The clock is ticking and with less than 7 days until the Brighton Marathon I headed out on my final long run on Easter Monday. Mrs Dan & The Son were out for most of the day visiting a friend in Tonbridge so I put my running kit together, loaded up with some energy gels, and went out for a planned 13.1 mile run.
Things did not quite go to plan though, mostly down to my general dumbness, and I did not quite make the 13.1 miles. My rookie mistake was not going through my usual pre-race routine so I forgot to apply my anti-chafe measures, which is something that I can occasionally get away with but not on a wet & rainy day. As usual for the UK Easter public holiday period we had rain so I set off in my water-resistant high viz top, baseball hat, running tights, and running gloves to protect myself from the worst of the weather. The rain was pretty constant from the moment I closed the front door until the moment I staggered back through the door into the welcome arms of a dry house.
I did approach the run slightly differently this time around and kept my Garmin watch hidden under my running top and decided to run at my own pace and to ignore anything my gadgets might reveal. I decided to go with a cut down version of my last long run so had a comfortable run around an empty North Acton Playing Fields, past Acton Town where I grabbed a bottle of water, and then onto a Gunnersbury Park where I shared the space with a couple of other runners and a few determined dog walkers. At this point I realised that I had not taped up on top and my chest area was feeling sore thanks to the wet top chafe.
I ran through Lammas Park and Walpole Park near Ealing Broadway and decided to make a pit stop at a local shop to purchase some plasters. By the time I had applied the plasters I found myself feeling the cold and my muscles were starting to seize up a bit. I headed up to Montpelier Park but the combination of a sore chest and the cold weather had got the best of me so I managed a walk / run straight home with 10 miles completed instead of the planned 13.1.
So my final long run was bit of a failure and with the forecast showing showers for the rest of the week, I will have to prepare myself for a potentially wet marathon on Sunday. I have already started to pack my running kit and there are plenty of plasters and anti-chafe protection ready and waiting.
