calverley and Rodley, then up past Kirkstall Abbey and along the A65 through Horsforth, Rawdon, Yeadon, and back to Guiseley.

18 miles is a long way. But it doesn't seem as far now as it did in my mind before I set off. There were a few low points (Kirkstall is much further away from Rodley than I imagined), but with my music on, some fine weather, a positive frame of mind and my body seemingly co-operating, it was possible. And I feel much more confident for the half marathon and even the marathon doesn't seem insurmountable to me after today.

 Running past Kirkstall Abbey

 

I gave energy gels another try today. I'm still not convinced they will work for me, but the actual eating/drinking of the gel wasn't as horrible an experience as it was last week, and the Maxifuel lemon and lime gel tasted ok. After the run I was back on the chocolate (I can't help it!) with a For Goodness Shakes recovery shake. Really really tasty!

 

I'm definitely going to try this route again and try to improve on my time of 2h 55m - 9m 33s miles.



Here's today's HUGE run