Can I really run 65 miles...?

'Old and Grey' ponders whether or not he can complete the challenge ahead of him...

Friday morning was not good. I’d run about a mile and the quad strain was complaining. Hmm, maybe I need to spend more time with the massage hammer.

The massage hammer is an absolutely brilliant tool. I bought it just before Christmas and found it didn’t work but eventually, by trial and error, I realised I had to do the massage like this;

• Standing or lying down – not sitting
• Keep the massage head in one place on the muscle
• Don’t push the massage head hard into the muscle
• A muscle which has an injury needs longer time – up to 10 minutes
• Keep the wire out of the way!!

Friday night was brilliant! Over 5 miles in 50 minutes with only a little backache starting at about 1 mile. It wasn’t quite the level of runners’ high that I’ve had sometimes but considering I haven’t run 5 miles for over 15 years I was really pleased.

6 miles on Sunday?

Friday night I had difficulty sleeping. Don’t run late at night if you have to work the next day. I was working in London, a 40 mile drive. Fortunately the buzz was still with me and I didn’t feel tired until about 5pm. Even then I had difficulty sleeping.

A couple of miles walk on Sunday produced no aches at all! Fantastic.

Monday 7am – 3 miles plus: In the past I’ve always had muscle ache from running. This time – no pain at all. There was a little feeling in the right hamstring which said to me “Maybe 6 miles today isn’t a good idea”. Longer with the massager! I have to admit my calves are very tight sometimes, probably because I spend most of the day sitting writing or researching.

Some people have questioned whether I can complete 65 miles, especially with the long layoff for the ferry crossing. I wonder too, but my thinking goes like this: the Marines had us run 30 miles over Dartmoor in November, mostly across open country in under 8 hours. The training was based on short runs over the assault course and longer 5 or 6 mile runs, mostly in soaking wet kit including boots, webbing and a proper rifle.

I know it was a long time ago (1971) but we did no warm up or cool down exercises. Yes, I’m older now, (62) but I did 5 miles on Friday night in 50 minutes after just two weeks of training – just 6 runs.

So, if I can do that, I reckon that I can push out the rest!

Run longer, sleep less!