Tara runs 8 in 8
8 marathons. 8 days.
Day 5: Lewes Athletics Track
Date: Thursday 30th April 2015
Miles: 26.3
Time spent running: 3:55
Thursday, like Tuesday, was another marathon timed to fit in with a club session, so it started in the afternoon. This time, it was Lewes Athletics Club who would be joining me, and I was aiming to finish the run just before the start of their weekly track session, so that I wouldn’t get in the way.
The morning was spent hobbling about in search of blister plasters. I could barely walk by now, so the prospect of running seemed laughable. Except that I had managed it the day before, and the day before that from a similar state, and it seemed that I just had to start, plod, and keep going until the end.
I took Leo into Waitrose to find some chocolate and he ran away from me. I couldn’t catch him…I began to realise I might have a problem!
Leo and I turned up the athletics track at about 1pm, and we were met by Mary and Peter, Jenny (my sister-in-law), and Don, a runner from Lewes who was going to join me for the first and the last lap! My mum and dad also turned up, because dad was going to walk a mile on the track as an act of solidarity!
I did not run one single lap of this marathon on my own (except if you count the one when Jenny stopped for a bit because she had a stitch, but it wasn’t really because Leo and dad were walking round the track hand in hand at the time <3 ). Jenny ran the first 3 miles or so, by which time David had joined us. David (who had run with me at Mayfield the day before, and had also run the London marathon) was running for a good hour, and during this time we were also joined by Mat, a fellow Lewes club runner who entertained us with tales of his band who were playing a gig that night! They both left at about 10 miles, as Rachael, Karen and Karen’s daughter Lauren came and joined me. These three were amazing and stayed right to the end, alternating running, music, freeze spray on my left shin which by now was giving me some grief. But it was bearable as long as I just kept going.
At about half way we were joined by Dave, the sales rep from On Running who had kindly supplied me with a wonderful pair of cloudsurfers. These are the best shoes I have ever run in, as well as the best-looking and I can honestly say that I think these beauties are what enabled me to sustain very high mileage without injury in training, cured my IT band troubles, and have bagged me several very satisfying PBs so far this season! I also had no muscle aches or soreness throughout the challenge. I think that if I hadn’t twisted my ankle in London I would have completed the challenge without a problem. And it would have been all down the shoes! The blister occurred when I changed shoes for half a marathon. I won’t be making that mistake again!
But I digress. Our little crew kept plodding along, and the miles ticked by, as they have a habit of doing. We changed direction every 2 miles and kept as far as possible to the outside of the track so as not to lose the ability to run in a straight line.
When we reached about 20 miles club members started to join in. My husband Pete appeared and accompanied Leo as he ran his 800m for the Yoga Mission. Mum and Dad came back and filmed us running past. The junior pole vaulters ran a lap carrying a stereo, churning out Pharrell Williams’ ‘Happy’ and little by little the pace crept faster and ever so slightly faster, until we were much 8 minute miling. It felt good, I felt a bit like Forrest Gump…
The last quarter of a mile felt like a triumphant lap of victory - twenty or thirty of us charging round the track at (apparently) 6.30 minute mile pace. I'm sure it was foolish, but it was worth it for the buzz! I felt epic like Mo!
