The 'jiggle' being my stupid stomach that would not stop feeling ick! The 'wiggle' being the running that there needed to be more of....
Today I had a really rubbish day, one of those runs where you just want the ground to swallow you up. I won’t dwell too much, but it was AWFUL.
Admittedly, I didn’t sleep well last night. It was a night of tossing and turning and when I eventually got up, I felt like I hadn’t slept at all. What’s more, I felt a bit sickly; my stomach just didn’t feel good. It has felt kind of icky all day and running up and down hills felt like I was on a roller-coaster. It made my stomach lurch more and I felt that little bit sicklier. I just had to keep breathing deeply and be tough with myself, but there really isn’t much you can do in a situation like that. You’ve just got to dig deep and get round. It’s all very frustrating. My legs felt fine, all my running bits were good to go, but my stomach really didn’t want to participate. I felt a bit self-conscious and silly walking so early on, but there was nothing I could do. I was ok in myself. My stomach just felt like it was in a washing machine.
Later on I really craved salty, savoury things immensely…I couldn’t take on any gels today, I couldn’t stomach the thought. A packet of crisps really helped me in the latter stages of the run. Today was very hard, really tough! I had a bit of a cry when I finally got to the finish today, although I think we’ll all get emotional and have bad days at some point. I really really hope my stomach feels much better tomorrow.
Today I had to keep reminding myself of running experiences I have been through that have been much tougher that today’s run. Well, there were quite a few to draw from. Strangely, this made me feel better. I thought to myself, ‘well, at least it’s a 26.2 mile run today and not an all-out ultra in one go.’ Then I proceeded to remind myself of times where I’ve been out there in the rain, fog, cold, night, on the moors, in the woods, in fields of scary cows, in hailstorms, up really big off-road gnarly hills, through bracken, stuck in the mud, had to cross rivers during an ultra and had to keep going 14+ hours in some cases in one go whilst feeling utterly rubbish. And I realised, I am tough, I may have not looked too chirpy or felt very good, but at least I can always delve into my memory and dig out a rough experience to make the current seem less significant. Tomorrow is another day.
Good things that happened today, well, about 3 ½ miles in, I saw a group of deer cross the road right in front of me…it was pretty amazing actually. One emerged and then 3 or so more followed, I’ve never seen them run past so close up before.
Overall, tonight I really need to rest, rehydrate and refuel.
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