I set out this morning for my 12 mile plod. This would be my furthest distance since the Birmingham Half and I was looking forward to seeing how I’d cope. After a gentle start, around 10mm, my legs warmed up and I found myself clawing back the pace until I was running at about 9.20mm overall. There were a few moments where I had to grit my teeth but nothing too serious until I hit the last mile, from the Swan roundabout down to Acocks Green, when I started to get knee pain and legs of jelly. I stuck it out until I hit 12 miles and then walked the remaining half a mile.
The lesson learned today? I need to slow down. Today’s pace was 12 seconds a mile faster than last week’s 10 mile run and though it doesn’t sound much, it was probably the reason for the painful finish. The 4 hour target is motivational, but I don’t want to repeat the mistake I made last year when I treated every run as a possible pb. Pushing myself too hard was almost certainly the cause of my IT band injury, something I’d like to avoid again if at all possible.
So, I should balance the need for the determined spirit I mentioned yesterday with a healthy dose of realism and physical care!
Anyway, accurate pacing requires the right tool for the job so I finally splashed out on the Garmin. I’m so looking forward to putting my phone away until the end of a run!
My First Marathon 
Sometimes we have to learn the lesson the hard way. That slog up from the Swan to AG is HARD though. I’ve done it a few times as I like to run round the no 11 route in case something goes wrong and I have to jump on a bus, and it curves gently upward (I’m sure) while not allowing you to feel you’ve made any progress (there’s a bit between Bearwood and Harborne like that, too).
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I hadn’t notice the incline, but I was in a bit of a state at the time so wasn’t aware of much else other than the exhaustion! Running the bus route is a good idea. I’ll have to remember that one when the miles creep up.
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