Its been a week, so the decision was made to get out for a little run.  My feet had recovered sufficiently and my legs were feeling good.  I took on board my mistakes after the Hardmoors 55 and went up stairs into the gym first and warmed up on the bike for 5 minutes and then a few stretches.  I wasn't interested in doing too much so just decided to run around the field for a bit incorporating a run and walk technique.  This was purely to just get back to it but in such a fashion to almost re-introduce my feet and legs to the kind of flexion and stresses that are required.  It felt great actually so really pleased I didn't push it, my previous injury in my heel or plantar fascia feel better than before attempting the The Wall so that was even better news and all the more reason not to go at it too much.

The Wall (part 4)

So after dragging myself round the first half which in there eyes was 32 miles which was a great Pit Stop where everyone was stopping and getting there feet dealt with and changing items of clothing and stocking up on food and drink for the next section of the run.  I didn't want to hang around too long as makes me feel worse, legs get tight, feet become sore and I feel like I'm losing valuable time.  So after stocking up and a brief rest off I went.  Coming out of Vindalonda Pit Stop we went into a bit of a hill which in Hardmoors terms it wasn't even a hill but it was a welcome change and actually took the strain from my hip flexors and loosened them up a bit which was well received.  This gave me a little boost powering down the road to now what was the next target the Pit Stop at 44 miles, there was a water station before then but the 44 mile mark was significant as meant only 25 miles to go which normally would sound ridiculous but on this day it made good listening.  I met up with various people along this section of the route and even pulled over to the verge at one point where another runner was just tending to his badly blistered feet and I'd thought 'I should be doing that' as had felt a soreness in the middle of my foot and I know the rules of 'deal with it as soon as you feel it'.  So there we were sat down trainers off in the lovely sunshine looking out over the hills it was superb and I could have stayed there to be honest.  We got patched up and went on together, had a bit of a chat as you do about how we'd done the bulk of it now and just needed to get into finishing mode.  This lad was really starting to struggle so I stayed with him till the next check point and left him to tend to more wounds.

At this point I was still trying to do a bit of running but my heel wasn't allowing it.  I would run for about 25 yards then get a pain going up my heel which I decided wasn't worth putting through the mill, instead to push on in what I can only describe as my 'Power Walking phase'.  This was where I would be walking and a good pace almost fast marching really, I really got into a good rhythm using my arms in this kind of swinging method that really helped.  To break up the monotony of this form of walking I'd have to go into again what I decided to call 'The Trophy' walk, now I spent a long time thinking about this trust me.  Hands on the hips head up and back straight trying to relieve areas that were in pain.  I would then break into a little trot before the pain became too much then move straight into the arm swinging march and then in to trophy pose for rest interval.  This is how I carried on for about the next 15 miles, which is a long long time!

By now the the roads and cycle tracks were really taking there toll on my battered feet I could really feel some considerable pain coming up my legs and tightening my calves and hamstrings, I new this was going to make for a very painful last 25 miles.  The rucksack was really causing all sorts of problems in my shoulders but this seemed to not bother me due to the pain in my feet. The power and strength of the mind now became crucial, as different methods of over coming pain and self doubt were going to be needed.  The pain causes you to have negative times mentally, so the only way to stop the negativity is to stop it at the root of the problem, the pain.  I had to keep convincing myself that yes my feet hurt but no more than they did 20 odd miles ago or 5 hours plus ago and this should not be a reason for me to be moaning to myself about it.  They brain was obviously sensing trauma and was starting to use methods against its own body to make it stop.  I tried to shut off the pain in my feet, i wasn't going to allow that to be the thing that stopped me as that wasn't good enough.  Breathing techniques were brought it again to change things and give me focus away from my feet.  Positivity is paramount, belief that you are going to get to the end and you will finish no matter what. Then it becomes desire to just get to the end, I just wanted the pain to stop, which unfortunately I convinced myself this would happen if I could just get myself to the finish line.

After numerous hours of self-talk and positive reinforcement and mind numbing conversations with myself I realised I had given  myself false hope, because the it dawned on me that I may well finish the race and the relief that brings is immense but the actual pain I am feeling and going through won't stop ha ha!  It will all carry on hurting, not just for a little bit longer but probably for a couple of days.  This actually didn't dishearten me, it made my chuckle because I'd been holding on to this ideal out come that the sooner I finish the sooner the pain will stop and it was a load of rubbish.  It had kept me going for a good 10 miles though so job done!