But some antibiotics, a lot of stretching and something called ‘being sensible’ seemed to do the trick and by mid January I was cracking on with the fun bit of marathon training – ticking runs off a training plan.
The next 13 weeks have been given over to marathon training to get that magical 3:45 at Greater Manchester Marathon and, contrary to the training regimes I’ve favoured in the past, I’ve decided to see how this ‘being sensible’ thing works out. I, therefore, won’t be doing long runs at the weekend fueled by a hangover and vegetable samosas. It’s an experiment.
But 13 weeks is a long time, so this Saturday it was time for one last weekend of trying to have it all. And by ‘it’ I mean vodka.
The day started sensibly enough: I got up, ate porridge and was out the door by 10am on my long run. I ran 12 miles at an average pace of 8:20 per mile – so far so sensible. A quick shower and some scrambled eggs on toast to refuel and I was headed out the door again. And this is where it started to go a bit wrong.
Sitting on a sofa after a long run with that satisfying ache in my legs is one of life’s simple pleasures. I did get to do this briefly but unfortunately the sofa I sat on was in the middle of Ikea in Tottenham where I’d gone with a friend to buy furniture for my flat.
An hour or more of strength training followed as we lifted a set of shelves that weighed the same as our combined weight into the car and up two flights of stairs.
It was 6pm, our arms and backs ached and we were exhaused, but we had my last night of marathon freedom to take advantage of and for this we had something special planned – a club night at Guilty Pleasures where the theme was ‘Let’s get physical’. That’s right, a night of dancing in trainers to cheesy tunes while wearing an outfit that was 75% running kit. What’s not to love?
It was time for vodka and a secret weapon. For the past month I’d be trying a new drink called Alibi – it’s supposed to help you ‘pre-tox’ rather than ‘de-tox’. While it didn’t help me avoid that bout of tonsillitis, it tastes nice and has lots of vitamins in it. We mixed ourselves an Alibi vodka martini or two.
After dancing and grapevining until 2am it was time to grab some chips and a nightbus home. The next day there were no hangover in sight – just a pile of pancakes and that satisfied feeling on remembering you did your long run the day before. Maybe I can have it all after all?
This reminds me of the time I came home to find Kristin and her friend drinking Gatorade vodka ‘cocktails’.
The Gatorade was mine for my ultra marathon training.
Funnily enough, they didn’t get hangovers either.
Maybe it is the way forward?
Yes you can! I swear by doing my long runs on Saturdays for that reason precisely. Sunday is all yours then!!!!