No medal. No applause. I sat in silence when I was done and took my shoes and socks off, put them in the washing machine, and went upstairs and took a shower.
43 kilometers on a treadmill is overwhelming, but I wanted to cover that distance last year and did not. I took a vacation day and covered the distance!
I ran for 5k and had to pee, continued to 25k and took a 6 minute break to refuel. I ran for another 10k to 35k, I had some stomach cramps and walked 1k. I finished strong after a few struggling steps to start running again. I felt pretty good afterwards.
My feet and ankles were the main source of tiredness – other than a general tiredness, but it wasn’t terrible and I know I will be able to go further.
Amanda has challenged me to travel 60k before the 50 miler in June – I think this is a great challenge. I am confident I can do both distances but I do need to work on my in-race nutrition as well as my run/walk strategy.
Happy running.