Halfway :)

So I am now halfway through. Feeling OK at the moment

Short summary:

Today's attire:
Pink Adidas T shirt
Black / Pink shorts
Dark Grey and Orange Triaxes
A late addition - my long sleeved Connemara Ultra T shirt, that I had put on to keep warm before the race...Well it was so cold I ended up running the entire race in it.

Today's nutrition:
Number of Gels consumed: 5 (one every 5 miles - last one at 22.5 rather than 25)
Nunn (salt) tablets in water: 1
Jaffa Cakes consumed: 4 in one go at the halfway point
Bananas conumed: 1, whilst running away from the halfway point
Water top ups: LOTS (it was NOT WARM but hydration is still important. I was starting to need a pee by the end though)

Mental state:

Amount of swearing about the hills: A lot less than yesterday
Amount of swearing about the views: About the same as yesterday
Amount of swearing about the weather: A LOT

New skills acquired:

I can now blow my nose in to my hand and chuck it in to a hedge in one swift manoeuvre


So another decent nights sleep, I got up this morning and my legs felt remarkably OK.

Showered, breakfasted and then on a small minibus driven by this man:

Father I've killed a man...

.... to the middle of nowhere. It was cold today, windy and absolutely pissing it down. Joy of joys where we got dropped off at Glengad there was a small shop with toilets. Unfortunately the place was shut, and tumbleweed was blowing past. I suppose until biblical times stables were a bit underrated, we found one opposite the shop (thankfully the horse wasn't in) let me tell you when you need a bit of cover from the rain they are surprisingly warm and cosy. Harold had to blow the horn a few times to actually get us out of the stable.

The first mile today was a bit of a climb. Despite feeling OK, I was a bit worried if my legs would work at all when I tried to run, or I would be made aware of some niggle I didn't know I had picked up. As we started running there was a collective groan from most of the group, but I felt ok. After the first climb, there was a nice gradual downhill for a few miles (broken by the odd climb but nothing too severe) and as I carried on I got more and more confident that I could do this again.

At the 6/7 mile point we really got to the edge of the coast, and the wind was quite gusty off of the sea. Went through a small town that obviously relied on having Irelands most Northerly pub/shop/whatever but the place looked shut. Not surprised it was GRIM. Bizarrely despite it blowing a gale and raining most of the houses had all their washing out - maybe it was nice at 7am this morning!

Just before the halfway point I actually felt really hungry. I'd adopted the usual gel strategy and eaten a good amount yesterday / for breakfast but my tummy was rumbling. So at halfway I managed to cram 4 jaffa cakes in to my mouth in one go, got a water top up and peeled a banana which I then carried with me eating as I ran along for the next mile. This made me feel quite a lot better.

A few miles more running and we were at the Knockamanny bends, a series of twisty turny bends and upward climb, at least for each steep bit it would flatten out a little before it went up again. I knew once 18 miles were out of the way there was a lot less hill to contend with for the last 8. I've started to like the 16 mile point actually, because I know I've got less than double figures to go, and 10 miles is a lunch time jog really. 16 miles is a Friday evening run so depending on where I am I can trick myself with one point of view or the other!

The only slight worry I have is over one of my toes on my left foot. As we came down "the bends" it was getting a bit bashed against my shoe, but hopefully it will sort itself out by tomorrow morning. It just feels a little bruised at present.

The coastal road coming back to Malin and Culdaff was really nice, and here three things happened. I got a big lift from people beeping and waving in their cars. I got a big lift from looking at the gorgeous beaches and the fact I could actually smell the seaweed. Also, I don't mean to rejoyce in someone elses misfortune but I overtook one of the blokes at 19 miles and never saw him again (despite sitting around for 10 mins at the finish eating/drinking). This lifted me quite a lot although I feel guilty for letting it do so. As I passed I asked him if he was OK, he said he was so I kind of left it at that. It could well be me tomorrow.

As I came back in to Culdaff, I saw Geoff (Mr 2:45 marathon man who had given me a lift to collect the numbers on Weds) telling me I looked strong, and you know I felt pretty OK. Because I recognised Culdaff centre (there isn't much to it) I knew the end was just around the corner and I came in at 4.35 - eight minutes quicker than yesterday. Less brutal climbs than yesterday but still a tough course. So I've done the hardest Marathon I've ever run and the second hardest I've ever run back to back. That's good then. I think tomorrow will be tough, and I'm going to need all my mental skills to get through it, and possibly a bit of pain blocking if the toe goes manky.

So I've refuelled, had a bath and I'm about to go and stuff my face yet again. At the moment my legs feel a bit more tired than this time yesterday, but just going to keep drinking / stretching and hope for the best.

Onwards. :)