Tuesday dawned bright and sunny, and, apart from the ongoing foot aches, I was still pain free. Amazing! This marathon was timed to finish with the Uckfield Runners’ evening club run, so I was not setting off until 3.30pm. This was great. It meant I had all morning to hobble around after Leo, I had a massage, and I ate as much as I could physically fit into my body. After much deliberation, I decided to wear a different pair of running shoes, some with more support, to see if that helped my grumpy foot. (NB It didn’t, and it produced a humdinger of a blister! See below.)
 

At 3.30pm I met Rachael at Uckfield Leisure Centre, and off we went, on a 12 mile loop towards Isfield and back. Running with a friend is the best, and, even though the shoes were the worst thing in the world, the miles seemed to fly by – before we knew it we were back at the Leisure Centre, where Emma and Dan were waiting to join us for the remaining miles! After a quick change of shoes (back to my trusty clouds) we set off on another loop, this time 8 miles, towards Fairwarp and through fields, woods and over stiles. It was a beautiful evening, my foot seemed to stop screaming, and I really enjoyed the easy pace and easy conversation.

At 7pm and 20 miles we arrived back at the Leisure Centre, ready for the final 6.2 mile loop, ready to be joined by the entire Uckfield Running Club! The run was  great, I was a little off the pace and felt myself sliding to the back of the pack as we ran, but the  runners kindly waited for me and we chatted our way round and round the town, arriving triumphantly back at the Leisure Centre an hour or so later. The kindly runners even joined me running round the car park at the end to make up the final 0.2 miles with a cheer! There is nothing like company and encouragement for a morale boost, and this run left me buzzing and feeling so lucky to be a part of such a welcoming and encouraging club.

By the time  I got home and stuck my legs in the air I had begun that annoying uncontrollable shivering, so I skipped the ice bath and jumped straight in a hot shower. It was pretty late by then, so I found I couldn’t cram in enough calories before bedtime. This came back to bite me in the bum in the morning….