The 7 in 7 Challenge 2010

The Final Push: Day 4

If ever I needed reminding that completing the 7in7 will be 80% mental and 20% physical, then today provided the reminder. I did NOT want to get out of bed at 7a.m. and I did NOT want to head out into the stiff, cold south-westerly squalls that were flinging rain almost horizontally across the front paddock. I did NOT want to run for 8+ hours….. BUT I had to, just as I will have to summon the energy from somewhere when we go live in less than 3 weeks time!

It so often happens that once you’re out the door, into the elements, all fatigue dissapears and you hit a happy rhythm almost straight away. Well, not today! I felt tired from the start and spent hours searching for my elusive first wind. It didn’t arrive until I’d been running for 61/2 hours when it just appeared out of the blue! It lasted for all of about half an hour, right up to the 3rd step of a 275-step staircase that on previous outings I have managed to run most of. Still, I was please to knock off the last 5kms on the road at a steady if pathetic pace, without resorting to a walk. 8hrs 20 mins after starting out I staggered in the front door, mighty happy in the knowledge that I didn’t have to run anywhere tomorrow.

I’m aware that the above might read somewhat negatively, but in actual fact I have taken great heart from these 4 days of training. Yes, today was a tough mental battle, not helped by running solo again after 3 days of great company, but overall I feel more confident than ever that I really CAN knock this off, albeit with just a little pain and angst along the way!

And a nice footnote… in my email this evening was a message, forwarded by Tim at Mule Bars, from Dean Karnazes, ultrarunning guru whose 50 marathons in 50 days was one of the inspirations for 7in7… “From across the Pacific, I wanted to wish you the very best in your quest for 7 in 7! My heart and spirit are with you during this amazing adventure!! Keep charging, Dean Karnazes”  The day ends with a smile!

Related posts:

1. The Final Push – Day 1
2. The Final Push: Day 3
3. The Final Push – Day 2
4. An urban adventure
5. The Final Block!

This entry was posted on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 7:19 pm and is filed under 2009 Blogs, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.