What sort of idiot decides to run a marathon just a matter of weeks after a 24-hour mountain bike solo - and I can't even blame my kit...
You know how you sometimes agree to things without really thinking them through? Usually stuff like, oh, freefall parachuting. Or the three peaks in mid-winter but linking them all by bike?
Well, when Salomon very kindly offered me a place in next month's Kielder Marathon, instead of the sensible response, which would have been along the lines of: 'That's very kind, but I'm doing a 24-hour mountain bike race solo about eight weeks before and probably won't be in any fit state to run 26 miles any time soon', what I actually said was: 'Great! Yeah! Why not?'
Why not? Well, my legs and I are having a disagreement. My legs, not unreasonably, at the moment believe themselves to be cycling legs and are very good at going round and round and round. My theory, base on nothing much at all, was that by speaking to them sternly, I could persuade them to morph into running legs in time for the marathon.
Hmmm... the issue isn't so much going uphill, which feels fine, presumably because it's a bit like climbing out of the saddle on a bike or even the flat bits, it's the downs where your quads have to work eccentrically or something like that with resulting aches and pains. That and the repetitive impact.
So it's all in the balance. I normally run a fair bit, it's great training for mountaineering and enjoyable in an empty-headed, brain-clearing, thinking sort of way, but right now I hate running with a passion. Even though I can happily manage two hours of plodding along, that's how it feels, ploddy and slow and achey. My heart and lungs and my legs are horribly out of synch and it's frustrating. If I could leave my legs on the sofa, watching telly I would.
Kit Round-up
I don't even have the excuse of being badly equipped. Salomon kindly sent me a bunch of running-orientated kit including a pair of their new XR Crossmax shoes, Icebreaker conveniently launched a new running range and on top of that, I have plenty of fast and light stuff that's spot on for running.
On the footwear front, my two stand-bys were Hi-Tec's excellent V-Lite Infinity trail-running shoes for mostly off-road runs and a pair of Saucony road shoes for pavement pounding. Interestingly, the new XR Crossmax seems to have replaced both of them with one shoe that's cushioned enough to handle the pavement, but still grippy and stable off road. I'm genuinely really impressed so far, which means I can't blame my shoes.
I can't blame my socks either, I've been using some lightweight Bridgedale's consistently over the past year or so, but when more padding's needed, I've resorted to the brilliant Smartwool PhD running socks - full review of those and the other stuff here another time - but they're ace. A series of compression bands holds them in place and luxurious padding made with high density merino wool yarn gives proper cushioning in areas where it's needed like the heel and metatarsal zones. All of which makes them sound complicated, but all you need to know is that they work. Great with lightweight trail shoes and boots too.
Merino Running Shorts?
Shorts? I hate synthetic running shorts. They pong and they never seem to be the right length, so when Icebreaker's longer-cut Tracer Shorts rocked up, I was more than happy to give them a try. Wearing merino in shorts form feels a bit odd at first, but they're a great length, comfortable - they have an inner liner - good with moisture and, they don't pong. Better in coolish conditions and not so great in rain when they tend to soak out a bit, but generally really nice running shorts. A lighter merino, like next years 150 Ultralite from Icebreaker's GT range would be better in hot conditions than the 200-weight fabric used though.
In the wet, it was over to Haglögs soft shell Lizard Short with an X-Bionic brief underneath for a sort of 'gentlemanly' running look. And speaking of the 150w Ultralite Icebreaker merino, I have test top from this year's Friedrichshafen show complete with perforated panels, which has worked really, really well, even in warmer conditions.
Gimme Shell'ter...
Finally, shell clothing. I run hot, literally, so while the Berghaus Rapide Active Shell waterproof has come out occasionally and done a good job, mostly I'm prepared to sacrifice some protection for breathability. That means a lightweight Salomon wind-top, more about that soon, a Haglöfs Infinity vest with a Windstopper front but non-membrane back and my fave soft shell of the year, the Rab Boreas. They've all been used and they've all worked pretty well.
So I can't blame my equipment....
Right now I don't know whether I'll be capable of running Kielder. Sure, I could plod round at near walking pace and finish, but I don't really want to do that, it feels wrong and at variants with the whole point of doing it in the first place.
The clock's ticking... two weeks to go.
