Day 4 + 5 - Race to the Stones 100 virtual run

Day 4 was scheduled as a rest day so for once I rested and actually didn't run! 💗

On the plan for day 5 was a double run of 12km in the morning and one in the afternoon. For the morning I planned to run to Hackney Marshes, through the Olympic Park, along Stratford High Street and back home. I set off at 7:15am and planned to run easy. Felt good and well rested. I forgot to wear my compression socks as I said I would, but luckily my shins felt good and did not cause me any discomfort. Early last year before Brighton Marathon I developed pain with my ITB. The IT band is a multipurpose tendon that runs down the lenght of the outer thigh, from the top of the pelvis to the shin bone. ITB syndrome is caused by excessive friction from the IT band being overly tight and rubbing against the bone. The physio gave me some stretches that I need to do regularly, and to be honest I don't do them often enough. I felt some pain in them on day 3 so I used rock tape today to help ease the pain and made sure I did some stretches before I left home and also 10 minutes into the run. I have been doing this every run and it has really helped.

Rain was forecasted this morning but there was no sign. There was a bit of sunshine and as you may notice from my photos I am always ready for the sun, with my sunglasses. Run felt great and I really enjoyed the route. 

The podcast of choice today was a guided run using the Nike Running app. I listened to Lopez Lomong talk to Coach Bennett sharing his epic story. Lopez was one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. His story is one of tragedy and triumph, horror and hope, and the power of family. Lopez is one of the best runners in the world. He lived in a refugee camp in Kenya for ten years. He is also an Olympian and flag bearer for the US in 2008. If you ever think you can't, I dare you to listen to listen to Lopez tell his story and ask yourself again!

By the time I finished the run,  I banked 14km all before 9:30am!

This evening, I planned to run 10-14km going on feel. My friend Shakil asked me to join him and his friend and we ran along the Thames Path towards Tower Bridge, then London Bridge and onto the Millenium Bridge and did the loop back to East London. We ran at a very gentle pace as Abdi was new to running on the road although he is an avid gym lover!

It was a fun run, cool breezy evening with some sunshine. I banked 11km this evening, bringing in a total of 25km for today.

2 days to go left of the challenge and my total so far stands at 76km/100km.